With interest rates still at very low levels, it remains a difficult period for income investors. But never fear, the Australian share market is here to save the day with its plethora of dividend shares.

Two such dividend shares that could help you overcome low interest rates are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS)

The first ASX dividend share to look at is Healius. It is a healthcare company with a focus on diagnostic imaging, day hospitals, IVF, and pathology. The latter is the star of the show at the moment thanks to the incredible demand for COVID-19 testing. And with testing volumes likely to remain strong for some time to come, Healius looks well-placed to deliver another impressive result in FY 2022.

The team at Morgans expects this to be the case and believes it will lead to generous dividend payments. The broker has pencilled in fully franked dividends per share of 23 cents in FY 2022 and 19 cents in FY 2023. Based on the current Healius share price of $5.19, this will mean yields of 4.4% and 3.7%, respectively.

Morgans has an add rating and $5.79 price target on its shares.

Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL)

Another ASX dividend share that could be in the buy zone is Super Retail. It is the retail conglomerate behind the BCF, Macpac, Rebel, and Super Cheap Auto brands.

Thanks to the popularity of these brands, Super Retail has been growing at a solid rate in recent years. And while FY 2022 will be a difficult year due to lockdowns and the cycling of strong growth in FY 2021, the company has still been tipped to reward shareholders with generous dividends.

One of the brokers tipping this is Citi. It expects fully franked dividends per share of 67 cents in FY 2022 and then 64.5 cents in FY 2023. Based on the current Super Retail share price of $12.55, this will mean yields of 5.3% and 5.1%, respectively.

Citi also sees meaningful upside for the Super Retail share price. It has a buy rating and $16.00 price target on its shares.

The post 2 ASX dividend shares tipped as buys this month appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why these ASX 200 retail shares are in the government’s firing line
• 3 fantastic ASX shares to buy this month
• Why 4DS, Healius, Helloworld, and Humm shares are dropping today
• Why Afterpay, Healius, IDP Education, and Transurban shares are falling
• 2 excellent ASX 200 dividend shares to buy now

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 and has recommended Super Retail Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Super Retail Group 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 Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) share price finished 2021 in the green in a major recovery from its lows of 2020.

Shares in the energy company jumped from $4.76 to $5.24 during the year, up 10%. By comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gained around 13%.

Let’s take a look at how Origin Energy share price performed during the year.

Energy in focus

The Origin share price suffered in the early months of 2021 before staging a major comeback from the beginning of June. This followed energy shares, in general, having a poor year in 2020, with Origin falling nearly 45%.

Shares in Origin fell more than 14% in the first five months of the year. One major event that spurred the decline was the negative reaction to an update on the company’s earnings guidance in April.

The Origin share price sunk 13.83% in one week from its close on 15 April to 22 April 2021. Investors began selling off Origin shares after the company revealed the cost for gas supply would increase in both FY 2021 and FY 2022.

In June, the company’s share price saw a major turnaround, exploding 22.42% from $3.97 at the close of trade on 31 May to $4.86 on 10 June. This was despite no price sensitive news from the company.

However, Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) analysts released a broker note predicting the company’s negative earnings cycle was over. They lifted Origin’s price target to $4.88. In hindsight, the analysts were on the money about the pending recovery.

Shares in Origin also skyrocketed in late September. Between market close on 20 September and 25 October, the Origin share price charged from $4.30 to $5.38 — a 25% boost.

Driving the gains were major announcements including Origin executing a $2 billion deal with global energy investor EIG to sell a 10 per cent interest in Australia Pacific LNG.

Also contributing was positive investor reaction to the company’s annual general meeting, when the company released positive guidance for financial year 2022.

December continued to provide relief for Origin investors, with the company’s share price soaring more than 9% between market close on 30 November and 31 December.

During the final month of the year, the company revealed it would be acquiring community energy services business WINconnect. Also in December, the company announced ConocoPhillips had put into effect its pre-emption rights in Origin’s deal to sell its 10% interest in Australia Pacific LNG.

Origin Energy share price recap

The Origin share price gained roughly 3 percentage points less than the broader ASX 200 Index in 2021.

The company has a market capitalisation of nearly $9.6 billion based on its current share price.

In the past month, the company’s shares have gained nearly 12%, while they are up nearly 5% this week. At market close on Wednesday, shares in the company are swapping hands at $5.44, up 1.49%.

