Day: 23 March 2022

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Don’t look now, but Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) is heating up again. The world’s second-most valuable cryptocurrency broke above $3,000 on Tuesday, something it hasn’t done in nearly three weeks. Ethereum is still down nearly 40% from its mid-November peak, but momentum is on its side again. 

Two months ago I asked if Ethereum could break through the $5,000 ceiling. The digital currency hit an all-time high just below $4,900 late last year, and it was naturally a new milestone to conquer. It didn’t happen, so it’s probably a good time to reset expectations with a more realistic round target. Can Ethereum reach $4,000 this year? It may not seem like a very ambitious goal, but it would represent a better than 30% gain from current levels. Let’s size up Ethereum’s chances of hitting the $4,000 mark in 2022.

It’s a gas  

Long before car drivers started complaining about the pain at the pump, Ethereum traders had valid concerns about the high gas fees to move the crypto around. Ethereum raised the bar when it comes to blockchain technology, pioneering smart contracts. It continues to be a leader in the realm of smart contracts that power non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces, financial services, and gaming apps. It currently accounts for 55% of total value locked (TVL), essentially the assets currently in use across all decentralized finance apps.

Ethereum’s share of the market has contracted over the past year as more efficient protocols have become available, but there is good news in terms of transaction costs. Crypto market tracker Arcane Research reported earlier this month that transaction fees on an Ethereum token swap were at a six-month low. 

The popular crypto has a long way to go to close the gap with more nimble options, but it appears to finally be on track with the migration of its platform to Ethereum 2.0. The process itself isn’t likely to be completed until next year, but the next critical phase — the one that will allow full staking — could be just three months away.

Ethereum’s shift to proof of stake is important on many different levels. It will help make Ethereum cheaper, easier, and more efficient to use. It will also help silence some of the environmentalist concerns that its current proof-of-work approach isn’t eco-friendly. There will still be hurdles to clear in lowering costs and gas fees to make it a leader on those fronts, but it will make it easier for Ethereum to start gaining market share when it comes to TVL instead of just gradually losing its grip on the tug-of-war rope. 

Delays have been par for the course for the Ethereum migration, so it’s understandable why traders are nervous. If the migration to Ethereum 2.0 continues to get bumped deeper into the calendar it’s going to mean more market share — and possibly mindshare — going to other digital denominations. The whole crypto market has been vulnerable, particularly in light of different countries including the U.S. ramping up their efforts when it comes to regulation.  

The good news is that brand awareness of crypto as an alternative asset class is gaining traction worldwide. Rising inflation and political instability may also be stirring interest in crypto as an alternative to official country currencies. Ethereum hitting $4,000 in the coming months is more than possible, even if bears will point out that the same volatility that makes the higher milestone feasible also makes $2,000 possible as the next big round-number milestone. 

It’s easier to be optimistic, especially with a clear roadmap for Ethereum to get better as a tool in the growing universe of decentralized finance. Sentiment is turning bullish, and Ethereum at $4,000 later this year shouldn’t take anyone by surprise.  

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Can Ethereum reach $4,000? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Bitcoin, Ethereum, and crypto stocks are soaring
• Why this expert says the Ethereum price will triple in 2022
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Rick Munarriz owns Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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A handful of ASX dividend shares are building a reputation for consistent growth of the dividend.

During the first year of COVID-19, there were plenty of ASX shares that cut their dividends, including names like Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL).

But these two ASX dividend shares are proud of the income growth they are providing for investors:

Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW)

Brickworks is a leading building products business. It’s the market-leading brickmaker in Australia and in certain areas of the US. The company also sells plenty of other building products in Australia including roofing, precast, masonry and so on.

However, the company points to two other divisions that fund the dividend – its shareholding of investment conglomerate Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) as well as the 50% it owns of the industrial property trust with Goodman Group (ASX: GMG).

The investment house has a diversified portfolio with many different assets in it, including resources, agriculture, financial services, swimming schools and so on. There are a few investments that account for a significant part of the portfolio including TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG), Brickworks and New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC).

Soul Pattinson provides a growing stream of dividends to Brickworks. Its underlying asset value is climbing over the long term as well.

The industrial property trust, which builds quality properties on excess Brickworks land, is seeing accelerating demand due to online shopping. According to Brickworks, there is an increasing importance of well-located distribution hubs and sophisticated supply chain solutions.

In order to meet the strong customer demand, development activity within the property trust has continued at a fast pace. It’s expecting substantial rental profit and valuation gains from the completion of the planned properties, which can help the ASX dividend share.

