Day: 23 March 2022

Shares in Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) are rangebound on Wednesday. IAG shares now trade less than 1% in the red at $4.58.

Earlier in the day, shares were trading at a high of $4.68. That’s before the market digested a market-sensitive update regarding the second business interruption test case, handed down in February.

Why are IAG shares tracing lower today?

IAG advised that the 28-day deadline for parties to lodge an application to seek leave to appeal on the case has now passed.

Policyholders have lodged applications for special leave to appeal aspects of the judgement, handed down by the Full Court in the High Court of Australia, per the release.

The release also says that IAG has filed an application for special leave to appeal the Court’s finding on JobKeeper payments.

“At this stage, there will be no adjustment to IAG’s $1,222 million net provision for potential business interruption claims,” it said.

The company also said that as it gains more clarity on its legal position it will “refine the prediction of ultimate claim costs.” It will then make appropriate provision adjustments, if and where warranted.

“Current indications are that a release from the provision will occur and is likely to be recognised over time,” it added, noting that there are still processes and costs to be realised.

Analysts covering the financial industry at Bloomberg Intelligence were quick to react to the update, noting that any changes to provisions might hurt IAG dividends and or buybacks.

“IAG’s 2023 distribution might drop to A$300 million this year from a possible A$1 billion including buybacks if the High Court reverses a Federal Court finding in the business interruption test case that favoured insurers,” Matt Ingram and Jack Baxter from Bloomberg Intelligence wrote today.

“Even if the court finds against insurers, that shouldn’t impact profit at IAG, which has a $A1.2 billion provision,” the pair added.

“IAG has said it may return a 2020 A$776 million capital raise if the finding in favour of insurers holds.”

IAG share price snapshot

The IAG share price has crumbled more than 4% into the red over the past 12 months, but is charging up 7.5% higher this year to date.

During the previous month, IAG shares fell more than 5% but have held gains over the past week of trading.

The post What’s driving the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price lower on Wednesday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Block and Zip jump, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare sinks
• Why is this broker ‘cautiously bullish’ on IAG (ASX:IAG) shares?
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell next week
• Why expert says this supermarket ASX share is a better bet than Woolworths (ASX:WOW)
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today

Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow 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 owns and has recommended Insurance Australia 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 Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) share price is currently trading 7% higher at $1.18 after levelling off of its intraday peak of $1.21.

While there’s been nothing remarkable out of Polynovo’s camp, the healthcare sector is staging a comeback rally today, showing signs of life once more.

Over the past week, Polynovo shares have surged 17% and are now up around 9% for the previous month of trade.

Why is the Polynovo share price so healthy today?

The biotech company’s shares are surging along with the broad healthcare sector today.

The S&P/ASX 200 Health Care index (XHJ) is currently up less than 1% today and around 2% over the week after sliding hard at the restart of trade in January. It is still down 10.5% despite staging a recovery these past 2 weeks.

Short interest had been high on Polynovo up until this week, with up to 9% of its float designated to short sellers on 21 March.

As a ratio, short interest peaked for the company’s shares in December last year, at a ratio of 59.8. It has since fallen to just 14.7 at the time of writing.

The ratio is an important one in understanding the amount of selling pressure on a stock by gauging how many days it takes short sellers to repurchase their shares in the market.

If the number is high, it suggests that market pundits are bearish on the stock whereas the ratio is lower when investors are more optimistic.

In fact, just this week, the ratio has crept down 9.74 points to its current level, which suggests the market is turning more bullish, Bloomberg data reports.

Analysts are bullish too. Half of those covering the share say to buy Polynovo at its current share price, whereas the other 50% say it is a hold.

Macquarie is heavily bullish and values the company at $1.60 per share, baking in large expectations around the company’s NovoSorb sales.

The consensus price target on Polynovo is at $1.58 per share, suggesting an upside potential of 34%.

Polynovo share price snapshot

In order to return to the share price’s previous highs, the company has some serious earnings growth to produce, or investors have to pile in by the boatload. The Polynovo share price has dropped 58% in the past 12 months and is down 22% this year to date.

This suggests it must return around 150% to overcome its 12-month loss and return to its previous high.

The post Polynovo (ASX:PNV) share price spikes 7% as healthcare stages comeback rally appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
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• The Polynovo (ASX:PNV) share price has lost 35% this year. Is now the time to buy?
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Origin’s $250m buyback, Nickel Mines smashed

Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended POLYNOVO FPO. 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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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.

