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 a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the nine brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $73.00.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on RIO shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Rio Tinto from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Monday, July 14th.

Institutional Trading of Rio Tinto

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RIO. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Rio Tinto in the fourth quarter worth $419,000. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Rio Tinto by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 41,563 shares of the mining company's stock worth $2,444,000 after acquiring an additional 1,308 shares during the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC grew its stake in shares of Rio Tinto by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,886 shares of the mining company's stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rio Tinto by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,010 shares of the mining company's stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Rio Tinto by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,603,037 shares of the mining company's stock worth $94,275,000 after acquiring an additional 255,151 shares during the last quarter. 19.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rio Tinto Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Rio Tinto stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $62.70. 1,997,284 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,746,539. 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 has a market cap of $78.63 billion, a PE ratio of 9.72 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $60.64 and a 200-day moving average of $60.34. Rio Tinto has a 12 month low of $51.67 and a 12 month high of $72.08.

Rio Tinto Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $1.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 620.0%. Rio Tinto's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.