Sterling Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN)

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) by 62.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,136 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 3,505 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Rayonier were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Rayonier in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Rayonier by 59.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Rayonier by 264.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Rayonier by 41.8% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Rayonier by 30.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,317 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. 89.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rayonier Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of RYN opened at $25.25 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $26.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.04. Rayonier Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.80 and a 12-month high of $31.29.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 28.44% and a return on equity of 3.86%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Rayonier Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Rayonier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Rayonier from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Rayonier from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup cut their price target on Rayonier from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Rayonier from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Rayonier from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.00.

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.