The stock market continued its recovery on Tuesday, with solid gains that suggested investors have gotten past all the uncertainty that has hit Wall Street recently. There hasn’t been much resolution to all the headwinds buffeting the business world, but market participants nevertheless seem to believe that the bear market in the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) and corrections in other indexes have been overblown.

As of 1:30 p.m. ET today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) had risen 260 points to 34,831. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) rose 44 points to 4,333, while the Nasdaq had gained 220 points to 14,058.

A couple of stocks stood out as showing new signs of investor enthusiasm from a couple of different angles. Alibaba Group Holding (NYSE: BABA) moved sharply higher, showing renewed interest in Chinese stocks. Meanwhile, GameStop (NYSE: GME) posted a massive advance in a victory for meme stocks. Below, we’ll look more closely at the latest from both of these companies.

Alibaba boosts its buyback

Shares of Alibaba Group were up more than 12% in early afternoon trading on Tuesday. The Chinese internet giant made its own big bet on its stock, and investors were eager to ride its coattails. 

Alibaba announced that it would increase the size of its stock repurchase program. Previously, the tech company had authorized $15 billion to buy back stock, but the new authorization expanded that plan to $25 billion. Indeed, today’s move marked the second time Alibaba had raised the size of its buyback plans, having started with just $10 billion in December 2020.

Alibaba’s past buyback activity hadn’t prevented a swoon in its share price up to this point, however. The company’s most recent financial results showed that it spent $1.4 billion repurchasing 10.1 million shares in the fourth quarter of 2021, yet shares went on to lose nearly half their value after that report before bouncing back. Even now, share prices are 10% to 20% below the average price Alibaba paid on its repurchases during the last quarter.

U.S. investors remain concerned about whether the Chinese government will continue a harsh regulatory crackdown on Alibaba and its big-tech peers. Nevertheless, with shares at bargain prices, it’s been harder to pass up Alibaba than it has been for a long time. 

Winning the game

Meanwhile, shares of GameStop were up nearly 30%. There wasn’t any particularly noteworthy news from the meme stock standout today, but after having fallen to its worst levels since its late 2020 breakout, GameStop seemed to have investors focusing on what it hopes will be a promising future.

GameStop’s earnings last week didn’t generate an immediate turnaround, but investors seem to be looking back and finding reasons for hope from the numbers. Sales were up 6% from the previous year’s quarter and rose 18% year over year for the full 12-month period. Even though adjusted losses widened from year-earlier levels, shareholders now seem to be focusing more on the potential for top-line growth.

One thing that could generate some excitement is GameStop’s plan to establish a marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which have gotten a lot of attention lately. Even as the traditional crypto market has shown signs of slowing down, innovation in the NFT arena has continued at a healthy pace.

Retail investors helped drive GameStop’s stock higher in its initial phase upward, and they seem to be behind today’s move as well. Those investors can be fickle, but some truly see real potential for GameStop’s turnaround story to get a Hollywood ending. 

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

The post 2 signs investors are regaining their confidence in the stock market appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Alibaba stock was soaring today
• Why Chinese stocks collapsed again today
• Why Alibaba, JD.com, and Didi stocks rocketed higher on Wednesday

Dan Caplinger 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. 

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

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It’s a pretty happy day all round on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). The ASX 200 is currently up by a decent 0.39% at just over 7,360 points. But it’s an even happier day for the National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) share price.

NAB shares are currently up by an even more pleasing 0.93% as it currently stands today. That puts the NAB share price at $31.51 right now. But earlier today, this ASX bank share went as high as $31.66 a share. That high point is also a new 52-week high for the ASX’s second-largest bank. 

The 52-week highs just keep coming for the NAB share price 

It was only on Monday that NAB last hit a new 52-week high. That one was $31.46, so today’s high just squeaks by that mark. These latest heights cap off what has been a stellar run for NAB shares. Despite the gyrations of the ASX 200 over 2022 thus far, it has been a year of relatively smooth sailing for NAB. The ASX 200 big four bank is now up a healthy 7.2% year to date, as well as a very robust 21.5% over the past 12 months. It’s also up more than 100% over the past two years. 

The last time NAB shares were at today’s levels was back in late 2017, so we can call today’s new 52-week high a new 4-and-a-half year high as well. But alas, it’s still not close at all to an all-time high for NAB. It’s difficult to picture in light of recent history, but if we cast our minds back to late 2007, NAB shares were going for over $41. So we’re still a long way off those kinds of levels. 