The post How did the Origin(ASX:ORG) share price perform in 2021? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Afterpay hits 52-week low, energy shares rise
• These were the 5 worst performing ASX hydrogen shares of 2021
• Origin (ASX:ORG) share price slips on $42 million acquisition
• Origin (ASX:ORG) share price shrugs off $2.21 billion APLNG sell-down
• The Origin (ASX:ORG) share price has only gained 1% so far this year. Is it a buy?

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 recommended Macquarie Group 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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Are you looking to make some additions to your portfolio in January? If exchange traded funds (ETFs) are of interest to you, then you might want to look at the three listed below.

Here’s what you need to know about them:

BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA)

The first ETF for investors to look at is the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF. It tracks the performance of the largest technology companies in Asia (excluding Japan). Among the ETF’s largest holdings are Alibaba, JD.com, Pinduoduo, Samsung, Taiwan Semiconductor, and Tencent Holdings. On balance, the companies in the fund are some of the fastest growing in the region and revolutionising the lives of billions of people. In light of this, they have been tipped to generate strong returns in the future.

BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK)

A second ETF for investors to look at in 2022 is the BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF. This fund provides investors with the opportunity to invest in the growing cybersecurity sector. This means you’ll be buying companies such as Accenture, Cisco, Cloudflare, Fortinet, Okta, Splunk, Zscaler, Crowdstrike. And given the growing threat of cyberattacks globally, these companies look well-placed to benefit from increasing demand for cybersecurity services.

Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS)

A final ETF for investors to look at is the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF. This ETF provides investors with exposure to ~1,500 of the world’s largest listed companies. This means that investors are able to use this fund to take part in the long term growth potential of international economies. Among the many companies that you’ll be investing in are giants such as Amazon, Apple, Johnson & Johnson, JP Morgan, Nestle, Procter & Gamble, and Visa.

The post 3 ASX ETFs for smart investors in 2022 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why 2021 was a stellar year for the Vanguard International Shares ETF (ASX:VGS)
• 2 of the best ETFs for diversification
• 3 high quality ETFs for ASX investors in January
• Here are 2 fantastic ETFs for ASX investors in 2022
• 2 exciting tech ETFs for ASX investors in 2022

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 and has recommended BETA CYBER ETF UNITS and Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended BETA CYBER ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF and Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF. 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 Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) share price sunk almost 10% on Wednesday despite no news being released from the company for more than a month.

At market close, the Pro Medicus share price was down 9.69% to $56.95 apiece.

It may be part of a wider trend, with the S&P/ASX Health Care Index (SX: XHJ) the second-worst performing sector today behind the IT index.

Let’s take a look at what’s been going on with the company lately.

Pro Medicus down to start 2022

The last time we heard from the medical imaging provider was on 1 December 2021 when it gave notice of one of its directors buying ordinary shares in the company.

Before that, on 23 November, the company released the results of voting on several resolutions at its AGM.

Since then, the Pro Medicus share price has dropped by 4.61%.

The company also saw a small dip in its share price back in early October, despite releasing news of a contract win with prominent US healthcare provider Novant Health.

Pro Medicus CEO Dr Sam Hupert said the deal was significant for the company, as it was the largest in its history.

It was also the company’s seventh major contract in North America in less than 18 months.

Other healthcare shares seeing red today

However, it was not just Pro Medicus seeing a decline today. Biotech company Imugene Ltd (ASX: IMU) was down 8.24% at market close today, falling from its 8% jump yesterday.

Yesterday’s surge coincided with news of its B-cell immunotherapy drug, PD1-Vaxx, commencing a trial in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) was also down 1.82% today, at $290.60 apiece.

The biotech giant hasn’t released any news so far in 2022, however, new COVID-19 variants and ongoing restrictions may have affected its share price.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. Both CSL and Imugene made the list of the best performing biotech ASX shares of 2021.

Pro Medicus share price snapshot

Despite today’s news, the Pro Medicus share price has risen by more than 67% in the last 12 month period.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $6 billion and a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 192.

The post Why did Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) and 2 other ASX 200 healthcare shares fall today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Afterpay, Kogan, Premier Investments, and Pro Medicus shares are dropping
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Afterpay hits 52-week low, energy shares rise
• Why is the Imugene (ASX:IMU) share price up 8% today?
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy
• Here are the 5 best performing ASX biotech shares of 2021

Motley Fool contributor Alice de Bruin has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended CSL Ltd. and Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Pro Medicus 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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