HighTower Advisors LLC Has $2.07 Million Stock Holdings in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN)

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its position in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN - Free Report) by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 64,403 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 18,468 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Rayonier were worth $2,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in Rayonier by 1.3% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 28,472 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $828,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Rayonier by 1.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 30,341 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $883,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Rayonier by 20.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,849 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Rayonier by 2.1% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 23,606 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $716,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Rayonier by 1.5% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 40,939 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,317,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. 89.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on RYN shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Rayonier from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, November 16th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Rayonier from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th.

Rayonier Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:RYN traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $28.83. 706,075 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 581,905. Rayonier Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.40 and a fifty-two week high of $35.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.47. The firm has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 27.20 and a beta of 1.02.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $195.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.21 million. Rayonier had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 2.95%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Rayonier Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 an increase from Rayonier's previous special dividend of $0.20. Rayonier's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 107.55%.

Rayonier declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, December 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management 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.