One of the blockbuster reports this earnings season was from the 'big dog' of the ASX, BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP). But BHP's fellow ASX 200 miner Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO)? Not so much.
BHP revealed its full-year results for FY22 back on 16 August, and they certainly caused quite a stir. The BHP share price leapt more than 4% that day and was almost 10% higher by the end of last week. The savage selling we have seen over this week has brought the mining giant back to earth somewhat, but we can still come to the conclusion that investors loved what the miner had to say.
No doubt this was assisted by BHP's dividend announcement. The Big Australian declared a final dividend of US$1.75 per share. That's 12.5% lower than the monstrous final dividend of US$2 per share that we saw last year, but it still makes BHP's previous payouts before that pale in comparison.
But how does this stack up against Rio Tinto, BHP's largest mining rival on the ASX? Rio was one of the first ASX 200 shares out of the gate this reporting season, delivering its half-year results back on 27 July.
So what did Rio have to say in the dividend department last month?
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How do Rio's dividends stack up against BHP?
Well, this might be the reason why investors were talking about the BHP dividend, and not Rio's.
Rio Tinto announced an interim dividend of US$2.67 per share. Unlike last year, the company did not declare a special dividend to go along with it. This dividend represents a nasty 24.7% drop from last year's payout, or around 50% if you include the special dividends.
So where does this leave the Rio Tinto dividend today compared to BHP?
Well, If we take Rio's last final dividend and special dividend with this latest interim dividend, we get a total of $10.47 per share in dividend payouts. This works out to represent a dividend yield of 11.05% on current pricing. That's 10.14% without including the special dividend.
In contrast, BHP's last two dividends (including the latest final dividend) give the miner a dividend yield of 11.34% at current pricing.
So in terms of raw yield, BHP shares are pipping BHP at the present share pricing. But take this with a grain of salt, given the number of moving parts here. It can be fairly concluded that both of these mining giants have a lot to offer investors when it comes to dividend income right now.
