Comparing Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) and Rayonier (NYSE:RYN)

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) and Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance and Rayonier’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance	-35.84%	9.11%	2.01%
Rayonier	15.84%	2.95%	1.52%

Risk and Volatility

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a beta of 1.75, suggesting that its share price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rayonier has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance and Rayonier, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance	1	4	0	0	1.80
Rayonier	0	2	0	0	2.00

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance currently has a consensus price target of $9.63, indicating a potential upside of 4.05%. Rayonier has a consensus price target of $33.00, indicating a potential upside of 3.55%. Given Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance is more favorable than Rayonier.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

54.4% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.1% of Rayonier shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Rayonier shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance and Rayonier”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance	$344.59 million	3.71	$58.13 million	($0.92)	-10.05
Rayonier	$1.06 billion	4.49	$173.49 million	$1.06	30.07

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

Dividends

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.8%. Rayonier pays an annual dividend of $1.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance pays out -108.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. 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. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Rayonier beats Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates, acquires, invests in, and manages commercial first mortgage loans, subordinate financings, and other commercial real estate-related debt investments in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. It is qualified as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code. As a REIT, it would not be subject to federal income taxes, if the company distributes at least 90% of its REIT taxable income to its stockholders. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is based in New York, New York.

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).