Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $73.00.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on RIO. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Rio Tinto Group from $83.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Rio Tinto Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RIO opened at $61.04 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Rio Tinto Group has a fifty-two week low of $57.85 and a fifty-two week high of $74.24.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $2.23 per share. This is an increase from Rio Tinto Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77. This represents a yield of 7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Rio Tinto Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.15%.

Institutional Trading of Rio Tinto Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RIO. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Rio Tinto Group by 49.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 820 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 693,102 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $49,328,000 after acquiring an additional 67,213 shares in the last quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. grew its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 4,165 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,261 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Rio Tinto Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. 19.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.