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

Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) announced a semi-annual dividend on Wednesday, July 31st, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 Price Performance

Shares of RIO traded down $1.68 on Thursday, reaching $63.48. 3,489,219 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,702,939. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.69. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.00. Rio Tinto Group has a 52-week low of $58.27 and a 52-week high of $75.09.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup downgraded Rio Tinto Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Hsbc Global Res raised Rio Tinto Group to a “strong-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 research report on Tuesday, May 21st. HSBC raised Rio Tinto Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded Rio Tinto Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.