If you’re wanting to invest in the small side of the Australian share market, then the two small caps listed below could be worth a closer look.

They are growing quickly and could have very bright futures ahead of them.

Here’s why these small cap ASX shares could be worth adding to your watchlist:

BlueBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: BBT)

The first small cap ASX share to watch is BlueBet. It is a mobile-first online wagering provider. It allows users to bet on all Australian and international racing and sports through its website and app. BlueBet has been growing very strongly thanks to the increasing popularity of mobile sports betting.

This led to the company doubling its customer numbers over the last 12 months, which has underpinned strong wagering turnover growth.

The good news is that the company is only really getting started. And positively, management appears confident it is well positioned to substantially grow its current ~1.2% share of the market in Australia. It has also been making inroads into the massive US market which is just beginning to open up.

Damstra Holdings Ltd (ASX: DTC)

Another small cap ASX share to watch is Damstra. It is a growing integrated workplace management solutions provider which provides a cloud-based workplace management platform that is used by businesses globally.

Damstra’s platform allows users to track, manage, and protect their workers and assets. Demand has been growing strongly in recent years and has continued in FY 2021.

For example, last week the company released its full year results and revealed a 63% increase in annual recurring revenue (ARR) to $34.5 million. This was driven by a 74% increase in user numbers to 737,000.

And while no guidance was given for the year ahead, management spoke positively about the future. It notes that it has multiple growth options that are being driven via tailored strategies and routes to market.

The post 2 growing small cap ASX shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Damstra Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Damstra Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BlueBet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) share price has moved mostly sideways since the beginning of the year, down 10%.

Undoubtedly, COVID-19 has weighed heavily on oil prices as the world attempts to restart the economy.

Woodside deals in the energy industry, supplying oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) to its customers. The spot price of oil and LNG contracts heavily affects the company’s share price.

At one point in 2020, the spot price of oil went into negative territory, a first in the history books. However, the commodity has since somewhat recovered.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is currently fetching US$68.41 per barrel, up 1.47% for today. In addition, its more expensive brother, Brent crude, is trading for $72.11, up 1.46%.

WTI is sourced from oil fields in the United States and is lighter due to its low density and low sulphur content. Brent crude on the other hand is sourced from the North Sea between the Shetland Islands and Norway, and is popular to refine into diesel fuel and gasoline.

What would have happened to your Woodside investment in 10 years?

If you had invested $1,000 in Woodside shares in 2011, you would have bought them for around $35.48 each. This would have given you approximately 28 shares.

Looking at today’s closing price, Woodside shares are trading at $20.28. This means those 28 shares would now be worth a paltry $567.84 (28 shares x $20.28). When considering percentage terms, this implies a decline of around 43%, or a yearly average loss of 5.50%.

This is a mammoth fall, particularly considering the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has headed the other way with an average of 5.96% per annum over the last 10 years.

Are Woodside shares a buy?

Since the release of Woodside’s FY21 half-year result, a few brokers have weighed in on the company’s share price.

Swiss investment firm UBS cut its price target for Woodside shares by 5% to $24.80. Citi followed suit to also reduce its rating by 11% to $21.55. The most recent broker note came from Macquarie, which has initiated a bullish price of $27.60 for the energy producer’s shares.

Based on the current Woodside share price, Macquarie’s 12-month price target implies an upside of roughly 36%.

Over the past 12 months, Woodside shares have failed to make any significant movements, up 8%. Year-to-date, however, the company’s shares are down about 3%.

Woodside commands a market capitalisation of roughly $21.2 billion, with 963 million shares on its registry.

The post If you invested $1,000 in Woodside (ASX:WPL) shares a decade ago, here’s what it would be worth now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• It hasn’t been a great month so far for the Woodside (ASX:WPL) share price
• Energy sector leading the ASX 200 shares on Tuesday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras owns shares of Woodside Petroleum Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Are you interested in adding some ASX growth shares to your portfolio in September? If you are, you may want to look at the ones listed below that have recently been named as buys.

Here’s what you need to know about them:

Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG)

The first ASX growth share to look at is Breville. It is the leading appliance manufacturer behind a number of popular brands. Breville was on form again in FY 2021 and recently reported a 24.7% increase in revenue to $1,187.7 million and a 39.6% jump in earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to $136.4 million. The latter was ahead of management’s upgraded EBIT guidance of $136 million.

