Rayonier Inc. $RYN Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group boosted its stake in Rayonier by 2.1%, acquiring 444,503 shares to own 21,174,792 shares (13.76%) worth about $458.4 million, while institutional investors collectively hold 89.12% of the company.
• Rayonier beat quarterly estimates with $0.20 EPS (vs. $0.12 expected) and $117.5M revenue (vs. $108.7M expected), though revenue fell 24.4% year‑over‑year; the consensus analyst rating is a Hold with a $25.50 price target.
• Company insiders sold stock recently—Chairman Eric Cremers sold 169,200 shares for roughly $3.63M and the CFO sold shares under a pre‑arranged plan—and Rayonier paid a quarterly dividend of $0.26 (annualized $1.04, ~5.0% yield).

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,174,792 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 444,503 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 13.76% of Rayonier worth $458,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RYN. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in shares of Rayonier by 1,088.2% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 790,239 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $17,528,000 after purchasing an additional 723,732 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Rayonier by 246.6% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 960,747 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $25,498,000 after purchasing an additional 683,517 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Rayonier by 952.8% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 505,351 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $11,209,000 after purchasing an additional 457,352 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Rayonier by 29.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,839,907 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,831,000 after buying an additional 416,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Rayonier by 23.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,197,009 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $58,133,000 after purchasing an additional 411,169 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.12% of the company's stock.

Rayonier Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Rayonier stock opened at $20.71 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.26, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.01. The stock has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 0.90. Rayonier Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.49 and a 12-month high of $27.33.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $117.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $108.71 million. Rayonier had a net margin of 97.94% and a return on equity of 4.09%. Rayonier's revenue for the quarter was down 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.24 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rayonier Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th 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, March 17th. Rayonier's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.10%.

Insider Activity

In other Rayonier news, Chairman Eric J. Cremers sold 169,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.44, for a total transaction of $3,627,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 709,583 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,213,459.52. This represents a 19.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Wayne Wasechek sold 2,920 shares of Rayonier stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 115,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,445,770.10. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on RYN shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Rayonier in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Rayonier from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $28.00 in a report on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Rayonier from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Rayonier from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $24.00 price objective on Rayonier in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.50.

Rayonier Company 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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