BNP Paribas Financial Markets Increases Holdings in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) by 87.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 161,130 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 75,258 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.11% of Rayonier worth $5,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Rayonier by 308.5% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 31,717 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $923,000 after buying an additional 23,953 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in Rayonier during the 2nd quarter worth about $732,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Rayonier during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,525,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Rayonier in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,275,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Rayonier by 148.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 120,462 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,504,000 after purchasing an additional 71,961 shares during the period. 89.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rayonier Price Performance

Shares of RYN opened at $31.71 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Rayonier Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.40 and a twelve month high of $35.29. The company has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.92 and a beta of 1.02.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.01). Rayonier had a return on equity of 2.95% and a net margin of 15.84%. The business had revenue of $195.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.21 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rayonier declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits 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 leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Rayonier Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th will be given a $1.80 dividend. This is a positive change from Rayonier’s previous special dividend of $0.20. Rayonier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 107.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director V. Larkin Martin sold 10,011 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.57, for a total value of $306,036.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,168 shares in the company, valued at $1,227,935.76. This trade represents a 19.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RYN has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Rayonier from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com raised Rayonier from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th.

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.