Reviewing Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) and UDR (NYSE:UDR)

UDR (NYSE:UDR) and Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.8% of UDR shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.1% of Rayonier shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of UDR shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Rayonier shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares UDR and Rayonier’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
UDR	7.68%	3.57%	1.19%
Rayonier	15.84%	2.95%	1.52%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for UDR and Rayonier, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
UDR	1	8	8	0	2.41
Rayonier	0	2	0	0	2.00

UDR presently has a consensus price target of $45.18, indicating a potential upside of 0.19%. Rayonier has a consensus price target of $33.00, indicating a potential upside of 6.28%. Given Rayonier’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Rayonier is more favorable than UDR.

Risk & Volatility

UDR has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rayonier has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares UDR and Rayonier”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
UDR	$1.63 billion	9.14	$444.35 million	$0.37	121.87
Rayonier	$1.06 billion	4.38	$173.49 million	$1.06	29.29

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

Dividends

UDR pays an annual dividend of $1.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Rayonier pays an annual dividend of $1.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. UDR pays out 459.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Rayonier pays out 107.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. UDR has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. UDR is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

UDR beats Rayonier on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About UDR

UDR, Inc. (NYSE: UDR), an S&P 500 company, is a leading multifamily real estate investment trust with a demonstrated performance history of delivering superior and dependable returns by successfully managing, buying, selling, developing and redeveloping attractive real estate communities in targeted U.S. markets. As of December 31, 2023, UDR owned or had an ownership position in 60,336 apartment homes including 359 homes under development. For over 51 years, UDR has delivered long-term value to shareholders, the best standard of service to Residents and the highest quality experience for Associates.

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).