Bernzott Capital Advisors Takes Position in Rayonier Inc. $RYN

Key Points

• Bernzott Capital Advisors opened a new position in Rayonier during the first quarter, buying 290,124 shares worth about $6.0 million and making it 2.9% of its portfolio.
• Rayonier reported quarterly earnings of $0.07 per share, beating analyst estimates, though revenue came in slightly below expectations. The company also posted strong year-over-year revenue growth.
• The stock pays a 5.0% dividend yield with a $0.26 quarterly payout, while analysts currently rate Rayonier a consensus Hold with a $24.80 price target.

Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 290,124 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $5,982,000. Rayonier accounts for 2.9% of Bernzott Capital Advisors' investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Bernzott Capital Advisors owned 0.10% of Rayonier as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of RYN. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Rayonier by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,174,792 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $458,434,000 after buying an additional 444,503 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Rayonier during the 4th quarter valued at about $313,806,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its position in shares of Rayonier by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 13,548,815 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $293,332,000 after buying an additional 717,021 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Rayonier by 232.2% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,647,156 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $122,261,000 after buying an additional 3,947,226 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Rayonier by 42.3% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,925,463 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $101,563,000 after buying an additional 1,463,118 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.12% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rayonier news, CFO Wayne Wasechek sold 2,920 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.17, for a total transaction of $61,816.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 115,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,445,770.10. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on RYN shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on Rayonier from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings cut Rayonier from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Rayonier from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Rayonier from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $24.00 price objective on Rayonier in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $24.80.

Rayonier Trading Down 0.2%

Rayonier stock opened at $20.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $20.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.53. Rayonier Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.49 and a 12 month high of $27.33. The company has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 0.88.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $276.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $280.92 million. Rayonier had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 68.61%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 233.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.02) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rayonier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Rayonier's dividend payout ratio is 34.44%.

Rayonier Profile

Rayonier, Inc NYSE: RYN is a publicly traded real estate investment trust specializing in timberland ownership and management. The company's core business revolves around sustainably growing, harvesting, and marketing timber and timber-related products. Rayonier's timberland portfolio encompasses approximately 2.7 million acres across the United States and New Zealand, focusing on softwood and hardwood fiber for use in paper, packaging and building materials.

Rayonier operates through two primary segments: Timber and Real Estate Solutions.

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