Don't Ignore The Fact That This Insider Just Sold Some Shares In Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN)

Anyone interested in Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) should probably be aware that the Senior VP & CFO, Mark McHugh, recently divested US$138k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$27.50 each. However, the silver lining is that the sale only reduced their total holding by 8.3%, so we're hesitant to read anything much into it, on its own.

Check out our latest analysis for Rayonier

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Rayonier

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when President David Nunes bought US$156k worth of shares at a price of US$26.00 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of US$27.30. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. The good news for Rayonier share holders is that insiders were buying at near the current price.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 10.52k shares worth US$260k. But insiders sold 5.00k shares worth US$138k. In total, Rayonier insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Rayonier is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Rayonier insiders own about US$22m worth of shares. That equates to 0.6% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Rayonier Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold Rayonier shares recently, but they didn't buy any. But we take heart from prior transactions. It's good to see insiders are shareholders. So we're happy enough to look past some selling. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Rayonier has 5 warning signs (2 are a bit unpleasant!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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