Royal Bank of Canada Buys 312,834 Shares of Rayonier Inc. $RYN

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada more than doubled its Rayonier position in the first quarter, adding 312,834 shares to hold 592,576 shares valued at approximately $12.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.12% of RYN.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $24.60. Recent target reductions came from Citigroup and BMO Capital Markets, while Weiss Ratings downgraded the stock to “Sell.”
• Rayonier reported quarterly revenue of $396.51 million, up 272.3% year over year, while earnings per share met estimates at $0.10. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, representing a 4.8% annualized yield.

Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN - Free Report) by 111.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 592,576 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 312,834 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.20% of Rayonier worth $12,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RYN. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in Rayonier during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Rayonier by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,581 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the period. Bayban purchased a new stake in shares of Rayonier in the first quarter worth $36,000. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in Rayonier by 74.0% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 2,279 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Rayonier by 77.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 89.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on RYN shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Rayonier from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Rayonier in a report on Thursday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Rayonier from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Rayonier from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Rayonier from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $24.60.

Rayonier Stock Performance

RYN stock opened at $21.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.41 and a beta of 0.87. Rayonier Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.49 and a 1 year high of $27.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 3.56 and a quick ratio of 2.21. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $21.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.43.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10. The company had revenue of $396.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.28 million. Rayonier had a return on equity of 3.49% and a net margin of 7.83%.Rayonier's revenue was up 272.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.06 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Rayonier Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. Rayonier's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 231.11%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RYN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source