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

Shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $73.00.

RIO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd.

Rio Tinto Group Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:RIO opened at $61.04 on Tuesday. Rio Tinto Group has a 12 month low of $57.85 and a 12 month high of $74.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $60.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $76.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.65.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $2.23 dividend. 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’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RIO. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 49.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 820 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 693,102 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $49,328,000 after purchasing an additional 67,213 shares during the last quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 4,165 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,261 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 19.33% 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.