Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

by · The Markets Daily

Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN – Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 6,462,151 shares, a growth of 21.2% from the February 12th total of 5,331,632 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,570,458 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,570,458 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Insider Activity at Rayonier

In related news, Chairman Eric J. Cremers sold 169,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.44, for a total transaction of $3,627,648.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 709,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,213,459.52. This represents a 19.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rayonier

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rayonier during the fourth quarter worth approximately $285,000. Sankala Group LLC acquired a new position in Rayonier during the 4th quarter worth $929,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Rayonier by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 811,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,579,000 after purchasing an additional 38,763 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rayonier in the 4th quarter valued at about $215,000. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rayonier by 232.2% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,647,156 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $122,261,000 after purchasing an additional 3,947,226 shares in the last quarter. 89.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on RYN. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Rayonier from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Rayonier from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Raymond James Financial raised Rayonier from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Rayonier from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Rayonier in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.00.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Rayonier

Rayonier Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE RYN traded up $0.13 on Monday, reaching $20.31. The company had a trading volume of 4,675,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,400,831. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 3.26 and a quick ratio of 3.23. Rayonier has a 1 year low of $20.02 and a 1 year high of $28.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $22.53 and a 200-day moving average of $23.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a PE ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.98.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $117.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $108.71 million. Rayonier had a net margin of 97.94% and a return on equity of 4.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Rayonier will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rayonier Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. Rayonier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.74%.

About Rayonier

(Get Free Report)

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.

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