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

Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $20.00 and last traded at $20.0690, with a volume of 453906 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on RYN shares. Raymond James Financial upgraded Rayonier from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $26.00 to $28.00 in a report on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial reduced 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Rayonier in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Rayonier from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Rayonier from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rayonier currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Rayonier Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.47 and a 200 day moving average of $23.21. The company has a current ratio of 3.26, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.59 and a beta of 0.98.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $117.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $108.71 million. Rayonier had a return on equity of 4.09% and a net margin of 97.94%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rayonier Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. Rayonier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rayonier news, Chairman Eric J. Cremers sold 169,200 shares of Rayonier stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chairman owned 709,583 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rayonier

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Rayonier by 167.3% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 9,840 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rayonier during the fourth quarter worth about $285,000. Sankala Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Rayonier during the fourth quarter worth about $929,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Rayonier by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 811,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,579,000 after buying an additional 38,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Rayonier in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $215,000. 89.12% of the stock is 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.