Brickworks plans to release another 75 hectares of land into the trust, extending the development pipeline.

The trailing grossed-up dividend yield is 4% at the current Brickworks share price. Brickworks hasn’t cut its dividend for over 40 years.

It’s currently rated as a buy by the broker Citi, with a price target of $25.

Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX: CLW)

This ASX dividend share is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns a diversified portfolio of properties across several sectors including agri-logistics, hospitality, convenience retail, diversified long weighted average lease expiry (WALE), industrial and logistics, office and social infrastructure.

It has designed the portfolio to generate rental growth from government, multinational and national blue-chip tenants within resilient industries.

The thing that all of Charter Hall Long WALE REIT’s properties have in common is the long WALE, meaning that it provides a high level of income visibility and stability for investors. In the FY22 half-year result, it reported a WALE of 12.2 years.

The REIT notes that it has a track record of delivering attractive distribution growth. In FY22, it expects its distribution will be at least 4.5% bigger than what was paid in FY21.

It is experiencing organic revenue growth. Part of that is thanks to the 46% of lease rent reviews being CPI-linked, with a 3.3% weighted average increase.

The ASX dividend share’s net tangible assets (NTA) was $5.89 at 31 December 2021, up 12.8% from 30 June 2021. The current Charter Hall Long WALE REIT share price is at an approximate 10% discount to its NTA.

It’s expecting to pay a distribution of at least 30.5 cents per security in FY22, which translates into a forward yield of at least 5.8%. It has grown its distribution every year since listing several years ago.

It’s currently rated as a buy by Citi, with a price target of $5.71.

The post 2 ASX dividend shares for long-term income potential: Experts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Brickworks and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Brickworks and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended TPG Telecom 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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It has been another positive day for the Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) share price.

In afternoon trade, the lithium developer’s shares are up a further 19% to a multi-year high of 22 cents.

This means the Sayona share price is now up an impressive 55% since the start of the year.

Why is the Sayona share price racing higher?

There have been a couple of potential catalysts for the rampant rise by the Sayona share price this year.

One is the recent announcement relating to the company’s North American Lithium (NAL) and Authier projects. That release revealed that the two projects now have a combined measured, indicated, and inferred mineral resource of 119.1 million tonnes at 1.05% lithium oxide.

This represents the doubling of its mineral resource from management’s previous estimates.

What else?

Another potential catalyst for the rise in the Sayona share price is its inclusion on the All Ordinaries and ASX 300 indices.

Its shares were included on both indices at the start of the week following the quarterly rebalance.

When a share is included on an index it can lead to increased buying. This is because index funds have to buy shares to reflect the changes and some fund managers have strict investment mandates stating that they can only buy shares if they trade on certain indices. This could mean some fund managers have finally been able to pick up Sayona shares this week.

Shareholders will no doubt be hoping the buying frenzy continues.

The post Why is the Sayona (ASX:SYA) share price rocketing 19% higher? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Surging again: Why has the Sayona (ASX:SYA) share price rallied 46% in a month?
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• Sayona (ASX:SYA) share price lights up 18% as lithium resource doubles
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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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A message from our CIO, Scott Phillips:

“G’day Fools. If you’re like us, you’re dismayed by the events taking place in Ukraine. It is an unnecessary humanitarian tragedy. Times like these remind us that money is important, but other things are far more valuable. And yet the financial markets remain open, shares are trading, and our readers and members are looking to us for guidance. So we’ll do our best to continue to serve you, while also hoping for a swift and peaceful end to war in Ukraine.”

Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) is under pressure from a shareholder advocacy group to suspend one key joint venture.

The company’s shares are trading at $6.105 at the time of writing, up 1.08%.

Let’s take a look at what Origin is being called to do.

Renewed demands

Origin is facing calls from the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility​ (ACCR) to suspend a joint venture with Falcon Oil and Gas in the Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory. Falcon Oil and Gas holds a 22.5% stake in the project.

The group claims Russian billionaire Viktor Vekelsberg owns 16% of Falcon Oil and Gas. This is via a subsidiary company Lamesa Group Holding SA.

Vekelsberg received a formal sanction from the Australian government on 17 March.

ACCR climate and environment director Dan Gocher said:

Origin Energy should suspend its joint venture with Falcon Oil and Gas until Viktor Vekselberg’s interest in Falcon is quarantined. Origin must ensure that Vekselberg does not benefit from any successful exploration in the Beetaloo Basin.

