Rio Tinto Group (RIO) to Issue Semi-annual Dividend of $2.23 on April 17th

Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) announced a semi-annual dividend on Monday, February 24th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of 2.23 per share by the mining company on Thursday, April 17th. This represents a dividend yield of 7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Rio Tinto Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77.

Rio Tinto Group has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 14.1% per year over the last three years. Rio Tinto Group has a dividend payout ratio of 54.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Rio Tinto Group to earn $6.73 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 52.6%.

Rio Tinto Group Trading Down 1.0 %

RIO opened at $62.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.63, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.65. Rio Tinto Group has a one year low of $57.85 and a one year high of $74.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RIO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Rio Tinto Group from $83.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Rio Tinto Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

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.