Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Here's What Happened

Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $25.49 and last traded at $25.67, with a volume of 61605 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $25.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on RYN. 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 research note on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Rayonier from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th.

Rayonier Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.42 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.85.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.01). Rayonier had a return on equity of 2.95% and a net margin of 15.84%. The company had revenue of $195.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $211.21 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. Rayonier's revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rayonier Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be issued 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%.

Rayonier announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, December 2nd that allows the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Rayonier during the third quarter worth approximately $351,000. Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in shares of Rayonier during the 3rd quarter worth $1,749,000. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Rayonier by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 69,150 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,225,000 after acquiring an additional 6,140 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Rayonier in the third quarter valued at about $654,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Rayonier during the third quarter worth about $311,000. 89.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.