Entropy Technologies LP Trims Stake in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN)

Entropy Technologies LP reduced its stake in shares of Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 746 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Rayonier were worth $254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Rayonier by 26.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 695,810 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Rayonier by 2,950.1% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 296,222 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,532,000 after purchasing an additional 286,510 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Rayonier by 119.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 457,370 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,718,000 after purchasing an additional 249,173 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Rayonier by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,279,512 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $137,715,000 after purchasing an additional 104,464 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Rayonier in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,525,000. 89.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on RYN. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Rayonier from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Rayonier from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Rayonier from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th. Finally, Citigroup reduced 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.33.

Rayonier Stock Up 0.5 %

RYN opened at $25.44 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $26.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 1.03. Rayonier Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.88 and a 52 week high of $35.29.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts anticipate that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Rayonier Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Rayonier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.19%.

Rayonier declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, December 2nd that allows the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Rayonier 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.