Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) Shares Gap Up After Dividend Announcement

Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $31.47, but opened at $32.74. Rayonier shares last traded at $32.09, with a volume of 40,170 shares.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th will be paid a $1.80 dividend. This is a boost from Rayonier’s previous special dividend of $0.20. Rayonier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 107.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Rayonier Stock Up 0.8 %

The company has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $195.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.21 million. Rayonier had a return on equity of 2.95% and a net margin of 15.84%. The business’s revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Rayonier announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, December 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director V. Larkin Martin sold 10,011 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.57, for a total transaction of $306,036.27. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 40,168 shares in the company, valued at $1,227,935.76. This trade represents a 19.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Rayonier by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 6,815,188 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $197,226,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004,357 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Rayonier by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,279,512 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $137,715,000 after buying an additional 104,464 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Rayonier by 26.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,352,691 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $107,890,000 after acquiring an additional 695,810 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rayonier by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,441,846 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $78,579,000 after acquiring an additional 7,733 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Rayonier by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,240,608 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,089,000 after acquiring an additional 10,536 shares during the last quarter. 89.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.