Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) Position Cut by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its holdings in shares of Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 162,877 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 6,170 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Rayonier were worth $5,241,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RYN. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Rayonier during the third quarter valued at about $351,000. Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in shares of Rayonier during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,749,000. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Rayonier by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 69,150 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,225,000 after acquiring an additional 6,140 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Rayonier in the third quarter valued at approximately $654,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Rayonier during the third quarter valued at approximately $311,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.12% of the company’s stock.

Rayonier Stock Down 3.3 %

NYSE RYN opened at $26.88 on Thursday. Rayonier Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.84 and a 12 month high of $35.29. The company has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.85.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.01). Rayonier had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 2.95%. The company had revenue of $195.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.21 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.13 EPS. Rayonier’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rayonier announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, December 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to buy up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Rayonier Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. This is an increase from Rayonier’s previous special dividend of $0.20. Rayonier’s dividend payout ratio is currently 107.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RYN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Rayonier from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Rayonier from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th.

Rayonier 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.