The Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) share price is dipping lower during afternoon trade on Friday. This comes after the toll road operator announced that it has reached financial close of the remaining interest in WestConnex.

At the time of writing, Transurban shares are fetching for $13.435, down 1.79%.

Transurban completes WestConnex acquisition

In a statement to the ASX, Transurban advised that Sydney Transport Partners (STP) has completed the takeover of WestConnex.

The New South Wales Government offloaded the last of its 49% stake in the asset for an $11.1 billion price tag. Transurban secured the initial 51% interest in 2018 for $9.3 billion.

The acquisition will take STP’s total ownership interest in WestConnex to 100%. Transurban owns 50% of STP alongside other strategically aligned partners.

This brings the company to control most of the toll roads in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. However, there are fears that having a dominant position, Transurban can force motorists to pay high tolls.

Transurban owns all toll roads located in Sydney, except for the Harbour Bridge and the tunnel.

The deal was funded through a combination of existing corporate liquidity and new equity that was raised in September. Transurban received $4.22 billion through a capital raise with $3.97 billion from an accelerated pro rata renounceable entitlement offer.

Transurban CEO Scott Charlton touched on the Sydney’s WestConnex project nearing completion, saying:

We feel privileged to take Sydney Transport Partners’ holding in this critical asset – one of the largest road infrastructure projects in the world – to 100%. This transaction is expected to generate significant Free Cash for the life of the concession, underpinned by strong asset fundamentals and potential upside from future infrastructure development and economic growth across Greater Sydney.

Transurban share price summary

In the past 12 months, Transurban shares have moved in circles recording nil gains for investors. When looking at year-to-date returns, the same has been logged for the majority of 2021.

Transurban has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 172.41 and commands a market capitalisation of roughly $42.21 billion.

The post Transurban (ASX:TCL) share price edges lower amid completion of WestConnex acquisition appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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The Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) share price has run out of steam on Friday.

In afternoon trade, the banking giant’s shares are down almost 1% to $28.35.

Despite this, the ANZ share price is still up 23% since the start of the year.

Where next for the ANZ share price?

The good news is that one leading broker still believes the ANZ share price can rise further from here.

In response to the bank’s full year results on Thursday, the team at Goldman Sachs has retained their buy rating and lifted their price target on the company’s shares to $31.82.

Based on the current ANZ share price, this suggests there’s still 12.2% upside for investors before dividends.

And with Goldman expecting a $1.50 per share fully franked dividend in FY 2022, the total potential return stretches to approximately 17.5%.

What did the broker say about FY 2021?

Goldman Sachs was pleased with the bank’s performance during the second half of FY 2021. It notes that ANZ delivered a result well ahead of its expectations.

The broker said: “ANZ’s 2H21 cash earnings were up 37% on pcp to A$3,208 mn and 11% ahead of GSe, with the beat largely driven by a lower than expected BDD charge. 1H21 PPOP came in 6% higher than GSe, driven by higher trading income and a better-than-expected performance on NIMs, partially offset by higher expenses. The proposed final DPS of A72¢ implies a payout ratio of 63% (non-discounted DRP, to be neutralised) and 2H21 CET1 ratio of 12.3% (18.35% globally-harmonised) was 13 bp stronger than GSe.”

What about the future?

Goldman named a number of reasons why it remains bullish on the ANZ share price.

It explained: “Overall, we see today’s result as a positive and we maintain our Buy rating on ANZ given i) ANZ appears to be on track to reach its FY23 cost target of A$8 bn, which should alleviate some of its revenue pressures, ii) management notes capacity to drive better housing volumes has been expanded, and volume growth is evident across other parts of the balance sheet, iii) its Markets income has exhibited a positive divergence in trend versus peers, which ANZ attributes to a more diversified business that it expects can be sustained, iv) the stock is trading more than one standard deviation cheap versus the sector on PPOP multiples (27% discount vs. 11% 15-year average discount), and v) our 12-mo TP offers c. 17% TSR.”

This could make ANZ a share to consider if you’re looking for options in the banking sector.

The post Leading broker says ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price is a buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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. 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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The Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) share price is trending downwards. The negative price movement comes after the energy company released its first-quarter update for FY22.

