Lazard Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. $RYAM

Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. (NYSE:RYAM) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 194,212 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,150,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nantahala Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Rayonier Advanced Materials by 252.6% in the fourth quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 1,800,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289,490 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Rayonier Advanced Materials by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,687,949 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,942,000 after purchasing an additional 348,589 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,548,346 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,122,000 after purchasing an additional 9,234 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials by 177.3% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,359,752 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,817,000 after purchasing an additional 869,486 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 968,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,706,000 after purchasing an additional 373,522 shares during the last quarter. 68.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research lowered Rayonier Advanced Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $13.00.

Rayonier Advanced Materials Stock Up 0.1%

Rayonier Advanced Materials stock opened at $8.96 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.35 and a 12-month high of $11.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $8.25 and its 200 day moving average is $8.97. The company has a market capitalization of $604.26 million, a PE ratio of -1.27 and a beta of 1.77.

Rayonier Advanced Materials (NYSE:RYAM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported ($1.22) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.62) by ($0.60). Rayonier Advanced Materials had a negative return on equity of 43.24% and a negative net margin of 32.86%.The company had revenue of $319.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $302.63 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. will post -1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rayonier Advanced Materials Company Profile

Rayonier Advanced Materials, Inc is a publicly traded specialty bioproducts company focused on the production of high-purity cellulose and engineered wood products. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, the company operates a network of manufacturing facilities across North America, New Zealand and Europe. Its cellulose specialties business produces dissolving pulps and high-purity fibers that serve a range of end markets, including food and beverage, personal care, pharmaceuticals and textiles.