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

Shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company.

A number of research firms have issued reports on RIO. Berenberg Bank upgraded Rio Tinto Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Rio Tinto Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Rio Tinto Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. HSBC upgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rio Tinto Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RIO. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 152,000 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $11,318,000 after buying an additional 5,837 shares during the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Rio Tinto Group during the fourth quarter worth about $263,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 9,463 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,958 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 31,448 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,342,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in Rio Tinto Group by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 36,257 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,700,000 after buying an additional 5,301 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 19.33% of the company’s stock.

Rio Tinto Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RIO opened at $69.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $64.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.11. Rio Tinto Group has a 1 year low of $59.35 and a 1 year high of $75.09.

Rio Tinto Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th.

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.