At the time of writing, shares in Origin are trading for $5.05 – down 1.37%. For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is 0.66% lower.

Let’s take a closer look.

Why the Origin share price is dipping

In a statement to the ASX, Origin Energy gave an update on its trading and production levels.

• Australia Pacific Liquified Natural Gas (APLNG) production and sales volumes for the quarter were stable compared to the June quarter “despite planned downstream shutdown during the period”.
• APLNG commodity revenue increased 25% on the prior quarter and 69% on the corresponding 2020 quarter, primarily driven by higher realised oil prices.
• Electricity sales volumes were up 3% compared with the corresponding 2020 quarter. Retail volumes were “flat” with higher residential demand offset by lower usage due to solar and energy efficiency. However, natural gas sales were 7% lower.
• There was a 6% increase in business volumes due to net customer wins, which “more than offset” COVID-related losses, according to the company.

These mixed results aren’t impressing investors, at least judging by the falling Origin share price.

Management commentary

Origin CEO Frank Calabria said:

The rebound in global commodity prices drove a significant increase in revenue at Australia Pacific LNG for the quarter.

The announcement to sell a 10 per cent interest in Australia Pacific LNG represents an opportunity for Origin to crystalise some of the significant value we have created in this world-class asset, while retaining a substantial shareholding and our role as upstream operator.

In Energy Markets, our electricity volumes increased with net business customer wins and higher residential usage, offsetting lower demand from business and commercial customers due to a downturn in economic activity across many sectors.

Origin share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Origin share price has increased 25.8%. Year-to-date, the company’s shares appreciated only 4.7%.

Its 52-week high is $5.48 and its 52-week low is $3.87 per share.

Origin Energy has an approximate market capitalisation of $8.9 billion.

The post Origin (ASX:ORG) share price slides on mixed energy market sales appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Marc Sidarous has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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There are plenty of quality, high performing ASX shares.

Like online luxury goods retailer Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT). The Cettire share price tops the leader’s board of big gainers on the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) in 2021, up a remarkable 618% year-to-date.

With that said, ASX shares make up only some 2% of the total global share market. So it’s worth considering looking beyond our shores to potential opportunities overseas.

But don’t just take my word for it.

According to The Motley Fool’s own Scott Phillips:

Investing internationally delivers tremendous portfolio diversification benefits and brings a world of opportunities to your investment doorstep.

And indeed, while the diversification benefits are very important, I actually think they run second to the sheer investment opportunities that exist overseas. Some of the very best companies on this blue and green planet aren’t on the ASX – so why would we limit ourselves to just our home market?

With that in mind, we take a look at 3 small-cap international shares tipped during yesterday’s ‘Bell Asset Management – Global equities market update and outlook for 2022’ webinar.

Looking beyond ASX shares

Ned Bell, Bell Asset Management’s chief investment officer, spearheaded the webinar.

On the buy side for the asset manager, he named 3 international shares that have come off their highs to be trading within Bell Asset’s buy level. Namely: Amedisys Inc (NASDAQ: AMED), GN Store Nord A/S (CPH: GN) and Intertek Group plc (LON: ITRK).

According to Bell:

GN, Intertek and Amedisys… are 3 names that we’ve been watching. We’ve owned Intertek before… They’ve been a little bit too expensive. We’ve been waiting from some earnings uncertainty and volatility to give us a buying opportunity. And that’s exactly what’s happened.

Those 3 names have come off their highs. They’ve got down to our buy levels, and that’s what triggered the buy here…

What these stocks all have in common, Bell added, “is that we’ve been patient on getting into them. And we think, looking ahead to the next 12-24 months, you’re going to get some P/E [price to earnings ratio] re-ratings.”

If you’ve been focused primarily on ASX shares you may not be familiar with these names.

In a nutshell:

Amedisys is a US healthcare company with a market cap of approximately US$5.4 billion. Shares finished up 4% yesterday but remain down 40% over the past 6 months.

GN is a Danish manufacturer of hearing aids and headsets. The GN share price finished up 1% yesterday and is down 24% over the past 6 months.

Intertek is a London-based global quality assurance provider. Shares finished flat yesterday and are down 20% over the past 6 months.

The post Beyond ASX shares: Bell Asset tips three international shares as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Cettire Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cettire 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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