One-glance verdict
Overvalued
$8.64 our estimate vs market $19.38
Wall Street consensus: $23.67 (174.0% higher than our fair-value estimate)
124% above our estimate, beyond the bull case
Fundamentals snapshot
Rayonier Inc.
RYN · NYQ · Real Estate · REIT - Specialty
Current price
$19.38
52-week range
$17.71 - $24.82
Market cap
$5.80B
Balance sheet
Stretched
3.45x Stretched
Net debt $1.48B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
2 Risks
3 rewards · 2 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 40.0% last year.
- Reward Free cash flow was positive in 9/10 years.
- Risk Stock trades 83.6% above its 5-year average P/E.
- Risk Operating margin compressed from 17.1% to 11.8% over 3 years.
What this company does
Rayonier Inc.
Rayonier Inc. owns and manages a huge amount of forest land, mostly in the southern and northwestern United States, that it uses to grow and sell trees. The money it makes comes primarily from selling timber, but also from selling land and wood products like plywood, which helps it generate profits. Understanding how well Rayonier manages its land and sells its products, often measured by things like margins (the percent of each sales dollar left after business costs), helps us see how profitable the company is.
How the company got here
Rayonier's story began in 1926 as the Rainier Pulp and Paper Company in Washington state, initially focused on making paper pulp from local timber. Over the decades, the company expanded its timberland holdings and operations. A significant shift occurred in 1968 when it was acquired by ITT Corporation and renamed ITT Rayonier. In 1994, Rayonier was spun off from ITT to operate independently again. A major turning point was in 2004 when Rayonier converted to a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). A REIT is a company that owns, operates, or finances income-producing real estate, and this structure allows Rayonier to benefit from tax advantages by distributing most of its taxable income to shareholders as dividends. In 2014, Rayonier further refined its focus by spinning off its performance fibers business, allowing it to concentrate more on timberlands and real estate. More recently, in 2020, it acquired Pope Resources, strengthening its presence in the Pacific Northwest.
What it actually does
At its core, Rayonier is a land and timber company. It owns, manages, and leases vast amounts of forest land, primarily in the U.S. South and the Pacific Northwest, as well as in New Zealand. The company's main activity involves growing trees and then harvesting and selling the timber to various customers, such as sawmills and pulp manufacturers. Rayonier also strategically sells off portions of its land that are deemed to have higher value for development or other uses, a process known as "highest and best use" optimization. This approach allows the company to generate revenue from both its timber resources and its land assets.
Southern Timber
This is Rayonier's largest business segment, encompassing about 1.8 million acres of timberland across several southeastern U.S. states. The primary activity here is growing and harvesting timber, which is then sold as sawtimber logs to lumber mills, pulpwood to paper and packaging companies, and biomass fiber for energy production. This segment is crucial for Rayonier's overall revenue, reflecting the significant timber resources in the U.S. South. The demand for these wood products is influenced by the construction and manufacturing industries.
Pacific Northwest Timber
This segment focuses on managing timberlands in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Similar to the Southern Timber segment, Rayonier harvests and sells timber from these lands. A key difference is that this region's timber is often sold to domestic lumber customers, but also includes log exports to Asia-Pacific countries. The company's acquisition of Pope Resources in 2020 specifically bolstered its holdings and capabilities in this region, adding to its land optionality.
New Zealand Timber
Rayonier also operates timberland in New Zealand, managing approximately 418,000 acres. This segment involves the cultivation and sale of timber, similar to its U.S. operations. While it represents a smaller portion of Rayonier's total land holdings compared to the U.S. South, it contributes to the company's diversified geographic footprint and access to international timber markets. Recently, Rayonier completed the sale of its interest in a New Zealand joint venture.
Real Estate
This segment is where Rayonier capitalizes on the value of its land beyond just timber production. The company identifies parcels of its land that have higher potential for development, such as for housing or commercial use, or for conservation purposes. It then sells these "higher-and-better-use" (HBU) lands to developers or buyers. This segment is particularly strong in high-growth areas of the U.S. Southeast, with notable development activities like the master-planned community called Wildlight in Florida. This strategy allows Rayonier to capture additional value from its extensive land portfolio.
