Rayonier upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Seaport Research

Seaport Research upgraded Rayonier to Buy from Neutral with a $32 price target. The company announced a target of $1B in asset sales over the next 18 months, pointing to a significant disparity between private and public timberland values, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm agrees, and says the proceeds from the divestitures will be used to reduce leverage, and “return meaningful capital to shareholders.” While Rayonier’s fundamentals have been challenging, the stock is down 24% year-to-date nd trades at a wide discount to net asset value, contends Seaport.