Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 311,632 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 145,251 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.21% of Rayonier worth $10,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Rayonier during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rayonier during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Rayonier by 53.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,079 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Rayonier in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Rayonier by 539.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,235 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,042 shares in the last quarter. 89.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rayonier Stock Performance

Shares of RYN opened at $30.14 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.43 and a beta of 1.05. Rayonier Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.40 and a 52 week high of $35.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $31.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.32.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) last announced its 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). Rayonier had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 2.95%. The company had revenue of $195.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.21 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rayonier Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. Rayonier’s payout ratio is 107.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rayonier news, Director V. Larkin Martin sold 10,011 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.57, for a total value of $306,036.27. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,227,935.76. This trade represents a 19.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.