There hasn’t been any major news out of NAB that might easily explain these new highs. However, this banking share has been the recipient of some broker love recently. As my Fool colleague Brendan covered earlier this week, broker Morgan Stanley has recently upped its 12-month share price target for NAB to $31.50 a share. Seeing as NAB shares crossed that pricing threshold today, it looks as though at least some investors were listening. 

At the current NAB share price, this ASX 200 bank has a market capitalisation of $99.6 billion, with a dividend yield of 4.03%. 

The post Banking gains! NAB share price hits yet another 52-week high appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns National Australia Bank Limited. 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 Virtus Health Ltd (ASX: VRT) share price is hovering in negative territory in early afternoon trade on Wednesday. This is despite the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) shooting higher today by 0.45% to 7,655 points.

At the time of writing, the fertility treatment company’s shares are down 1.46% to $8.10.

Why are Virtus Health shares falling today?

Following the company’s disappointing first-half result, investors are selling Virtus Health shares as they go ex-dividend today.

This means that investors who bought the company’s shares on or before Tuesday will be eligible for the upcoming dividend. Anyone who purchases the shares today will miss out as the seller has secured the dividend.

Historically, when a company reaches its ex-dividend day, its shares tend to fall in proportion to the dividend paid out.

When can shareholders expect payment?

For those eligible for Virtus Health’s interim dividend, shareholders will receive a payment of 12 cents per share on 14 April. The dividend is fully franked which means that investors will receive tax credits to put towards their tax bill.

The board maintained its latest dividend at 12 cents a share, representing a payout ratio of approximately 65%.

Management did note that the target forward dividend payout ratio will be based on a full-year dividend range of 45% to 55%. This is to “enhance balance sheet flexibility for investment in organic and inorganic growth initiatives.”

On an annualised basis, Virtus Health has a trailing dividend yield of 2.96%.

Are Virtus Health shares a buy now?

Following the company’s H1 FY22 results, a couple of brokers weighed in on the Virtus Health share price.

The team at Macquarie raised its 12-month price target by 3.5% to $7.35 apiece. Based on the current share price, this implies a potential downside of nearly 10% according to the broker.

On the other hand, Morgans lifted its rating on Virtus Health shares by 8.6% to $8.25. It appears its analysts are currently in line with what they believe the company to be priced at.

Virtus Health share price summary

Over the past 12 months, the Virtus Health share price has surged by 37%. It’s worth noting that these gains have come from the back end of 2021 to as late as last week.

The company’s shares reached a multi-year high of $8.33 on 14 March, before backtracking slightly.

Based on valuation grounds, Virtus Health commands a market capitalisation of roughly $692.8 million.

The post Why is the Virtus Health (ASX:VRT) share price slipping today? 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 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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Shares in Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) are walking higher today and now trade 2% in the green at $100.96 apiece.

ASX tech shares have staged a sharp comeback rally in recent weeks as a wave of macroeconomic crosscurrents feed into global markets.

The S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is up 2% on the day and has charged 9% higher this past week as investors rotate back into high-beta tech shares.

Market pundits appear satisfied to take on risk in going long tech names once more as the US Fed provides more clarity on interest rates, and as the Chinese government promised to keep its stock markets stable, Barrons reports.

What does this mean for the Xero share price?

As growth returns as a profitable investment theme in the back end of March, tech shares such as Xero could benefit immensely, some say.

According to Ben Clark Portfolio Manager at TMS Capital, Xero is one to look for once the market begins to trudge back north and the economy begins to settle.

“[Xero] has been one of our largest holdings, didn’t report in the reporting season. It’s such a resilient, consistent business. I don’t think you’re going to get any bad news from it,” he said when speaking to Livewire.

Clark encourages market participants to think critically when analysing stocks like Xero, avoiding themes like ‘hold on for dear life (HODL)’ or ‘buy and leave’ in the process.

“It’s [Xero] dropped 40% from its January one high,” the portfolio manager remarked. “So don’t put the blinkers on and think, “Oh, I’ve just got to hold tight.” You still do have to think, is this a business that’s going to come back when the market comes back?”

And will it come back, Mr Clark? And what will happen if and when it does? These are important questions, that thankfully, the money manager has the answers to.

“The market will come back,” he told Livewire. “When growth starts to run, the businesses that reported really strongly in February, and it was just completely ignored, will be the first businesses to roar back.”

Analysts at JP Morgan agree, noting Xero’s strength as a market leader in cloud accounting to be a key driver for growth into the future.

“We believe XRO remains well positioned to capture the growth from increasing cloud penetration across cloud accounting,” it said in a note last week.

