Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN - Free Report) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,632,193 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 39,332 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.77% of Rayonier worth $68,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Rayonier in the fourth quarter worth $343,007,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Rayonier by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,279,512 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $137,715,000 after purchasing an additional 104,464 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rayonier by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,488,802 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,958,000 after buying an additional 46,956 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Rayonier during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,935,000. Finally, Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Rayonier by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 1,150,927 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,039,000 after buying an additional 116,800 shares during the last quarter. 89.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rayonier Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RYN traded up $0.32 during trading on Thursday, hitting $25.38. 96,099 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 780,949. Rayonier Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.80 and a 52-week high of $31.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $26.38 and a 200 day moving average of $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.85. The company has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 0.97.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.08. Rayonier had a return on equity of 3.86% and a net margin of 28.44%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

Rayonier Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. Rayonier's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on RYN. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Rayonier from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Rayonier from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Rayonier from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James raised Rayonier from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Rayonier from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rayonier currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.00.

Rayonier Company Profile

Rayonier is a leading timberland real estate investment trust with assets located in some of the most productive softwood timber growing regions in the United States and New Zealand. As of December 31, 2023, Rayonier owned or leased under long-term agreements approximately 2.7 million acres of timberlands located in the U.S.