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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on RIO. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Rio Tinto Group from $83.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Rio Tinto Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Rio Tinto Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.00.

Rio Tinto Group Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE RIO traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $58.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,170,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,287,890. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $60.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.46. Rio Tinto Group has a twelve month low of $51.67 and a twelve month high of $74.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.66.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $2.23 dividend. This is a boost from Rio Tinto Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 7%. Rio Tinto Group's payout ratio is presently 69.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,604,463 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $1,035,319,000 after purchasing an additional 76,368 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,115,476 shares of the mining company's stock worth $300,841,000 after purchasing an additional 70,131 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,721,690 shares of the mining company's stock worth $101,253,000 after purchasing an additional 339,924 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,603,037 shares of the mining company's stock worth $94,275,000 after purchasing an additional 255,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 143,872.8% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,264,081 shares of the mining company's stock worth $74,341,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263,203 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.