Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 58,671 Shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. $RYAM

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its ownership in Rayonier Advanced Materials by 1.6%, holding 3,794,079 shares valued at approximately $21.8 million.
• Various institutional investors, including Wells Fargo and Barclays, have also heightened their stakes in Rayonier Advanced Materials during the last quarter.
• Rayonier Advanced Materials recently reported earnings per share of ($0.43), which was below analysts' expectations, and it will likely post a projected EPS of -0.08 for the current fiscal year.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. (NYSE:RYAM - Free Report) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,794,079 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 58,671 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 5.68% of Rayonier Advanced Materials worth $21,816,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Rayonier Advanced Materials in the 1st quarter worth $1,296,000. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new position in Rayonier Advanced Materials in the 1st quarter worth $103,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in Rayonier Advanced Materials by 155.9% in the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 129,488 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $745,000 after purchasing an additional 78,881 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Rayonier Advanced Materials by 38.4% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 39,978 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 11,095 shares during the period. Finally, Saxon Interests Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $117,000. 68.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RYAM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials from $9.00 to $6.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $6.00.

Rayonier Advanced Materials Stock Performance

NYSE:RYAM traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $5.80. The stock had a trading volume of 656,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 563,410. Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. has a twelve month low of $3.35 and a twelve month high of $10.28. The stock has a market cap of $388.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.87 and a beta of 2.56. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $4.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Rayonier Advanced Materials (NYSE:RYAM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported ($0.43) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $340.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $387.07 million. Rayonier Advanced Materials had a negative net margin of 29.23% and a negative return on equity of 12.11%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Delyle W. Bloomquist purchased 53,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.71 per share, with a total value of $252,140.43. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 539,557 shares in the company, valued at $2,541,313.47. The trade was a 11.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 4.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Rayonier Advanced Materials Profile

Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc manufactures and sells cellulose specialty products in the United States, China, Latin America, Canada, Japan, Europe, Latin America, other Asian countries, and internationally. It operates through High Purity Cellulose, Paperboard, and High-Yield Pulp segments. The company's products include cellulose specialties, which are natural polymers that are used as raw materials to manufacture a range of consumer-oriented products, such as liquid crystal displays, impact-resistant plastics, thickeners for food products, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, cigarette filters, high-tenacity rayon yarn for tires and industrial hoses, food casings, paints, and lacquers.