Virtu Financial LLC Takes Position in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,643 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in RYN. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Rayonier in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Rayonier by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,733 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Rayonier by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. 89.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rayonier Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RYN opened at $27.83 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Rayonier Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.88 and a 1 year high of $31.62. The firm has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rayonier declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, December 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Rayonier Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. Rayonier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RYN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James upgraded shares of Rayonier from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com raised Rayonier from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Rayonier from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Rayonier from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Rayonier from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rayonier presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.00.

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.