Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE:RIO) Receives $73.00 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE:RIO) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $73.00.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on RIO shares. Berenberg Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Rio Tinto from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Monday, July 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rio Tinto

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Rio Tinto by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 27,440 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,614,000 after buying an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rio Tinto by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 14,606 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $859,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rio Tinto in the 4th quarter worth about $1,391,000. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of Rio Tinto by 93.8% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 8,299 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 4,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WNY Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Rio Tinto by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 8,255 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. 19.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rio Tinto Stock Performance

NYSE:RIO opened at $63.66 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $61.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.36. Rio Tinto has a 1-year low of $51.67 and a 1-year high of $72.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $79.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87 and a beta of 0.66.

Rio Tinto Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 620.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Rio Tinto’s payout ratio is presently 45.74%.

About Rio Tinto

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.