The Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC) share price will be one to watch on Thursday.

This follows the release of an announcement after the market close today in relation to a contract termination.

Why is the Ramsay share price on watch?

This afternoon Ramsay revealed that it has issued a notice to private health insurance provider Bupa to terminate the Hospital Purchaser Provider Agreement between the two parties.

According to the release, unless a resolution is reached between the parties, Ramsay’s contract with Bupa will be terminated with effect from 2 August 2022.

Ramsay appears to believe that private health insurers are not pulling their weight despite accumulating huge profits.

“Costs of providing care have significantly increased for private hospitals over the past two years. On the other hand, health insurers have accumulated profits of $1.8 billion in the calendar year to 31 December 2021,” said Ramsay Australia CEO Carmel Monaghan.

What’s next?

The release explains that patients booked to be admitted to a Ramsay facility prior to 2 August will not be impacted. After that date, during a legally enforced transitional period, Ramsay will continue to accept benefits paid by Bupa for approved treatments.

However, once the transitional period ends, Bupa insured patients will be required to pay an upfront payment on admission. This will be the difference between the statutory default benefit Bupa is required to pay and Ramsay’s hospital treatment costs.

Ms Monaghan said that “Ramsay still hopes to reach agreement with Bupa prior to the contract termination date,” but this appears to be far from guaranteed.

The private hospital operator advised that it will be communicating with impacted patients to keep them informed and provide them with options which, in light of the portability rules in the Private Health Insurance Act, include leaving Bupa and changing health funds.

The post Ramsay Health Care share price on watch amid Bupa contract termination 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 recommended Ramsay Health Care Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) planted its third consecutive day of losses, albeit smaller than the previous two. At the end of the session, the benchmark index finished 0.16% lower at 7,304.7 points.

Despite some green returning to US shares last night, the Australian share market set its own pace today. Performances were mixed across sectors as investors try to establish where they should be positioned amid a potentially higher interest rate environment.

The real estate sector carried over its disappointing showing from yesterday into today’s session, falling 1.5%. In contrast, energy and financial shares provided a supportive floor for the Aussie index on Wednesday.

However, the question is: which shares delivered the biggest returns to investors on the ASX today? Here are the top ten stocks that came through for investors:

Top 10 ASX shares countdown today

Looking at the top 200 listed companies, Hub24 Ltd (ASX: HUB) was the biggest gainer today. Shares in the wealth management solutions provider received the backing of investors as the share price climbed 3.89%. Although, this move was made in the absence of any news shared by the company. Find out more about Hub24 here.

The next best performing ASX share across the market today was Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA). The packaging products and solutions company rallied 3.37% despite there being nothing noteworthy released to shareholders. Uncover the latest Orora details here.

Today’s top 10 biggest gains were made in these ASX shares:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
HUB24 Ltd (ASX: HUB)	$24.83	3.89%
Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA)	$3.99	3.37%
Virgin Money Uk Plc (ASX: VUK)	$3.08	3.01%
Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG)	$4.67	2.86%
Zimplats Holding Ltd (ASX: ZIM)	$31.49	2.37%
Graincorp Ltd (ASX: GNC)	$10.73	2.19%
Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV)	$17.40	2.11%
GQG Partners Inc (ASX: GQG)	$1.48	2.07%
Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX: IPL)	$3.96	2.06%
Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL)	$10.45	2.05%

Our top 10 ASX shares today countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to ensure you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the market has closed during weekdays to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• How is the AMP share price looking in May?
• Wesfarmers share price slips as Bunnings competition heats up
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• What’s the outlook for the Telstra share price in May?
• What would happen if Appen shares were removed from the ASX 200? 

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Hub24 Ltd and Super Retail Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Hub24 Ltd, Insurance Australia Group Limited, and Super Retail Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Lovisa Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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It is not too often investors will come across a company that is up thousands of percent in a single day. Hence, a small ASX mining share by the name of Pacific Bauxite NL (ASX: PBX) is gaining interest on Wednesday.

At the closing bell, the microcap platinum-group elements (PGE) exploration company is showing a gain of 7,233%. However, this bonkers return in the space of a 24-hour period might be too good to be true after all.