In response, Origin has stated it will continue to have “control over all activities” given the company is the majority operator of the project, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

In a statement, Origin said:

Neither Lamesa Holdings, nor Mr Vekselberg, are a party to the Beetaloo Basin joint venture. They have no role in, involvement or dealings with, Origin on the Beetaloo Basin joint venture.

Origin reiterates that it is appalled by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and will comply with all Australian rules and laws.

Share price snapshot

The Origin Energy share price has surged 27% so far this year, while it is up more than 16% year to date.

For perspective, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained 9% in the past 12 months.

Origin Energy has a market capitalisation of about $10.6 billion based on its current share price.

The post Own Origin (ASX:ORG) shares? Why a shareholder advocacy group is demanding immediate suspension of this joint venture appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why this broker says buy Origin (ASX:ORG) shares instead of AGL
• Could Origin Energy (ASX:ORG) shares be next on the investment agenda for Mike Cannon-Brookes?
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Origin’s $250m buyback, Nickel Mines smashed
• Origin (ASX:ORG) share price higher on $250m buyback and refreshed strategy
• Own Origin (ASX:ORG) shares? The company is facing pressure over Russian interests in its projects

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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is enjoying another decent day of green today. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is up by a solid 0.5% at just under 7,380 points.

But let’s dig deeper into these gains and take a look at the ASX 200 shares that are currently at the top of the market’s share trading volume charts, according to investing.com.

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume on Wednesday

Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX: NIC)

Nickel miner Nickel Mines is our first cab off the rank today. The ASX 200 miner has had a hefty 15.76 million of its shares trade owners thus far this Wednesday. With no developments out of the company itself, it’s probable that this elevated volume comes down to the movements of the Nickel Mines share price itself. The company is currently up a pleasing 3.88% at $1.34 a share. Nickel Mines has now put on an impressive 8.7% over the past 5 trading days alone, although it remains down more than 8% in 2022 so far.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

ASX 200 lithium producer Pilbara is next up this Wednesday. We have seen a notable 16.43 million Pilbara shares change hands as it currently stands. Again, this appears to be a consequence of some big share price movements coming out of the market today. The Pilbara share price is presently up a healthy 4.17% at $3.13, placing its 5-day gains at a whopping 14.9%. It’s likely that this move is the smoking gun in the high levels of trading volume that the company is currently experiencing. 

AVZ Minerals Ltd (ASX :AVZ)

Lithium share AVZ is the final company worth checking out today. This new ASX 200 entrant has had a sizeable 30.37 million shares bought and sold at the current time. There have been no major developments out of the company today that we can point to. However, AVZ shares have had another strong day of gains this Wednesday. The miner is currently up a healthy 2.74% at $1.03 a share after hitting a new all-time high of $1.04 earlier in today’s session. It’s this combination that has probably resulted in such a high volume of shares trading. 

The post Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares this Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Block and Zip jump, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare sinks
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Broker: The Coles (ASX:COL) dividend will keep rising
• What is a ‘dead cat bounce’ and is the ASX 200 in one right now?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is pushing higher in afternoon trade and is on course to record its second consecutive day of gains. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.5% to 7,377.8 points.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here’s why they are sinking:

Austal Limited (ASX: ASB)

The Austal share price is down over 8% to $1.83. Investors have been selling the shipbuilder’s shares after the Philippines Navy decided to sole-source foreign-built Offshore Patrol Vessels rather than proceed to purchase Austal-built vessels facilitated through a Government Memorandum of Understanding with the Commonwealth of Australia. Austal will now focus on securing orders for commercial ferries for its Philippines shipyard.

Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT)

The Cettire share price is down 14% to $1.33. This has been driven by news that its founder and CEO, Dean Mintz, sold a large number of shares. According to the release, the luxury online retailer’s CEO has sold 35 million shares in the company at a discount of $1.35 per share via a block trade. This represents 9.18% of the company’s issued capital.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX: FPH)

The Fisher & Paykel Healthcare share price is down 7% to $23.95. This follows the release of a trading update out of the medical device company. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare advised that it expects FY 2022 operating revenue in the range of NZ$1.675 billion to NZ$1.70 billion. This represents a 13.7% to 15% year on year decline from NZ$1.97 billion in FY 2021. It also warned that higher freight costs would impact margins.

Resimac Group Ltd (ASX: RMC)

The Resimac share price is down over 3% to $1.60. Investors have been selling the residential mortgage lender’s shares after it announced the settlement of Premier Series 2022-1 prime $1 billion residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS) transaction.