“XRO has proven its credentials in the ANZ marketand is now looking to replicate its model in its international markets,” it added.

Xero share price snapshot

In the last 12 months, the Xero share price has fallen more than 16% into the red and is now more than 28% in the red this year to date.

Over the past week and month, things have turned a corner, such that shares are now 8% and 2% in the green respectively.

The post Is the Xero (ASX:XRO) share price on the way back up to its January highs? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Are these 2 ASX tech shares excellent buys right now?
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• Guess how much $5,000 invested in Xero (ASX:XRO) shares 10 years ago would be worth now
• Hero to Xero? The Xero (ASX:XRO) share price is now down 36% in 2022
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Block falls, Nickel Mines jumps

Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Xero. 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 Block Inc CDI (ASX: SQ2) share price is lifting today in what appears to be a positive day for the buy now, pay later (BNPL) sector.

Block shares are currently trading at $187.11, a 7% gain, after hitting an intraday high of $190.49. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 033% at the time of writing.

Let’s take a look at what could be impacting Block today.

Broker upgrade in the US

Block’s ASX shares are following in the footsteps of the company’s New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listed shares on Wall Street.

Mizuho analyst Dan Dolev upgraded the target price on the US listing of Block (NYSE: SQ) to $190 from $180. Block’s NYSE listing surged 5.17% to $141.79 on the US market on Tuesday.

Mizuho reportedly upgraded the price target after conducting a survey that found Block’s peer-to-peer payments app is considered a leading financial app by parents of teenagers.

More than two-thirds of parents had children using the payment app weekly or daily.

Commenting on the upgrade, Dolev said:

We estimate that Cash App may reach as many as 2-4 million of the (roughly) 20 million individuals aged 13-18 in the U.S.

Dolev maintains a buy recommendation on Block.

Analysts at Macquarie have recently provided Block’s Australian-listed shares with an outperform rating and $230 price target, as my Foolish colleague James reported.

Block is not the only BNPL share to rise today. Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) is up 6.54% while Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR) shares have jumped 5.54% at the time of writing. The All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is also up 2% after the positive performance of US tech shares overnight.

Block shares are recovering today after falling 5% yesterday, following a similar decline in the US amid inflationary pressures.

Block share price snapshot

The Block share price has gained 7% year to date, soaring nearly 48% in a month and 41% in the past week alone.

For comparison, the  S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has shed around 1% year to date.

Block has a market capitalisation of about $9.1 billion.

The post Why is the Block (ASX:SQ2) share price going gangbusters today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Block, Calix, Carnarvon, and Imugene shares are racing higher
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The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Block, Inc., Tyro Payments, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Block, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group Limited and Tyro Payments. 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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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is pushing higher for a second day in a row. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.3% to 7,362.1 points.

Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are racing higher:

Block Inc (ASX: SQ2)

The Block share price is up 7% to $187.50. This follows a similarly strong gain by its NYSE listed shares during overnight trade on Wall Street. The payments giant’s stormed higher amid a rally in the US tech sector and a bullish broker note out of Mizuho. The latter saw the broker increase its price target on the company’s US shares to US$190. Mizuho notes that Blocks’s CashApp product is growing in popularity with teenagers.

Calix Ltd (ASX: CXL)

The Calix share price has jumped 16% to $8.07. This follows news that the environmental technology company’s LEILAC-2 project has passed the financial investment decision (FID) milestone. It will be integrated into HeidelbergCement’s operational plant in Hannover, Germany, and will aim to address the plant’s unavoidable emissions.

Carnarvon Energy Ltd (ASX: CVN)

The Carnarvon Energy share price is up 11.5% to 35.7 cents. Investors have been buying this energy company’s shares today after it revealed a material oil discovery at the Pavo-1 well. The Pavo-1 well is part of the WA-438-P exploration permit, which Carnarvon Energy has a 30% interest in. The release notes that light oil was recovered from excellent reservoirs.

Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU)

The Imugene share price has stormed 10% higher to 28.7 cents. This morning the biotech revealed that it has received Western Institutional Review Board approval to start a phase one clinical trial of a new cancer treatment. Imugene will look into the use of its oncolytic virotherapy candidate, Vaxinia, on multiple solid tumours.

The post Why Block, Calix, Carnarvon, and Imugene shares are racing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the Calix (ASX:CXL) share price is shooting 12% higher today
• Leading the pack! ASX tech shares storm higher on Wednesday
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Block and Zip jump, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare sinks
• Here’s why the Imugene (ASX:IMU) share price is having such a stellar day
• Carnarvon (ASX:CVN) share price explodes 36% higher on ‘material’ oil find

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 Block, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Block, Inc. 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 Riversgold Ltd (ASX: RGL) share price closed up 22.2% yesterday.

