Rio Tinto Group (LON:RIO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Rio Tinto Group (LON:RIO) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is GBX 6,351.25 ($79.79).

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Rio Tinto Group from GBX 6,630 ($83.29) to GBX 6,610 ($83.04) and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 7,700 ($96.73) target price on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a GBX 5,900 ($74.12) price target on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Rio Tinto Group from GBX 6,100 ($76.63) to GBX 5,900 ($74.12) and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 6,000 ($75.38) price objective on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a report on Thursday, April 18th.

Rio Tinto Group Price Performance

RIO stock opened at GBX 5,580 ($70.10) on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of £69.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,113.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.64 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is GBX 5,149.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 5,347.08. Rio Tinto Group has a 52-week low of GBX 4,509.50 ($56.65) and a 52-week high of GBX 5,910 ($74.25). The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 25.47.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a GBX 203.77 ($2.56) dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from Rio Tinto Group’s previous dividend of $137.67. Rio Tinto Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6,945.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Peter Cunningham sold 3,939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 5,216 ($65.53), for a total value of £205,458.24 ($258,113.37). Corporate insiders own 14.66% of the company’s stock.

Rio Tinto Group Company Profile

Rio Tinto Group engages in exploring, mining, and processing mineral resources worldwide. The company operates through Iron Ore, Aluminium, Copper, and Minerals Segments. The Iron Ore segment engages in the iron ore mining, and salt and gypsum production in Western Australia. The Aluminum segment is involved in bauxite mining; alumina refining; and aluminium smelting.