Reviewing National Health Investors (NYSE:NHI) and Rayonier (NYSE:RYN)

National Health Investors (NYSE:NHI) and Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for National Health Investors and Rayonier, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
National Health Investors	0	3	4	0	2.57
Rayonier	0	2	0	0	2.00

National Health Investors currently has a consensus price target of $73.29, indicating a potential downside of 6.30%. Rayonier has a consensus price target of $33.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.63%. Given Rayonier’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Rayonier is more favorable than National Health Investors.

Profitability

This table compares National Health Investors and Rayonier’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
National Health Investors	38.53%	10.11%	5.12%
Rayonier	15.84%	2.95%	1.52%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

62.5% of National Health Investors shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.1% of Rayonier shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.3% of National Health Investors shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Rayonier shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares National Health Investors and Rayonier”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
National Health Investors	$328.89 million	10.80	$135.65 million	$2.91	26.88
Rayonier	$1.06 billion	4.24	$173.49 million	$1.06	28.40

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

Volatility & Risk

National Health Investors has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rayonier has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

National Health Investors pays an annual dividend of $3.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Rayonier pays an annual dividend of $1.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. National Health Investors pays out 123.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Rayonier pays out 107.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Summary

National Health Investors beats Rayonier on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About National Health Investors

Incorporated in 1991, National Health Investors, Inc. (NYSE:NHI) is a real estate investment trust specializing in sale, leasebacks, joint-ventures, senior housing operating partnerships, and mortgage and mezzanine financing of need-driven and discretionary senior housing and medical investments. NHI's portfolio consists of independent living, assisted living and memory care communities, entrance-fee retirement communities, skilled nursing facilities, and specialty hospitals.

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).