Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $73.00.

Several research analysts have issued reports on RIO shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. DZ Bank raised shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Clarkson Capital raised shares of Rio Tinto Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th.

Institutional Trading of Rio Tinto Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 74.8% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 493 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 63.9% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 500 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Pandora Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.33% of the company’s stock.

Rio Tinto Group Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE RIO opened at $61.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $59.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.95. The company has a market capitalization of $76.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.73. Rio Tinto Group has a 12 month low of $51.67 and a 12 month high of $72.66.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $2.23 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Rio Tinto Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77. Rio Tinto Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.15%.

About Rio Tinto Group

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.