Analysts Set Rio Tinto Group (LON:RIO) PT at GBX 6,351.25

Shares of Rio Tinto Group (LON:RIO) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is GBX 6,351.25 ($79.78).

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 7,700 ($96.72) price target on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Berenberg Bank reissued a “buy” rating and set a GBX 5,900 ($74.11) target price on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Rio Tinto Group from GBX 6,630 ($83.28) to GBX 6,610 ($83.03) and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 6,000 ($75.37) price objective on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Rio Tinto Group from GBX 6,100 ($76.62) to GBX 5,900 ($74.11) and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rio Tinto Group

In other news, insider Peter Cunningham sold 3,939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 5,216 ($65.52), for a total transaction of £205,458.24 ($258,080.94). Company insiders own 14.66% of the company’s stock.

Rio Tinto Group Stock Performance

Rio Tinto Group stock opened at GBX 5,467 ($68.67) on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 25.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average of GBX 5,141.21 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 5,340.97. The stock has a market cap of £68.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,113.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.64 and a beta of 0.65. Rio Tinto Group has a 52 week low of GBX 4,509.50 ($56.64) and a 52 week high of GBX 5,910 ($74.24).

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a dividend of GBX 203.77 ($2.56) per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a yield of 3.9%. This is an increase from Rio Tinto Group’s previous dividend of $137.67. Rio Tinto Group’s payout ratio is currently 6,945.01%.

Rio Tinto Group 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.