Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus Hold recommendation on Rayonier (four holds, one strong buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $25.50.
• Rayonier reported quarterly EPS of $0.20 versus a $0.12 consensus and revenue of $117.5M (beat estimates) but revenue was down 24.4% year‑over‑year; the stock trades at a PE of 6.96 and a 52‑week range of $19.49–$27.33.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.26 ($1.04 annualized) for a yield of 4.9%, and insiders—including the chairman and CFO—recently sold shares, leaving insider ownership at about 0.85%.

Shares of Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the five research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $25.50.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on RYN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $24.00 price target on shares of Rayonier in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Rayonier in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Rayonier from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Rayonier from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Rayonier from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday.

Rayonier Stock Down 0.8%

Rayonier stock opened at $21.23 on Wednesday. Rayonier has a fifty-two week low of $19.49 and a fifty-two week high of $27.33. The stock has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a PE ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $21.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a current ratio of 3.26.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.08. Rayonier had a net margin of 97.94% and a return on equity of 4.09%. The business had revenue of $117.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $108.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Rayonier will post 0.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rayonier Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. Rayonier's payout ratio is presently 34.10%.

Insider Transactions at Rayonier

In related news, Chairman Eric J. Cremers sold 169,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.44, for a total transaction of $3,627,648.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 709,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,213,459.52. This represents a 19.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Wayne Wasechek sold 2,920 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.17, for a total transaction of $61,816.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 115,530 shares in the company, 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.

Institutional Trading of Rayonier

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hartford Financial Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rayonier during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Rayonier during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Rayonier by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,581 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Rayonier by 138.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,696 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Rayonier by 55.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,913 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares during the period. 89.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Rayonier

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.

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