Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. (NYSE:RYAM) Short Interest Up 50.5% in May

Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. (NYSE:RYAM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 930,500 shares, an increase of 50.5% from the April 30th total of 618,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 627,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 1.5% of the company's shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 decreased 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.

Rayonier Advanced Materials Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of RYAM stock traded down $0.01 on Thursday, hitting $3.85. The stock had a trading volume of 423,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 532,954. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.01 and a beta of 2.63. The stock's 50 day moving average is $4.36 and its 200-day moving average is $6.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.73. Rayonier Advanced Materials has a 52-week low of $3.45 and a 52-week high of $10.28.

Rayonier Advanced Materials (NYSE:RYAM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported ($0.49) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $356.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $375.80 million. Rayonier Advanced Materials had a negative net margin of 5.21% and a negative return on equity of 1.61%. As a group, research analysts expect that Rayonier Advanced Materials will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rayonier Advanced Materials

In other Rayonier Advanced Materials news, CEO Delyle W. Bloomquist acquired 63,291 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $3.95 per share, for a total transaction of $249,999.45. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 486,024 shares in the company, valued at $1,919,794.80. This represents a 14.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials by 127.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 846,678 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,985,000 after purchasing an additional 473,723 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Rayonier Advanced Materials by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 123,297 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 18,954 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Rayonier Advanced Materials by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 45,367 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 11,384 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Rayonier Advanced Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $418,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Rayonier Advanced Materials by 64.4% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 507,373 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,186,000 after acquiring an additional 198,709 shares during the last quarter. 68.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rayonier Advanced Materials Company 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.