Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) Plans Semi-annual Dividend of $2.23

Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) announced a semi-annual dividend on Monday, February 24th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of 2.23 per share by the mining company on Thursday, April 17th. This represents a dividend yield of 7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Rio Tinto Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77.

Rio Tinto Group has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 14.1% per year over the last three years. Rio Tinto Group has a dividend payout ratio of 54.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Rio Tinto Group to earn $6.73 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.54 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 52.6%.

Rio Tinto Group Stock Down 1.0 %

RIO stock opened at $62.09 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $60.65 and a 200 day moving average of $62.93. The firm has a market cap of $77.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.65. Rio Tinto Group has a twelve month low of $57.85 and a twelve month high of $74.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on RIO shares. StockNews.com lowered Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Rio Tinto Group from $83.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

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.