Head-To-Head Contrast: Four Corners Property Trust (NYSE:FCPT) and Rayonier (NYSE:RYN)

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) and Four Corners Property Trust (NYSE:FCPT) are both mid-cap real estate companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

89.1% of Rayonier shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.7% of Four Corners Property Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Rayonier shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Four Corners Property Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Rayonier has a beta of 0.87, suggesting that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Four Corners Property Trust has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its share price is 21% less 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%. Four Corners Property Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.47 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.9%. 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. Four Corners Property Trust pays out 132.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Four Corners Property Trust has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Four Corners Property Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Rayonier and Four Corners Property Trust”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	12.44	$474.38 million	$0.45	45.00
Four Corners Property Trust	$294.13 million	9.30	$112.36 million	$1.11	22.45

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

Profitability

This table compares Rayonier and Four Corners Property Trust’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%
Four Corners Property Trust	38.70%	7.35%	4.05%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Rayonier and Four Corners Property Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rayonier	0	5	0	1	2.33
Four Corners Property Trust	0	5	5	0	2.50

Rayonier presently has a consensus price target of $24.80, suggesting a potential upside of 22.47%. Four Corners Property Trust has a consensus price target of $27.80, suggesting a potential upside of 11.56%. Given Rayonier’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Rayonier is more favorable than Four Corners Property Trust.

Summary

Four Corners Property Trust beats Rayonier on 11 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 Four Corners Property Trust

Four Corners Property Trust, Inc. engages in the owning, acquisition, and leasing of properties for use in the restaurant and food-service related industries. It operates through the Real Estate Operations and Restaurant Operations segments. The Real Estate Operations segment consists of rental revenues generated by leasing restaurant properties. The Restaurant Operations segment includes the Kerrow Restaurant operating business. The company was founded on July 2, 2015 and is headquartered in Mill Valley, CA.