Rayonier Inc. $RYN Holdings Boosted by Congress Asset Management Co.

Key Points

• Congress Asset Management increased its Rayonier stake by 21% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 402,643 shares valued at approximately $7.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.12% of RYN.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $24.00, despite one Strong Buy rating.
• Rayonier reported quarterly revenue growth of 272.3% year over year to $396.51 million and maintained a quarterly dividend of $0.26, equating to a 5.8% annualized yield.

Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN - Free Report) by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 402,643 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 70,005 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 0.14% of Rayonier worth $7,393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rayonier in the second quarter worth about $617,451,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Rayonier during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $213,574,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. bought a new stake in Rayonier in the 1st quarter worth approximately $85,771,000. Atlas FRM LLC bought a new stake in Rayonier in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $83,843,200. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Rayonier during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $52,572,000. 89.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rayonier news, EVP Mark Bridwell sold 5,318 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.19, for a total transaction of $107,370.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 131,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,658,235.59. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,219 shares of company stock valued at $124,088. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on RYN. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Rayonier from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Rayonier from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Rayonier from $23.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.00.

Rayonier Price Performance

NYSE RYN opened at $17.97 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $20.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.93 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 3.56, a quick ratio of 2.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Rayonier Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.71 and a 12-month high of $26.75.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10. Rayonier had a net margin of 7.83% and a return on equity of 3.49%. The business had revenue of $396.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $374.28 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.06 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 272.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rayonier Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. Rayonier's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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