Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) shares are missing out on the good times today and are sinking deep into the red.
At the time of writing, the mining giant's shares are down almost 4% to $113.51.
This compares unfavourably to a gain of 0.55% by the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).
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Why are Rio Tinto shares sinking?
The good news is that today's decline is not because of a collapse in the iron ore price or a bad operational update.
In fact, today's decline could actually be classed as good news for shareholders. That's because the catalyst for it is Rio Tinto's shares going ex-dividend this morning for its latest dividend.
When a share goes ex-dividend, it means the right to an upcoming dividend have been settled and anyone buying shares from that date onwards will not be entitled to receive it on pay day.
And given that a dividend forms part of a company's valuation, investors don't want to pay for something they won't receive.
As a result, a company's share price will usually fall in line with the valuation on the ex-dividend date to reflect this.
The Rio Tinto dividend
At the end of last month, Rio Tinto released its half year results and reported underlying earnings of US$4.8 billion. This represented a 16% drop compared to the prior corresponding period.
Management revealed that its weaker result was due almost entirely to its Iron Ore operations, which posted a 24% decline in EBITDA to US$6.7 billion for the half. This reflects weaker iron ore prices and the impact of cyclones.
Unsurprisingly, given this profit weakness, the company's board was forced to cut its dividend.
It declared a fully franked interim dividend of US$1.48 (~A$2.26) per share, down 16% year on year. This was the smallest interim dividend that the miner has paid since back in 2018.
When is pay day?
Eligible shareholders can now look forward to being paid this dividend in a little over a month.
Rio Tinto has scheduled its pay day for 25 September 2025.
Based on yesterday's close price of $117.84, this dividend represents a 1.9% dividend yield.
Should you invest?
The broker community is largely neutral on Rio Tinto shares right now, with most analysts feeling that they are fairly valued.
Though, the team at Ord Minnett has broken from the rest and has a buy rating and $121.00 price target on its shares, offering potential upside of 6% before dividends.
