Reviewing UDR (NYSE:UDR) and Rayonier (NYSE:RYN)

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) and UDR (NYSE:UDR) are both construction companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Rayonier and UDR, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rayonier	0	2	0	0	2.00
UDR	1	8	8	0	2.41

Rayonier presently has a consensus price target of $33.00, suggesting a potential upside of 10.11%. UDR has a consensus price target of $45.18, suggesting a potential upside of 1.96%. Given Rayonier’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Rayonier is more favorable than UDR.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Rayonier and UDR”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Rayonier	$1.00 billion	4.45	$173.49 million	$1.06	28.27
UDR	$1.66 billion	8.79	$444.35 million	$0.37	119.76

UDR has higher revenue and earnings than Rayonier. Rayonier is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than UDR, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Rayonier pays an annual dividend of $1.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. UDR pays an annual dividend of $1.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Rayonier pays out 107.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. UDR pays out 459.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. UDR has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. UDR is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

89.1% of Rayonier shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.8% of UDR shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Rayonier shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of UDR shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Rayonier and UDR’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rayonier	15.84%	2.95%	1.52%
UDR	7.68%	3.57%	1.19%

Risk and Volatility

Rayonier has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, UDR has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

UDR beats Rayonier on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. South (1.85 million acres), U.S. Pacific Northwest (418,000 acres) and New Zealand (421,000 acres).

About UDR

UDR, Inc. (NYSE: UDR), an S&P 500 company, is a leading multifamily real estate investment trust with a demonstrated performance history of delivering superior and dependable returns by successfully managing, buying, selling, developing and redeveloping attractive real estate communities in targeted U.S. markets. As of December 31, 2023, UDR owned or had an ownership position in 60,336 apartment homes including 359 homes under development. For over 51 years, UDR has delivered long-term value to shareholders, the best standard of service to Residents and the highest quality experience for Associates.