What management is betting on now
Rayonier's management is focused on maximizing the long-term value of each acre of land they own, rather than simply harvesting the most timber. This strategy involves carefully managing their timberlands for sustainable growth and selectively selling land parcels that offer greater value for development or other uses. They aim to maintain financial flexibility to pursue opportunities and support consistent dividend payments to shareholders, a key aspect of their REIT structure. A core part of their approach is responsible forest stewardship, ensuring the long-term health and productivity of their land assets.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2024 Q3
$42.16M
FY2024 Q4
$-14.72M
FY2025 Q3
$99.88M
Revenue
$276.79M
Net income
$-12.43M
Diluted EPS
-0.05
Operating cash flow
$34.58M
Free cash flow
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Sources
Revenue
$117.49M
Net income
$25.91M
Diluted EPS
0.14
Operating cash flow
$51.79M
Free cash flow
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Sources
Revenue
$177.53M
Net income
$43.19M
Diluted EPS
0.28
Operating cash flow
$116.19M
Free cash flow
$99.88M
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Sources
Revenue
$106.54M
Net income
$408.71M
Diluted EPS
2.63
Operating cash flow
$60.99M
Free cash flow
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Sources
Revenue
$82.92M
Net income
$-3.42M
Diluted EPS
-0.02
Operating cash flow
$27.70M
Free cash flow
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Sources
Revenue
$726.30M
Net income
$327.13M
Diluted EPS
2.18
Operating cash flow
$87.81M
Free cash flow
$-14.72M
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Sources
Revenue
$194.99M
Net income
$28.76M
Diluted EPS
0.19
Operating cash flow
$66.15M
Free cash flow
$42.16M
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Sources
Revenue
$173.61M
Net income
$1.90M
Diluted EPS
0.01
Operating cash flow
$55.33M
Free cash flow
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Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $8.64 vs current price $19.38
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $23.67 (174.0% higher than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $8.64 a share — about 55.4% below today's price of $19.38, so the stock currently looks expensive (overvalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Stretched
Net debt $1.5B. Interest coverage 3.4x.
Net debt
$1.48B
Interest coverage
3.45x
Rayonier Inc.'s profit covers its interest bill about 3.4 times over. which is stronger than most peers shown here.
Stretched
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
RYN
BASELINE
Rayonier Inc.
Total debt $1.89B Interest coverage 3.45x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $549.25M Interest coverage 8.39x +144% vs RYN Carries about 2.4x more debt cushion than RYN.
Total debt $5.35B Interest coverage 1.64x -52% vs RYN Carries about 2.1x less debt cushion than RYN.
Total debt $15.21B Interest coverage 3.26x -5% vs RYN Has roughly the same debt cushion as RYN.
Total debt $4.98B Interest coverage 4.35x +26% vs RYN Carries about 1.3x more debt cushion than RYN.
Total debt $8.38B Interest coverage 3.23x -6% vs RYN Has roughly the same debt cushion as RYN.
What you should know
The case for and against RYN
3 Rewards
2 Risks
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 40.0% last year.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 9/10 years.
-
Dividend yield is 5.4% with 33-year payout history.
Risks
-
Stock trades 83.6% above its 5-year average P/E.
-
Operating margin compressed from 17.1% to 11.8% over 3 years.
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
42.13x
Forward P/E
34.16x
P/B
1.11x
P/S
5.99x
EV/EBITDA
21.40x
PEG ratio
23.24x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
24.8%
Operating margin
11.8%
Net margin
7.8%
ROE
2.0%
ROA
1.8%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
0.36x
Current ratio
3.56x
Quick ratio
2.49x
Total debt
$1.89B
Total cash
$411.76M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$678.35M
Revenue 5Y CAGR
-18.7%
EPS TTM
0.46
EPS 5Y CAGR
60.7%
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$263.55M
Free CF TTM
$159.06M
FCF margin
23.4%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
5.4%
Payout ratio
231.5%
Last ex-div date
2026-12-17