DZ Bank Upgrades Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) to Strong-Buy

Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) was upgraded by equities researchers at DZ Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Rio Tinto Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RIO opened at $60.99 on Thursday. 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 1 year low of $57.85 and a 1 year high of $74.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.48 billion, a PE ratio of 9.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $62.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.92.

Institutional Trading of Rio Tinto Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in Rio Tinto Group by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 8,113 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC raised its position in Rio Tinto Group by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,886 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 500 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Cohen Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,352 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.33% of the company’s stock.

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.