54,364 Shares in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) Acquired by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc bought a new position in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 54,364 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,749,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its stake in shares of Rayonier by 17.3% in the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 6,815,188 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $197,226,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004,357 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Rayonier by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,279,512 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $137,715,000 after buying an additional 104,464 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Rayonier by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,352,691 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $107,890,000 after buying an additional 695,810 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Rayonier by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,441,846 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $78,579,000 after acquiring an additional 7,733 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Rayonier by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,240,608 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $36,089,000 after acquiring an additional 10,536 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.12% of the company's stock.

Rayonier Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RYN traded down $0.33 during trading on Thursday, hitting $28.84. 702,829 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 610,539. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $31.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.47. Rayonier Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.40 and a 52-week high of $35.29. The company has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.24 and a beta of 1.02.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN - Get Free Report) last released 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 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Rayonier declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Rayonier Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $1.80 per share. This is an increase from Rayonier's previous special dividend of $0.20. Rayonier's dividend payout ratio is currently 107.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on RYN shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Rayonier from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Rayonier from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note 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.