HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 53,087 Shares of Rayonier Inc. $RYN

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its Rayonier stake by 61.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 53,087 shares to bring its total holding to 139,706 shares worth about $3.0 million.
• Rayonier reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.07 per share, though revenue of $276.8 million came in slightly below estimates. The company also lifted revenue sharply from a year earlier and is projected to earn $0.36 per share for the full fiscal year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, implying a 5.0% annualized yield. Meanwhile, analysts are mixed on the stock, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $24.80.

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN - Free Report) by 61.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 139,706 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 53,087 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.09% of Rayonier worth $3,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in RYN. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rayonier by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 1,732 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Rayonier by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,451 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 1,073 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Rayonier by 134.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,858 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 1,641 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rayonier by 87.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,585 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 1,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Rayonier in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $86,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.12% of the company's stock.

Rayonier Stock Performance

Shares of RYN opened at $20.89 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $20.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Rayonier Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.49 and a 12 month high of $27.33. The company has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 0.90.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.01. Rayonier had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 68.61%.The business had revenue of $276.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $280.92 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.02) EPS. The company's revenue was up 233.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rayonier Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Rayonier's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rayonier news, CFO Wayne Wasechek sold 2,920 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.17, for a total transaction of $61,816.40. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $24.00 price target on Rayonier in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Rayonier from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Rayonier from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Rayonier from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Rayonier from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $24.80.

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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