Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Buys 41,771 Shares of Rayonier Inc. $RYN

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) by 82.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 92,350 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,771 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Rayonier were worth $1,904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Rayonier by 29.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 159,116 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,436,000 after purchasing an additional 36,344 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Rayonier during the 1st quarter valued at about $501,000. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of Rayonier during the 1st quarter valued at about $250,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Rayonier by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 554,628 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,463,000 after buying an additional 130,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Rayonier by 16.9% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 863,707 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $19,157,000 after buying an additional 124,574 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on RYN shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Rayonier from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Rayonier from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Rayonier from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $24.00 target price on shares of Rayonier in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Rayonier from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.60.

Rayonier Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of RYN stock opened at $21.83 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $21.30 and a 200 day moving average of $21.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 2.21. Rayonier Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.49 and a 1-year high of $27.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a PE ratio of 7.23 and a beta of 0.88.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.01. Rayonier had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 68.61%.The business had revenue of $276.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $280.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.02) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 233.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Rayonier Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. Rayonier’s payout ratio is presently 34.44%.

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.