Impax Asset Management Group plc Decreases Position in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN)

Impax Asset Management Group plc trimmed its holdings in shares of Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,963,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 629,488 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Rayonier were worth $154,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Rayonier by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,352,691 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $107,890,000 after acquiring an additional 695,810 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Rayonier by 2,950.1% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 296,222 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,532,000 after purchasing an additional 286,510 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rayonier by 119.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 457,370 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,718,000 after purchasing an additional 249,173 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Rayonier by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,279,512 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $137,715,000 after purchasing an additional 104,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Rayonier by 87.6% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 161,130 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,185,000 after purchasing an additional 75,258 shares during the last quarter. 89.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on RYN shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Rayonier from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Rayonier from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Rayonier from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Rayonier from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th.

Rayonier Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of RYN opened at $25.90 on Monday. Rayonier Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.88 and a 1-year high of $35.29. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $26.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 1.03.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.08. Rayonier had a return on equity of 3.86% and a net margin of 28.44%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

Rayonier Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.21%. Rayonier’s payout ratio is 48.31%.

Rayonier announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.