Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $20.75 and last traded at $20.99, with a volume of 1101891 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on RYN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Rayonier from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Rayonier from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Rayonier from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Rayonier in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Rayonier from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.00.

Rayonier Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.68 and a 200 day moving average of $23.53. The firm has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 0.98.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.08. Rayonier had a return on equity of 4.09% and a net margin of 97.94%.The firm had revenue of $117.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $108.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. Rayonier’s quarterly revenue was down 24.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rayonier Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Rayonier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.74%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Eric J. Cremers sold 169,200 shares of Rayonier stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.44, for a total value of $3,627,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 709,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,213,459.52. The trade was a 19.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RYN. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Rayonier in the 4th quarter worth about $313,806,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rayonier by 232.2% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,647,156 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $122,261,000 after purchasing an additional 3,947,226 shares during the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new position in Rayonier in the fourth quarter worth about $20,813,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Rayonier by 24.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,193,530 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $93,012,000 after purchasing an additional 823,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Rayonier by 25.7% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,688,309 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $81,807,000 after buying an additional 754,076 shares during the last quarter. 89.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rayonier Company Profile

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.