Impax Asset Management Group plc Cuts Position in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN)

Impax Asset Management Group plc cut its holdings in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,963,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 629,488 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned about 4.00% of Rayonier worth $154,709,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of RYN. State Street Corp grew its stake in Rayonier by 2.5% in the 3rd 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. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Rayonier by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,352,691 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $107,890,000 after buying an additional 695,810 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Rayonier by 0.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,441,846 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $78,579,000 after buying an additional 7,733 shares during the period. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Rayonier by 2.9% during the third quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 1,034,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,278,000 after buying an additional 28,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Rayonier by 119.7% during 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 worth $14,718,000 after buying an additional 249,173 shares during the last quarter. 89.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on RYN. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Rayonier from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Rayonier from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Rayonier from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 16th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Rayonier from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th.

Rayonier Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RYN opened at $25.90 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $26.12 and a 200 day moving average of $29.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 1.03. Rayonier Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.88 and a 12 month high of $35.29.

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

Rayonier Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.21%. Rayonier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.31%.

Rayonier declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, December 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.