Central Securities Corp Purchases 58,656 Shares of Rayonier Inc. $RYN

Central Securities Corp raised its position in shares of Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,260,130 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,656 shares during the period. Rayonier accounts for approximately 2.2% of Central Securities Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Central Securities Corp’s holdings in Rayonier were worth $27,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in RYN. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Rayonier in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $313,806,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Rayonier by 1,088.2% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 790,239 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,528,000 after buying an additional 723,732 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rayonier by 246.6% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 960,747 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,498,000 after buying an additional 683,517 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Rayonier by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,689,938 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $101,537,000 after purchasing an additional 467,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Rayonier by 952.8% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 505,351 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,209,000 after purchasing an additional 457,352 shares during the last quarter. 89.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rayonier Stock Up 2.0%

Rayonier stock opened at $20.94 on Wednesday. Rayonier Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.49 and a twelve month high of $27.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $20.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.64. The company has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $276.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $280.92 million. Rayonier had a net margin of 68.61% and a return on equity of 3.61%. The company’s revenue was up 233.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.02) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Rayonier Inc. will post 0.36 EPS for the current year.

Rayonier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. Rayonier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Wayne Wasechek sold 2,920 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.17, for a total value of $61,816.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 115,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,445,770.10. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Rayonier from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Rayonier from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Rayonier from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Rayonier from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $28.00 in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $24.00 target price on shares of Rayonier in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.80.

Rayonier Profile

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.