Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) Downgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on RIO. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a research report on Friday, January 12th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. Liberum Capital restated a hold rating on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Rio Tinto Group Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:RIO opened at $66.50 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $65.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.90. Rio Tinto Group has a fifty-two week low of $58.27 and a fifty-two week high of $75.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be paid a $2.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 6.6%. This is a boost from Rio Tinto Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rio Tinto Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,838,524 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,849,476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,644,751 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,045,541 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,194,751,000 after purchasing an additional 475,329 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 58.9% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 12,899,694 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,037,135,000 after purchasing an additional 4,783,488 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 4.2% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,484,992 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $682,195,000 after acquiring an additional 344,145 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,707,717 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $424,997,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053,147 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.