Head to Head Contrast: Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) & Rayonier (NYSE:RYN)

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) and Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) are both real estate companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, institutional ownership and earnings.

Risk & Volatility

Rayonier has a beta of 0.87, indicating that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lamar Advertising has a beta of 1.17, indicating that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Rayonier pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. Lamar Advertising pays an annual dividend of $6.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Rayonier pays out 231.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Lamar Advertising pays out 116.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Lamar Advertising has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Rayonier and Lamar Advertising’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rayonier	7.83%	3.49%	2.37%
Lamar Advertising	23.90%	54.94%	8.04%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Rayonier and Lamar Advertising”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Rayonier	$484.50 million	12.57	$474.38 million	$0.45	45.49
Lamar Advertising	$2.27 billion	6.76	$587.15 million	$5.48	27.51

Lamar Advertising has higher revenue and earnings than Rayonier. Lamar Advertising is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Rayonier, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Rayonier and Lamar Advertising, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rayonier	0	5	0	1	2.33
Lamar Advertising	0	3	2	0	2.40

Rayonier currently has a consensus price target of $24.80, indicating a potential upside of 21.15%. Lamar Advertising has a consensus price target of $160.17, indicating a potential upside of 6.24%. Given Rayonier’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Rayonier is more favorable than Lamar Advertising.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

89.1% of Rayonier shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.8% of Lamar Advertising shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Rayonier shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.2% of Lamar Advertising shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Lamar Advertising beats Rayonier on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. South (1.85 million acres), U.S. Pacific Northwest (418,000 acres) and New Zealand (421,000 acres).

About Lamar Advertising

Lamar Advertising Company operates as an outdoor advertising company in the United States and Canada. The company owns and operates billboards, logo signs, and transit advertising displays, as well as rents space for advertising on billboards, buses, shelters, benches, logo plates, and in airport terminals. Lamar Advertising Company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.