Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. Acquires 116,800 Shares of Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN)

Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. raised its position in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN - Free Report) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,150,927 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 116,800 shares during the period. Rayonier makes up about 2.2% of Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.77% of Rayonier worth $30,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in RYN. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 672 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Rayonier by 59.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,404 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Rayonier by 135.7% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,782 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026 shares in the last quarter. 89.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RYN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James upgraded Rayonier from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Rayonier from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Rayonier from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Rayonier from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Rayonier from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rayonier currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.00.

Rayonier Stock Performance

NYSE:RYN traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $27.22. 1,978,871 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,084,520. 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 50 day moving average of $26.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 1.00. Rayonier Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.88 and a 12 month high of $34.60.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share (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, equities analysts forecast that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rayonier Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Rayonier's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.19%.

Rayonier announced that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.