Norges Bank Purchases New Holdings in Rayonier Inc. $RYN

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Rayonier, buying 14.49 million shares valued at about $313.8 million. The position gives the fund roughly 8.98% ownership of the timber REIT.
• Rayonier shares were down 1.7% and opened at $20.55, near the lower end of their 52-week range. The stock currently carries a modest valuation with a P/E of 6.80 and a dividend yield of 5.1%.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $0.07 EPS versus the $0.06 estimate, and it announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share payable June 30. Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with the overall consensus at Hold and an average price target of $24.80.

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 14,494,525 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $313,806,000. Norges Bank owned about 8.98% of Rayonier as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in RYN. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Rayonier in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Rayonier by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,581 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rayonier by 49.7% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 1,732 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Rayonier by 77.9% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,451 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 1,073 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Rayonier by 134.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,858 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 1,641 shares during the last quarter. 89.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rayonier Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of RYN opened at $20.55 on Tuesday. Rayonier Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.49 and a 52-week high of $27.33. The business's fifty day moving average is $20.73 and its 200-day moving average is $21.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.53. The firm has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.80 and a beta of 0.88.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $276.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $280.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.02) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 233.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rayonier Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Rayonier's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rayonier

In related news, CFO Wayne Wasechek sold 2,920 shares of the firm's 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 owned 115,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,445,770.10. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on RYN shares. Wall Street Zen raised Rayonier from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Rayonier from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Rayonier from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings cut Rayonier from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Rayonier from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $28.00 in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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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