Is it time to buy Rio Tinto shares?

Rio Tinto has been subject to close scrutiny of its shares in recent years. In recent months, it appears that the miner’s shares could be shifting - out of 16 analysts, seven rate it a “Buy”, five “Sell”, with four recommending “Hold”. This means that the shares have an overall positive valuation of 44 percent. Could it therefore be time to sell?

Analyst breakdown

• The firm has “Buy” rating by Argus Research given on Wednesday, March 30
• Societe Generale upgraded RIO in a report on Friday, October 2 to “Buy” rating
• The stock has “Neutral” rating given by Citigroup on Tuesday, June 7
• The firm has “Market Perform” rating by Cowen & Co given on Tuesday, May 3
• The firm has “Hold” rating given on Wednesday, August 5 by Liberum Capital
• The stock earned “Hold” rating by Jefferies on Tuesday, August 23
• The stock has “Neutral” rating given by Axiom Capital on Friday, August 21
• The rating was upgraded by JP Morgan on Monday, September 12 to “Overweight”
• The stock of Rio Tinto plc (ADR) (NYSE:RIO) has “Outperform” rating given on Friday, August 7 by Macquarie Research
• Cowen & Co on Thursday, on October 29, rated Rio Tinto “Market Perform”
   

About 5.16 million shares were traded, which represents an increase of 41.76 percent from the average. The company has a market cap of $77.57 billion. 

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SOURCE: [WhatsOnThorald]