Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) Declares $1.77 Semi-annual Dividend

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

Rio Tinto Group has increased its dividend by an average of 1.4% per year over the last three years. Rio Tinto Group has a dividend payout ratio of 72.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Rio Tinto Group to earn $7.64 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 67.5%.

Rio Tinto Group Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of RIO traded down $1.69 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $63.47. The stock had a trading volume of 2,954,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,701,281. The company’s fifty day moving average is $67.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Rio Tinto Group has a 52 week low of $58.27 and a 52 week high of $75.09.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RIO shares. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. HSBC raised shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.