The post Why Austal, Cettire, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, and Resimac shares are sinking appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ‘Selldown’: Here’s why the Cettire (ASX:CTT) share price is sliding 8%
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Block and Zip jump, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare sinks
• Why the Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (ASX:FPH) share price is sinking 6% today
• Are these 2 top ASX growth shares buys right now?
• 2 ASX All Ords shares jumping more than 15% today

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 Austal Limited and 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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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold shares are broadly underperforming the index today.

While the ASX 200 is up 0.53% in afternoon trade, the Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) share price, for example, is down 1.73%.

Meanwhile, the Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price is down 2.25%, while rival ASX 200 gold share Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) has slid 1.9%.

But that’s just today’s snapshot market action.

How have these ASX 200 gold shares performed so far in 2022?

Year-to-date, the gold miners have been benefiting from a significant uptick in bullion prices.

An ounce of gold is currently worth US$1,924, up 5.2% year-to-date.

That’s helped deliver a 4.53% gain for Newcrest shares; a 7.4% gain for Evolution shares; and a 10.6% boost in the Northern Star share price in 2022 so far.

And it’s seen the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) – which also contains some smaller-cap miners outside of the ASX 200 gold shares – rally 7.4% so far this year. That compares to a year-to-date loss of 2.8% for the ASX 200.

But with these gains already banked, could the gold miners run higher in 2022?

The bullish case for gold

While many factors determine a company’s share price, when you’re looking at ASX 200 gold shares, you can’t ignore the price of the yellow metal they dig from the ground.

And according to the manager of listed products and investment research at the Perth Mint, Jordan Elise, bullion is poised for higher prices in the year ahead.

Speaking to Live Wire, Elise said over the past week, gold prices were negatively impacted partly due to COVID-19 cases surging in key consumer markets.

He added that the strong rally in risk assets over the past week – which saw the tech-heavy Nasdaq gain 6.8% – alongside the looming rate rise from the US Federal Reserve “were additional headwinds for gold“.

Elise pointed out that the precious metal’s “inability to hold onto the USD US$2,000 per ounce level has seen some commentators suggest we may see a repeat of what happened back in 2011”.

In 2011, when gold last traded around US$1,900 per ounce, the bubble burst. Three years later, in 2015, gold traded for $800 an ounce less, fetching as low as US$1050 an ounce.

But Elise is not buying into the 2011 scenario.

According to Elise:

Gold looks to be in a far healthier position relative to 2011. Sentiment is far more subdued, while it is coming off a 10-year period of underperformance relative to risk assets, rather than the opposite.

Investor allocations are also more modest, while gold is not overbought today, whereas it was in 2011.

Finally, the yield environment, valuations in financial markets, and inflationary dynamics are all more supportive for the precious metal today, as is silver’s price, which remains cheap on a relative basis

Combined, these factors suggest gold’s bull market run could well continue.

Should gold’s bull run continue, it will certainly come as welcome news to ASX 200 gold shares.

The post Could these ASX 200 gold shares be set for more gains in 2022? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Newcrest (ASX:NCM) shares in focus: The miner’s plan to create ‘over $100 million of additional free cash flow’
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Why Adairs, Betmakers, Magellan, and Northern Star shares are dropping
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

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 Cobalt Blue Holdings Ltd (ASX: COB) share price is racing higher following the release of an operations update.

At the time of writing, the mining producer’s shares are up 14.10% to a 52-week high of 89 cents. This means its shares have risen more than 30% in the past week, and almost 95% in a month.

Let’s take a closer look at what the company announced before market open.

How is Cobalt Blue tracking along?

In today’s statement, Cobalt Blue advised it has commenced development works at the Broken Hill Cobalt Project (BHCP).

Located in far western New South Wales, BHCP is aiming to become one of the largest producers of cobalt worldwide.

The latest underground works will provide bulk ore samples to support the operation of a large-scale demonstration plant.

Cobalt Blue noted that it has successfully established the development site Pyrite Hill, with the first blast completed.

The underground development will mine between 3,500 to 4,000 tonnes of ore to support 20 weeks of continuous operation of the Demonstration Plant.

This will see mined ore crushed, milled and treated to produce a cobalt-pyrite concentrate at the mine site.

From there, the concentrate will be trucked to the processing plant in Broken Hill for extraction and recovery of cobalt as mixed hydroxide precipitate and/or cobalt sulphate.

Cobalt Blue is targeting first ore processing (concertation) for late April.

In addition, management stated that upgrades and modifications to the 2021 Pilot Plant are well advanced.

