QRG Capital Management Inc. Takes Position in Rayonier Inc. $RYN

QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 87,331 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,801,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Rayonier by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,174,792 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $458,434,000 after purchasing an additional 444,503 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Rayonier during the 4th quarter worth approximately $313,806,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rayonier by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 13,548,815 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $293,332,000 after buying an additional 717,021 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Rayonier by 232.2% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,647,156 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $122,261,000 after buying an additional 3,947,226 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of Rayonier by 42.3% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,925,463 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $101,563,000 after buying an additional 1,463,118 shares during the period. 89.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rayonier Price Performance

Shares of RYN opened at $21.83 on Wednesday. Rayonier Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.49 and a twelve month high of $27.33. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.23 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $276.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $280.92 million. Rayonier had a net margin of 68.61% and a return on equity of 3.61%. The company’s revenue was up 233.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.02) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rayonier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Rayonier’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.44%.

Insider Activity at Rayonier

In other news, CFO Wayne Wasechek sold 2,920 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,445,770.10. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Rayonier from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Rayonier from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Rayonier from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Rayonier from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $24.00 target price on shares of Rayonier in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.80.

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.