Rio Tinto Group (LON:RIO) Earns “Buy” Rating from Bank of America

Bank of America reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Rio Tinto Group (LON:RIO) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a GBX 7,700 ($95.85) price target on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on RIO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an overweight rating on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Rio Tinto Group from GBX 6,100 ($75.94) to GBX 5,900 ($73.45) and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Berenberg Bank restated a buy rating and set a GBX 6,200 ($77.18) price objective on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a report on Monday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of GBX 6,351.25 ($79.06).

Rio Tinto Group Price Performance

Shares of LON RIO opened at GBX 5,380 ($66.97) on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of £67.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,095.72, a PEG ratio of -0.64 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 25.47, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.69. Rio Tinto Group has a one year low of GBX 4,509.50 ($56.14) and a one year high of GBX 5,910 ($73.57). The company’s fifty day moving average is GBX 5,115.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 5,313.98.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a GBX 203.77 ($2.54) dividend. This represents a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from Rio Tinto Group’s previous dividend of $137.67. Rio Tinto Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6,945.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Peter Cunningham sold 3,939 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 5,216 ($64.93), for a total transaction of £205,458.24 ($255,767.76). 14.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.