Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Raymond James Financial

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) was upgraded by equities researchers at Raymond James Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $28.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $26.00. Raymond James Financial’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 24.47% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Rayonier in a report on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Rayonier from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Rayonier from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Rayonier in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.75.

Rayonier Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE RYN opened at $22.50 on Friday. Rayonier has a 12 month low of $21.06 and a 12 month high of $28.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.54 and a 200-day moving average of $23.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 3.44 and a quick ratio of 3.39. The company has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.38 and a beta of 0.98.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $117.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $108.71 million. Rayonier had a net margin of 97.94% and a return on equity of 4.11%. Rayonier’s revenue was down 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Rayonier will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rayonier

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Rayonier by 213.7% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,217 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rayonier in the third quarter worth $31,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in Rayonier during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Rayonier by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,581 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Rayonier in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.12% of the company’s stock.

About Rayonier

Rayonier, Inc (NYSE: RYN) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust specializing in timberland ownership and management. The company’s core business revolves around sustainably growing, harvesting, and marketing timber and timber-related products. Rayonier’s timberland portfolio encompasses approximately 2.7 million acres across the United States and New Zealand, focusing on softwood and hardwood fiber for use in paper, packaging and building materials.

Rayonier operates through two primary segments: Timber and Real Estate Solutions.