Key major equipment items are arriving at the site and will be installed across March and April. The plant is expected to be ready to then process concentrate from the mine site in early May.

Cobalt Blue CEO, Joe Kaderavek commented on the progress:

Demonstration Plant activities are coming together nicely with mining underway and processing equipment being received.

Last year, our successful Pilot Plant opened the door to new partners. These large-scale Demonstration Plant cobalt samples are a game changer for COB, providing operating proof for project equity/debt funders and simultaneously providing high quality production scale samples for commercial partners.

About the Cobalt Blue share price

Since the start of the year, the Cobalt Blue share price has surged by close to 80% on the back of rising commodity prices.

When looking at this time last year, the company’s shares have gained roughly 120% in value.

Based on valuation grounds, Cobalt Blue commands a market capitalisation of around $270.96 million.

The post ‘Coming together nicely’: Why the Cobalt Blue (ASX:COB) share price is surging 14% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why did the Cobalt Blue (ASX:COB) share price rocket 30% in a week?
• Why is everyone talking about ASX cobalt shares this week?
• This ASX mining share rocketed 21% today. Here’s why

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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Many of Australia’s top brokers have been busy adjusting their financial models again, leading to the release of a large number of broker notes this week.

Three ASX shares brokers have named as buys this week are listed below. Here’s why they are bullish on them:

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

According to a note out of Citi, its analysts have retained their buy rating and $335.00 price target on this biotherapeutics giant’s shares. Citi has been looking at the impact that the soon to complete acquisition of Vifor Pharma will have on CSL’s earnings. While the broker suspects that the impact will be minimal in the near term, it still believes the acquisition closing will be a boost to its shares. Though, the biggest impact is likely to come from plasma collection improvements. The CSL share price is trading at $267.85 on Wednesday.

Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO)

A note out of Macquarie reveals that its analysts have retained their outperform rating and $140.00 price target on this mining giant’s shares. Macquarie believes Rio Tinto is well-placed to benefit from booming alumina prices. And given how aluminium is a big part of the miner’s profits, this bodes well for dividends in the near term. Especially with iron ore prices still trading at high levels. The Rio Tinto share price is fetching $113.95 today.

Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL)

Analysts at Credit Suisse have upgraded this healthcare company’s shares to an outperform rating with a $40.00 price target. The broker made the move largely on valuation grounds following a sharp pullback in its share price this year. In addition, Credit Suisse believes that Sonic still has a big opportunity in PCR testing even as testing shifts to RATs. Its analysts also highlight that the company’s base business is expected to benefit from pent up demand. The Sonic share price is trading at $35.39 this afternoon.

The post Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The next ASX share ready to join the 20-bagger club: expert
• Which ASX 200 shares is AFIC (ASX:AFI) betting on to make money?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• How does Australia’s ban on alumina exports to Russia impact Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO)?
• The company outperformed when it last reported, so why has the CSL share price been languishing?

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 CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Sonic Healthcare 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is basking in some robust gains as it currently stands this Wednesday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is up by a healthy 0.45% at just under 7,380 points. The best performing sector is currently tech shares. So it might come as a surprise to see that the Seek Limited (ASX: SEK) share price is in the red today. 

Yes, Seek shares are currently being priced at $30.39. That’s down by a hefty 1.56%. So why such a marked underperformance from one of the older tech shares on the ASX 200? 

Well, today’s drop is likely stemming from one of the better reasons to have a share fall in value. Today is the day that Seek has traded ex-dividend for its upcoming shareholder dividend payment. Back when Seek delivered its half-year earnings report in February, it declared an interim dividend of 23 cents per share, fully franked. That was a healthy increase on last year’s 20 cents per share final dividend. 

So the reason why there is some selling pressure on Seek shares today is because today is the company’s ex-dividend date. When a company trades ex-dividend for an upcoming payment, it means that new investors are cut off from receiving this divided. As such, the value of the dividend is no longer available, and thus leaves the Seek share price. 

Seek investors can look forward to receiving their interim dividend on 7 April. 

Seek share price snapshot 

Despite today’s share price falls, Seek shares remain up around 10% over the past month. However, this online classifieds company has been suffering in 2022 so far. It’s still down just over 10.5% year to date. However, it remains up by 9.95% over the past 12 months, and up 94% over the past 5 years. 

At the current Seek share price, this ASX 200 share has a market capitalisation of $10.93 billion, with a dividend yield of 1.42%. 

The post Why is the Seek (ASX:SEK) share price sliding today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 recommended SEEK 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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