Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) Announces Dividend Increase – $2.23 Per Share

Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) declared a semi-annual dividend on Tuesday, February 25th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid 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 by an average of 14.1% per year over the last three years. Rio Tinto Group has a 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 Stock Down 1.0 %

RIO stock traded down $0.65 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $62.09. The stock had a trading volume of 3,476,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,197,128. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $60.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $77.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.63, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.65. Rio Tinto Group has a 1-year low of $57.85 and a 1-year high of $74.24.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on RIO shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Rio Tinto Group from $83.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rio Tinto Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

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.