Rio Tinto Group to Issue Semi-annual Dividend of $1.77 (NYSE:RIO)

Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) announced a semi-annual dividend on Thursday, August 1st, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of 1.77 per share by the mining company on Thursday, September 26th. This represents a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th.

Rio Tinto Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 1.4% annually over the last three years. Rio Tinto Group has a dividend payout ratio of 49.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Rio Tinto Group to earn $7.44 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.54 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 47.6%.

Rio Tinto Group Trading Down 2.1 %

RIO opened at $62.44 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $65.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.58. Rio Tinto Group has a 1 year low of $58.27 and a 1 year high of $75.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. HSBC raised Rio Tinto Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com raised Rio Tinto Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Berenberg Bank downgraded Rio Tinto Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Rio Tinto Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.