What’s going on with this ASX mining share?

It appears on closer inspection that the Pacific Bauxite share price is not exactly a byproduct of optimism today. Instead, the outlandish performance being displayed is a consequence of a more complicated event.

The reality is Pacific Bauxite had a past life on the ASX before falling into administration back in 2019. Since then, the company has undergone a recapitalisation and pivoted from its bauxite operations toward PGE exploration.

Amid this fiasco, the ASX mining share conducted a 50 to 1 share count consolidation. In short, this reduces the number of shares on issue to one-fiftieth of what it was previously. In turn, the share price is artificially inflated to coincide with this reduction in share count.

According to an announcement, Pacific Bauxite has rejoined the ASX following its recapitalisation. This process involved raising $4.5 million through the issuing of 22.5 million new shares at a post-consolidation price of 20 cents apiece.

Starting afresh, Pacific Bauxite is now debt-free and boasting a modest cash balance of $4 million.

Management commentary

While ushering in its new ASX-listed life, non-executive chair Peter Lewis said:

The Company has emerged from our recapitalisation process in a significantly stronger position after two years of planning and hard work. We are now well-funded to complete our planned exploration activities. We have a fantastic set of assets which have the potential to deliver significant value to shareholders.

The ASX mining share holds exploration licenses over sites spread out across Western Australia. These include locations spanning the Eastern Goldfields and Pilbara regions.

The post Did this ASX mining share really just leap 7,200%? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Own Westpac shares? Here’s what to expect from the bank’s half-year results
• How is the AMP share price looking in May?
• Guess which ASX BNPL share has soared 100% in a month. Hint: it’s not Zip
• When, why, how? All the details on the AGL demerger and what might happen if it flops
• Wesfarmers share price slips as Bunnings competition heats up

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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 Scott Phillips.

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Next week the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price will be on watch when Australia’s oldest bank becomes the latest big four bank to release its half-year results.

Ahead of the release on Monday 9 May, let’s look at what the market is expecting.

What is the market expecting from Westpac’s half-year results?

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, for the six months ended 31 March, its analysts expect the banking giant to report cash earnings of $3,146 million. This will be an 11% decline on what the bank reported in the prior corresponding period.

This earnings decline is expected to be driven largely by a further deterioration in the bank’s margins. Goldman explained:

“WBC reported 1Q22 NIM of 1.91%, down 8 bps from 1.99% in 2H21, while the ex-Markets NIM was down 16 bp to 1.71%. The fall was driven by: i) higher liquid assets, ii) competitive pressures in mortgage and business lending, iii) continued growth in lower spread fixed rate mortgages. We note that WBC’s Dec-21 exit NIM (ex-Markets) was 1.67%, 4 bp lower than the 1Q22 average.

WBC expects NIM to decline further in FY22, while noting that its liquid build is expected to be largely completed by Mar-22. We are forecasting 1H22E NIM of 1.82% which is down 17bp vs 2H21 and will be keen to get confirmation that its liquid build has indeed reached a floor and any detail around leverage to higher cash rates.”

What else should investors look out for?

Other key metrics that could have an impact on the Westpac share price include its dividend, CET1 ratio, and its expenses.

The latter is a major focus for investors given Westpac’s bold cost reduction plans and the market’s scepticism over it being able to deliver on targets. The broker said:

“Overall, the Group remains committed to its A$8bn cost target by FY24. We are forecasting 1H22E expense growth of -11% pcp and will be interested to get an update on how WBC is tracking against its recently announced cost reset plan and in particular its path to its A$8bn cost target.”

As for dividends and its CET1 ratio, the broker has pencilled in a 60 cents per share fully franked dividend and a CET1 ratio of 11.62%.

The post Own Westpac shares? Here’s what to expect from the bank’s half-year results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why ASX 200 bank shares are in the spotlight
• Here’s how some of the biggest ASX 200 shares are responding to the RBA’s rate rise
• The ASX 200 shares that fund managers are buying and dumping
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Can ASX 200 banks live up to the $11 billion ‘big expectation’ when they report this month?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Westpac Banking Corporation. 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 Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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