Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) Stock Position Lifted by WINTON GROUP Ltd

WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its stake in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,914 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 5,873 shares during the quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd owned approximately 0.08% of Rayonier worth $2,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Rayonier during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Rayonier by 59.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,404 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Rayonier by 264.6% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rayonier by 41.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,733 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rayonier by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. 89.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rayonier Stock Performance

RYN opened at $27.88 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 1.00. Rayonier Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.88 and a 12-month high of $32.05.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.08. Rayonier had a net margin of 28.44% and a return on equity of 3.86%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Rayonier announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, December 2nd that permits the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Rayonier Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. Rayonier’s payout ratio is 46.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RYN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Rayonier from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Rayonier from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James upgraded Rayonier from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Rayonier from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Rayonier from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rayonier has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.