Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) Shares Acquired by Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) by 36.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Rayonier were worth $83,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Rayonier in the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Rayonier by 148.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 120,462 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,504,000 after buying an additional 71,961 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Rayonier in the second quarter valued at about $732,000. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in shares of Rayonier by 6.2% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 79,938 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,325,000 after buying an additional 4,699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership boosted its position in Rayonier by 90.1% during the second quarter. Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership now owns 30,397 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $884,000 after acquiring an additional 14,408 shares during the last quarter. 89.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rayonier Stock Performance

Shares of Rayonier stock opened at $25.78 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Rayonier Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.88 and a 52 week high of $35.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $28.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.32 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Rayonier Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Shareholders 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 payout ratio is presently 107.55%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Rayonier from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Rayonier from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 16th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Rayonier from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.67.

About Rayonier

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.