Reviewing Boise Cascade (NYSE:BCC) & Rayonier (NYSE:RYN)

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Boise Cascade	4.00%	12.26%	7.64%
Rayonier	68.53%	3.39%	1.91%

Dividends

Boise Cascade pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Rayonier pays an annual dividend of $1.09 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Boise Cascade pays out 12.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Rayonier pays out 22.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Boise Cascade has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years.

Risk & Volatility

Boise Cascade has a beta of 1.28, suggesting that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rayonier has a beta of 1, suggesting that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

96.2% of Boise Cascade shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.1% of Rayonier shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Boise Cascade shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Rayonier shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Boise Cascade	$6.72 billion	0.48	$376.35 million	$6.81	12.76
Rayonier	$1.26 billion	3.18	$359.15 million	$4.95	5.26

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Boise Cascade and Rayonier, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Boise Cascade	0	3	4	0	2.57
Rayonier	0	3	1	0	2.25

Boise Cascade currently has a consensus target price of $112.83, indicating a potential upside of 29.82%. Rayonier has a consensus target price of $28.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.57%. Given Boise Cascade’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Boise Cascade is more favorable than Rayonier.

Summary

Boise Cascade beats Rayonier on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Boise Cascade

Boise Cascade Company engages in manufacture of wood products and distribution of building materials in the United States and Canada. It operates through two segments, Wood Products and Building Materials Distribution. The Wood Products segment manufactures laminated veneer lumber and laminated beams used in headers and beams; I-joists for residential and commercial flooring and roofing systems, and other structural applications; structural, appearance, and industrial plywood panels; and ponderosa pine shop lumber and appearance grade boards. The Building Materials Distribution segment distributes a line of building materials, including oriented strand boards, plywood, and lumber; general line items, such as siding, composite decking, doors, metal products, insulation, and roofing; and engineered wood products. It markets and sells its products to dealers, home improvement centers, wholesalers, specialty distributors, and industrial converters for use in the construction of new residential housing, repair-and-remodeling of existing housing, construction of light industrial and commercial buildings, and other industrial applications. Boise Cascade Company was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Boise, Idaho.

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).