Rayonier Advanced Materials (NYSE:RYAM) Shares Up 10% on Analyst Upgrade

Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. (NYSE:RYAM)’s share price traded up 10% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a strong sell rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as high as $9.66 and last traded at $9.64. 793,383 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 24% from the average session volume of 1,043,090 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.76.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on RYAM. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Rayonier Advanced Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials in a report on Friday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rayonier Advanced Materials

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Rayonier Advanced Materials by 754.4% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 7,963 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 7,031 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $76,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $86,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $138,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials during the 4th quarter worth $117,000. 68.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rayonier Advanced Materials Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $8.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82. The company has a market capitalization of $617.75 million, a PE ratio of -4.36 and a beta of 1.77.

Rayonier Advanced Materials (NYSE:RYAM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported ($0.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $376.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.00 million. Rayonier Advanced Materials had a negative return on equity of 46.18% and a negative net margin of 9.53%. As a group, analysts predict that Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. will post -1.16 EPS for the current year.

About Rayonier Advanced Materials

Rayonier Advanced Materials, Inc is a publicly traded specialty bioproducts company focused on the production of high-purity cellulose and engineered wood products. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, the company operates a network of manufacturing facilities across North America, New Zealand and Europe. Its cellulose specialties business produces dissolving pulps and high-purity fibers that serve a range of end markets, including food and beverage, personal care, pharmaceuticals and textiles.