15 Best Lumber Stocks To Buy Now

04. Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 27

Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN), a prominent timberland real estate investment trust, operates in highly productive softwood timber regions across the United States and New Zealand. On July 16, Truist analyst Michael Roxland revised the company’s price target to $31 from $34 while maintaining a Hold rating. This adjustment comes as part of a broader review of Q2 results in the paper and packaging sector. The analyst described the quarter as a “mixed paper bag” for paper and forest products, noting stronger demand and pricing for containerboard and stable boxboard performance, but weaker demand and pricing for wood products. The reduced price target reflects ongoing concerns about global economic growth, persistently low global manufacturing activity, and decreased market multiples.

Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) offers a forward dividend yield of 3.76%, with an annual payout of $1.14. The high payout ratio of 285% indicates that the company is paying out a significant portion of its earnings in dividends. Over the past five years, the dividend has grown at a modest rate of 1.09% and has been increasing for the last two years. On July 22, the company declared a third-quarter dividend of $0.285 per share, scheduled for payment on September 30, to shareholders of record as of September 16. This dividend announcement underscores Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) commitment to returning value to its shareholders despite the mixed performance in its core sectors.

In the first quarter of 2024, the number of hedge funds with stakes in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) increased to 27 from 21 in the previous quarter, according to Insider Monkey’s database. The combined value of these stakes is approximately $304.23 million. Ian Simm’s Impax Asset Management emerged as the largest stakeholder among these hedge funds during this period.

Third Avenue Real Estate Value Fund stated the following regarding Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:

“Asset Sales: Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) (a U.S.-based Timber Real Estate Investment Trust or “REIT”) announced the disposition of 55k acres of timberlands in Oregon for $242 million, implying $4.4k per acre, or more than two times the implied value per acre for Rayonier’s portfolio based upon the recent stock price. Rayonier’s management team has also indicated that it plans to sell another $750 million of timberlands within the next 18 months to further reduce debt levels and return excess capital to shareholders given the price-to-value discrepancy.”