Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) Raised to “Outperform” at Raymond James

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Raymond James from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $31.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Raymond James’ price target points to a potential upside of 13.86% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on RYN. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Rayonier from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Rayonier from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup cut their target price on Rayonier from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Rayonier from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.00.

Rayonier Stock Performance

Rayonier stock opened at $27.23 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 1.12. Rayonier has a one year low of $24.88 and a one year high of $32.10.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.08. Rayonier had a return on equity of 3.86% and a net margin of 28.44%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Rayonier will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rayonier announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 2nd that permits the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rayonier

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RYN. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Rayonier during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Rayonier by 165.1% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,079 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Rayonier by 59.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,404 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Rayonier by 264.6% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Rayonier by 41.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,733 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. 89.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.