Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 18,476 Shares of Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN)

Geode Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,592,861 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 18,476 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.74% of Rayonier worth $83,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rayonier during the third quarter worth $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Rayonier by 165.1% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,079 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Rayonier by 539.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,235 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Rayonier in the second quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Rayonier by 83.7% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,449 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RYN has been the subject 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 research note on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com raised Rayonier from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 16th.

Rayonier Stock Down 2.7 %

RYN stock opened at $26.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.67 and a beta of 1.02. Rayonier Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.14 and a 52 week high of $35.29. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.40. 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 (NYSE:RYN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.01). Rayonier had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 2.95%. The firm had revenue of $195.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.21 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Rayonier Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. This is a positive change from Rayonier’s previous special dividend of $0.20. Rayonier’s dividend payout ratio is presently 107.55%.

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.