In response to its results, UBS retained its buy rating and $35.70 price target on its shares. It appears confident its solid growth can continue for some time to come.

IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL)

Another ASX growth share to look at is IDP Education. It is a provider of international student placement services and English language testing services. For obvious reasons, the company’s operations have been hit hard by the pandemic. However, its language testing business has been particularly resilient and appears exceptionally well-positioned for growth over the long term thanks to market share gains and acquisitions.

Goldman Sachs is very positive on the company’s prospects. Last week it put a buy rating and $34.00 price target on its shares. Goldman is forecasting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of a 69% for its earnings over the next three years.

Nitro Software Ltd (ASX: NTO)

A final growth share to look at is Nitro Software. It is a software company that is aiming to drive digital transformation in organisations around the world. Its key solution is the Nitro Productivity Suite, which provides integrated PDF productivity and electronic signature tools to customers. Demand has been growing rapidly in recent years and has continued in FY 2021. For example, Nitro has just released its half year results and reported a 56% increase in annual recurring revenue (ARR) to $33.8 million.

Morgan Stanley was pleased with its half year results. In response, the broker retained overweight rating and $3.70 price target on Nitro’s shares.

The post 3 excellent ASX growth shares to buy in September appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• IDP Education (ASX:IEL) share price tipped by broker to jump 17%
• Here are the 3 heaviest trading ASX 200 shares this Thursday
• IDP Education (ASX:IEL) share price higher despite 36% FY21 profit decline
• 2 rapidly growing ASX shares rated as buys
• Nitro Software (ASX:NTO) share price flat after 1H21 results

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Idp Education Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nitro Software Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price has finished the trading week with more of a fizzle than a bang.

Afterpay shares slid well into the red in the latter part of the week after the buy now, pay later (BNPL) company reported its FY21 earnings on Wednesday.

At the market close today, the Afterpay share price was trading down 1.71% at $130.16. This was just 0.5% higher than last Friday’s closing price.

The main takeaway from the company’s FY21 report included a 13% decrease in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and a statutory after-tax loss of around $160 million.

This was despite a 90% year on year growth in sales revenue and almost 80% gain in total income.

What did Afterpay’s co-CEO say?

Afterpay co-founder/CEO Nick Molnar defended the statutory loss on Bloomberg TV on Wednesday, saying many non-cash items were essentially one-offs. This included the revaluation of the company’s minority interest in a UK entity.

Molnar added that it was unsurprising to see a minor slowdown in customer growth in Australia versus other markets, given the company’s maturity in the ANZ market in FY21. In contrast, Afterpay saw more than 100% customer growth in its US segment over the past 12 months.

Moreover, he said Afterpay continued to see “top-line” revenue growth as “frequency does continue to accelerate” in the Australian market, in addition to its other segments.

What about the Square Inc deal?

Regarding Square Inc’s impending acquisition of Afterpay, Molnar said the focus was to “align values and principles”, with Square starting from the same fundamentals as Afterpay.

The BNPL company’s top executive said the prospects were “really exciting”. This included the ability to “leverage millions of retailers” (Square’s sellers) and more than 70 million users on Square’s cash app, to accelerate its growth in North America and the globe.

However, Molnar added that Afterpay’s push was as much of a marketing play as it was in retail, as the company sent “over a million leads a day” to its retail partners over the last year.

According to Molnar, this differentiated the company as not just a “payments infrastructure” provider. It was also a “marketing engine” to the hard to reach Millennial and Gen Z consumers.

Afterpay share price snapshot

The Afterpay share price has had a choppy year to date, posting a gain of 10% since January 1. Despite this, Afterpay shares have climbed 43% into the green over the last 12 months.

This result has outpaced the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO)’s return of around 23% over the last year.

The post Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price slips as CEO spruiks company’s new direction appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How does Afterpay (ASX:APT) earnings result compare to Zip?
• ASX 200 rises, WiseTech soars, Zip drops
• Got Afterpay (ASX:APT) shares? Here’s what to look out for in FY22
• How does the Afterpay (ASX:APT) result compare with broker expectations?
• ASX 200 midday update: WiseTech rockets, Afterpay & Zip report

The author Zach Bristow has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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