Comparing Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) & Ashford Hospitality Trust (NYSE:AHT)

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) and Ashford Hospitality Trust (NYSE:AHT) are both construction companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation and risk.

Dividends

Rayonier pays an annual dividend of $1.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Ashford Hospitality Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 32.2%. Rayonier pays out 101.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Ashford Hospitality Trust pays out -7.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ashford Hospitality Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Rayonier and Ashford Hospitality Trust”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Rayonier	$1.06 billion	4.49	$173.49 million	$1.12	28.41
Ashford Hospitality Trust	$1.28 billion	0.02	-$178.49 million	($3.17)	-0.23

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Rayonier and Ashford Hospitality Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rayonier	0	2	0	0	2.00
Ashford Hospitality Trust	0	1	0	0	2.00

Rayonier presently has a consensus price target of $32.50, suggesting a potential upside of 2.14%. Ashford Hospitality Trust has a consensus price target of $2.50, suggesting a potential upside of 235.62%. Given Ashford Hospitality Trust’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Ashford Hospitality Trust is more favorable than Rayonier.

Profitability

This table compares Rayonier and Ashford Hospitality Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rayonier	14.78%	3.00%	1.53%
Ashford Hospitality Trust	2.25%	-10.52%	0.82%

Risk and Volatility

Rayonier has a beta of 1.04, meaning that its share price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ashford Hospitality Trust has a beta of 2.35, meaning that its share price is 135% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

89.1% of Rayonier shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.0% of Ashford Hospitality Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Rayonier shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Ashford Hospitality Trust shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Rayonier beats Ashford Hospitality Trust on 8 of the 14 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 Ashford Hospitality Trust

Ashford Hospitality Trust is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investing predominantly in upper upscale, full-service hotels.