UBS Group AG Increases Holdings in Rayonier Inc. $RYN

Key Points

• UBS Group AG sharply boosted its Rayonier stake, increasing holdings by 882.5% in the fourth quarter to 496,024 shares worth about $10.7 million. Institutional ownership in Rayonier remains very high at 89.12%.
• Company insiders sold shares recently, including Chairman Eric J. Cremers and CFO Wayne Wasechek. The CFO’s sale was tied to a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan and tax withholding related to equity award vesting.
• Rayonier posted mixed but improved results, beating earnings expectations with $0.07 EPS while revenue came in slightly below estimates. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.26, implying a 5.2% annualized yield.

UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN - Free Report) by 882.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 496,024 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 445,538 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned about 0.32% of Rayonier worth $10,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in Rayonier by 49.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Rayonier by 77.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Rayonier by 134.8% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in Rayonier during the third quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Rayonier by 238.7% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,343 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 2,356 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.12% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rayonier news, Chairman Eric J. Cremers sold 169,200 shares of Rayonier stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.44, for a total value of $3,627,648.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 709,583 shares in the company, valued at $15,213,459.52. The trade was a 19.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 value of $61,816.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 115,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,445,770.10. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 owned by insiders.

Rayonier Price Performance

NYSE:RYN opened at $19.82 on Friday. Rayonier Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.49 and a 52 week high of $27.33. The company has a quick ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 0.90. The stock's fifty day moving average is $20.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.80.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $280.92 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.02) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 233.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.36 EPS for the current year.

Rayonier Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. Rayonier's payout ratio is currently 34.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on RYN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $24.00 price objective on Rayonier in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Rayonier from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Rayonier from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial upgraded Rayonier from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Rayonier from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rayonier presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $24.75.

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.

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.