Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) Lifted to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Liberum Capital reiterated a hold rating on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Rio Tinto Group in a report on Friday, January 12th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $72.00.

Rio Tinto Group Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE RIO opened at $66.69 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $64.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.69. Rio Tinto Group has a 1 year low of $58.27 and a 1 year high of $75.09.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $2.58 dividend. This is a boost from Rio Tinto Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 6.6%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rio Tinto Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,838,524 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,849,476,000 after buying an additional 1,644,751 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,045,541 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,194,751,000 after buying an additional 475,329 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 58.9% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 12,899,694 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,037,135,000 after buying an additional 4,783,488 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,484,992 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $682,195,000 after buying an additional 344,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,707,717 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $424,997,000 after buying an additional 2,053,147 shares in the last quarter. 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.