Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) Reaches New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $23.00 to $19.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Rayonier traded as low as $17.85 and last traded at $18.0160, with a volume of 3606361 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.06.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on RYN. Weiss Ratings upgraded Rayonier from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Rayonier from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Insider Activity at Rayonier

In related news, EVP Mark Bridwell sold 5,318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.19, for a total value of $107,370.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 131,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,658,235.59. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,219 shares of company stock valued at $124,088. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rayonier

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RYN. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Rayonier by 141.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,620,769 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,420,000 after buying an additional 950,473 shares during the last quarter. Fieldview Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rayonier in the fourth quarter worth about $1,936,000. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its position in shares of Rayonier by 731.4% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 94,839 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,018,000 after buying an additional 83,432 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Rayonier during the 1st quarter valued at about $6,980,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Rayonier by 42.3% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,925,463 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $101,563,000 after acquiring an additional 1,463,118 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.12% of the company’s stock.

Rayonier Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 2.91 and a current ratio of 3.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.27 and a beta of 0.89.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.10. Rayonier had a return on equity of 3.49% and a net margin of 7.83%.The firm had revenue of $396.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.28 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 272.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rayonier Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 16th. Rayonier’s dividend payout ratio is 231.11%.

About Rayonier

Rayonier Inc (NYSE:RYN) is a real estate investment trust that owns, leases and manages timberlands. The company generates revenue primarily from the sale of timber and logs, as well as from real estate transactions and leases involving its land holdings.

Rayonier’s timber operations span the U.S. South, the Pacific Northwest and New Zealand. Its products include timber used in construction, packaging, paper and other wood-related applications. The company also pursues opportunities involving rural land, conservation, renewable energy and other alternative uses of its properties.

Founded in 1926, Rayonier has evolved from a forest-products company into a publicly traded timberland owner and manager.