Rio Tinto Group (RIO) Competitors

Rio Tinto Group (LON:RIO) and BHP Group (LON:BHP) are both large-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, profitability, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, risk and institutional ownership.

Do analysts recommend RIO or BHP?

Rio Tinto Group currently has a consensus price target of GBX 5,516.67, indicating a potential upside of 8.36%. BHP Group has a consensus price target of GBX 1,986.67, indicating a potential downside of 4.53%. Given Rio Tinto Group's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Rio Tinto Group is more favorable than BHP Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rio Tinto Group	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
BHP Group	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.67

Does the media refer more to RIO or BHP?

In the previous week, Rio Tinto Group had 7 more articles in the media than BHP Group. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Rio Tinto Group and 4 mentions for BHP Group. Rio Tinto Group's average media sentiment score of 0.00 beat BHP Group's score of -0.22 indicating that Rio Tinto Group is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Rio Tinto Group	0 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
BHP Group	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is RIO or BHP more profitable?

Rio Tinto Group has a net margin of 19.84% compared to BHP Group's net margin of 14.09%. Rio Tinto Group's return on equity of 19.57% beat BHP Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rio Tinto Group	19.84%	19.57%	9.23%
BHP Group	14.09%	18.32%	13.98%

Is RIO or BHP a better dividend stock?

Rio Tinto Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 3.98 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.1%. BHP Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 1.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.1%. Rio Tinto Group pays out 63.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. BHP Group pays out 70.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Rio Tinto Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of RIO or BHP?

41.5% of Rio Tinto Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.2% of BHP Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Rio Tinto Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of BHP Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, RIO or BHP?

Rio Tinto Group has higher revenue and earnings than BHP Group. Rio Tinto Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BHP Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Rio Tinto Group	£53.73B	1.54	£13.82B	£6.28	810.80
BHP Group	£51.26B	2.06	£9.92B	£1.77	1,173.06

Which has more risk & volatility, RIO or BHP?

Rio Tinto Group has a beta of 0.59, meaning that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BHP Group has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Rio Tinto Group beats BHP Group on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.