Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) Receives $73.00 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $73.00.

A number of research firms have issued reports on RIO. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on 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 Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. Finally, Clarkson Capital raised Rio Tinto Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th.

Rio Tinto Group Stock Performance

RIO opened at $63.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $61.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Rio Tinto Group has a 12-month low of $57.85 and a 12-month high of $74.24.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $2.23 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 69.15%.

Institutional Trading of Rio Tinto Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 8,113 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,886 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 500 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.