Riversgold shares finished the day at 4.4 cents.

At the time of writing today, shares are trading for 6.2 cents. That’s another 40.9% intraday gain for Riversgold shares.

So, what’s driving ASX investor interest in the junior resource explorer?

Why are ASX investors hitting the buy button?

With no fresh news out today, the Riversgold share price looks to be leaping higher based on yesterday’s market announcement (covered here) reporting exceptionally strong assay results.

Not for gold, mind you.

But rather for lithium.

The ASX resource explorer acquired four lithium-prospective exploration tenements covering Western Australia’s Pilbara region earlier this year.

Yesterday Riversgold reported that rock chip samples from lithium-bearing pegmatite dykes along a 200-metre strike zone returned exceptional values between 1.5% Li2O (lithium oxide) and 2% Li2O.

Riversgold shares are heading higher again today, with investors potentially focused on the fact that the strike zone is part of a much longer 26 kilometre mineralised corridor, which has yet to be evaluated.

The explorer said crews will begin follow up reconnaissance work along the corridor and other priority targets next week.

Stay tuned.

Riversgold share price snapshot

With today’s big leap factored in, the Riversgold share price is now up a whopping 265% since the opening bell on 4 January.

By comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 3.47% year to date.

The post Lithium party: Riversgold (ASX:RGL) share price surges another 41% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• This ASX gold miner just struck lithium, and its share price is surging 31%

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 South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) share price is rangebound today, now trading flat at $5.03. This follows a spike from the open before the mining company’s shares reversed sharply to bottom at $4.98 before recovering again.

As commodity baskets have soared in 2022, South32’s share price has followed suit, currently up 25% this year and 86% in the last 12 months.

Analysts at Macquarie are bullish on the stock and reckon it’s a buy right now. Let’s take a look at why the investment bank is urging its clients to get on board South32’s gravy train.

Is South32 a buy?

According to Macquarie analysts, South32 could be a buy right now. In fact, the firm is bullish on the entire commodity sector, noting soaring prices should be a strong tailwind for Aussie miners like South32.

“Our EPS forecasts increase materially over the next two periods for the major miners,” its analysts said.

In a recent note, the broker raised its price target by 32% to $7 per share. It noted South is set to produce mammoth free cash flow yields on the back of record commodity prices.

From its FY21 results to its current market value, South32 is currently trading on a 4.7% free cash flow (FCF) yield at the time of writing.

However, it is forecast to generate more than $2.22 billion in free cash flow for FY22, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates. This means investors are privy to a juicy 12.7% FCF yield this year.

But why is this so important? FCF yield is actually a ratio that analysts use to assess a company’s ability to meet its obligations. But, perhaps more importantly to us as investors, it also measures its ability to return cash to shareholders by way of dividends or share buybacks.

Put simply, the higher the FCF yield, the higher the prospects for big, fat, juicy, dividends or share buybacks that grow over time.

For example, Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) recently paid the largest dividend in Australian history at more than $10 per share. However, at FY21’s end, it was trading on an FCF yield of 15.23% – up from 9.7% three years earlier.

Hence, brokers like Macquarie and others, like the prospects of South32’s projected free cash flow being redistributed back to shareholders over the coming periods.

It’s not all so rosy

However, not all appear to be that bullish on South32. Analysts at Barclays Investment Bank recently urged their clients to sell South32 shares – albeit those listed on the London Stock Exchange as opposed to the Australian stock.

Speaking to investors holding South’s London-listed shares, Barclays was unhappy with South’s most recent dividend and said the company could have perhaps done more with its $942 million in free cash flow.

“H1 dividend of 8.7 cents/share is below our 15.6 cents/share estimate (-44% below) and also 9% below consensus for a 40% payout ratio (our estimates were 75%),” it said in an update.

“The $405 million dividend plus $60 million of shares bought back delivers total returns in respect of H1 21 of $465 million and compares to $942 million [of] FCF.”

Aside from that, 76% of analysts covering the stock have it rated as a buy right now, according to Bloomberg data. The consensus price target is $5.31 per share, suggesting an upside potential of 5% at the time of writing.

That’s crept up from 60% of coverage saying to buy South32, whilst the average price target has jumped from $2.64 in the past 12 months.

The post Macquarie tips 40% upside for the South32 (ASX:S32) share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow 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 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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