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

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) was upgraded by Raymond James from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has a $31.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Raymond James’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 13.34% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Rayonier from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Rayonier from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Rayonier from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.00.

Rayonier Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:RYN opened at $27.35 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $26.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.06. The company has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 1.00. Rayonier has a 52-week low of $24.88 and a 52-week high of $33.09. 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 (NYSE:RYN) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 28.44% and a return on equity of 3.86%. On average, analysts anticipate that Rayonier will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

Rayonier announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, December 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rayonier

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RYN. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Rayonier during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rayonier by 165.1% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,079 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Rayonier by 59.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,404 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rayonier by 264.6% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rayonier by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,733 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the period. 89.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.