ASX mining share Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) will soon be paying out its dividend in September 2023. It could be an eventful month for the ASX iron ore share with everything that's going on.
Three weeks ago, the business went ex-dividend. That means new investors are no longer entitled to the company's FY23 half-year interim dividend.
Let's have a look at what could be interesting for investors in the next month or so.
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Dividend payment
Rio Tinto will pay its half-year dividend to shareholders on 21 September 2023, which is less than a month away.
The ASX mining share has told investors that the payment will be A$2.61 per share, which is a hefty amount and comes to a grossed-up dividend yield of 3.3% for this individual payment.
For investors that want to take part in the dividend reinvestment plan (DRP), where they get new shares instead of cash, the election date is 31 August 2023 at 5pm.
What else could happen in September?
For starters, it's the last month of Rio Tinto's FY23 third quarter, being the three months to September 2023. However, we won't get to hear about the actual operational numbers until a few weeks into October.
There could be a number of interesting developments in the important resources market of China. It's a major buyer of global commodities, particularly iron ore, so anything significant that happens there could affect the Rio Tinto share price.
As reported by the news organisation Reuters, Guangzhou recently became the first major Chinese city to announce an easing of mortgage curbs as the Chinese government looks to help the challenged property sector. It'll be fascinating to see if this helps the property market in that city.
If it does help, it could lead to the initiative being used in other Chinese cities in September (or later) which could help the iron ore price.
Reuters also reported that some Chinese banks are expected to reduce the interest rates on some existing mortgages. This is reportedly the first cut since the GFC.
If any of these things help the iron ore price (or copper), then this could also help the outlook for the business.
What is the Rio Tinto share price valuation?
According to Commsec, the business is valued at 11 times FY23's estimated earnings, with a possible annual dividend per share of $6.07. That potential payout would be a grossed-up dividend yield of 7.7%.
Over the past year, Rio Tinto shares have risen by around 18%. This is much better than the 4% rise for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).
