Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE:RIO) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Rio Tinto PLC has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from nine brokerages, with four hold ratings, three buy ratings, and two strong buy ratings.
• The average one-year price target for Rio Tinto's stock is $73.00, indicating analysts' positive outlook on the company's performance.
• Recently, Fisher Asset Management increased its stake in Rio Tinto by 4.2%, reflecting growing institutional interest in the mining company.

Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE:RIO - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $73.00.

RIO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Rio Tinto from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Monday, July 14th.

Rio Tinto Price Performance

Shares of RIO traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $62.91. The stock had a trading volume of 1,965,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,925,269. Rio Tinto has a 12 month low of $51.67 and a 12 month high of $72.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.89 billion, a PE ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company's 50-day moving average is $60.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.37.

Rio Tinto Cuts Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rio Tinto

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RIO. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Rio Tinto during the 4th quarter worth approximately $419,000. MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 41,563 shares of the mining company's stock worth $2,444,000 after purchasing an additional 1,308 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,886 shares of the mining company's stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,010 shares of the mining company's stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 19.33% of the company's stock.

Rio Tinto 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.