Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,560,000 shares, a decrease of 11.5% from the January 31st total of 8,540,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,990,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Rio Tinto Group during the fourth quarter worth $270,000. Brucke Financial Inc. bought a new position in Rio Tinto Group during the fourth quarter worth about $272,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Rio Tinto Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. WNY Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 8,255 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 93.8% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 8,299 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 4,017 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.33% of the company’s stock.

Rio Tinto Group Price Performance

Shares of RIO opened at $63.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $79.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.65. Rio Tinto Group has a 1 year low of $57.85 and a 1 year high of $74.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $60.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $2.23 per share. This is a positive change from Rio Tinto Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a yield of 7%. Rio Tinto Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RIO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Clarkson Capital upgraded Rio Tinto Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

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.