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

Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the eleven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $73.00.

RIO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DZ Bank raised Rio Tinto Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th.

Institutional Trading of Rio Tinto Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its position 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 worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC raised its holdings in Rio Tinto Group by 6.0% during 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 during the period. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its holdings in Rio Tinto Group by 10.0% during 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 during the period. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Rio Tinto Group by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 4,810 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Rio Tinto Group by 0.4% during the first quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC now owns 44,385 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,767,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. 19.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rio Tinto Group Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Rio Tinto Group stock opened at $62.26 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $59.76 and a 200 day moving average of $60.97. Rio Tinto Group has a fifty-two week low of $51.67 and a fifty-two week high of $74.24. The company has a market capitalization of $78.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.63.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $2.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Rio Tinto Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77. This represents a dividend yield of 7%. Rio Tinto Group’s payout ratio is 69.15%.

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.