Are you looking for some dividend options for your portfolio? If you are, check out the two ASX shares listed below.

Here’s why these ASX dividend shares have been tipped to as buys:

Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN)

The first ASX dividend share to consider is baby products retailer Baby Bunting.

Citi is a fan of the company and recently reiterated its buy rating and $6.22 price target on the company’s shares. It estimates that the company’s shares trade at 19x forward earnings, which it feels is cheap given its positive growth outlook. This is being supported by its private label business, which a recent survey indicates has a significant growth runway.

Citi commented: “The survey has revealed a range of findings into the baby goods category […] some of the findings from the survey suggest there is a significant runway for growth from the company’s private label program, a relatively small (but growing) demand for second-hand products, improving customer experience and potential that the company may not need all the 110+ stores that it is targeting.”

Citi is forecasting fully franked dividends per share of 16 cents in FY 2022 and 19 cents in FY 2023. Based on the current Baby Bunting share price of $4.23, this will mean yields of 3.8% and 4.5%, respectively.

HomeCo Daily Needs REIT (ASX: HDN)

Another ASX dividend share to look at is the HomeCo Daily Needs REIT. This property company, which recently merged with Aventus, invests in convenience-based assets across target sub-sectors of neighbourhood retail, large format retail, and health and services.

The team at Goldman Sachs is very positive on the company and has a buy rating and $1.70 price target on its shares. The broker believes its shares are cheap at the current level, particularly given its positive growth outlook.

The broker commented: “We believe HDN is undervalued at its current valuation given its diversified tenant base, and see it as well positioned to benefit from the shift to omni channel retailing, with additional external growth opportunities to drive earnings growth over the medium-term.”

As for dividends, it is forecasting dividends per share of 8 cents in FY 2022 and 9 cents in FY 2023. Based on the current HomeCo Daily Needs share price of $1.32, this will mean dividend yields of 6% and 6.8%, respectively.

The post Experts name 2 cheap dividend shares to buy now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 ASX shares that could be buys for both growth and dividends
• Analysts name 2 ASX shares to buy with ~50% upside potential
• Are these 2 top ASX growth shares buys right now?
• Analysts name 2 high yield ASX dividend shares to buy now
• 2 ASX dividend shares analysts have named as buys for income investors

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 Baby Bunting. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/rKve0nL

The illustrious S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is home to a good number of quality blue chip shares.

So many, in fact, it can be hard to decide which ones to include in your portfolio.

In order to narrow things down, listed below are two blue chip ASX 200 shares that are highly rated right now. They are as follows:

REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)

The first ASX 200 blue chip ASX share to look at is property listings company REA Group.

It has been a consistently solid performer over the last decade despite whatever the economy or housing market has thrown at it. The good news is that this trend is expected to continue, with REA forecasting growth during the second half of FY 2022 despite listing volumes falling. Management expects this to be underpinned by higher Residential and Commercial yields, supported by contracted price rises and increased depth penetration.

So, with the REA share price down by a third in 2022, now could be the time to make a patient buy and hold investment. That’s the view of Goldman Sachs, which recently reiterated its buy rating with a $164.00 price target.

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

Another blue chip 200 ASX share to look at is Westpac. It recently released its half year results and revealed an 8% decline in revenue to $10,230 million, a 12% reduction in cash earnings to $3,095 million, and a 61 cents per share interim dividend.

While weaker year on year, this still compared favourably to the Visible Alpha consensus estimate for first-half cash earnings of $2.8 billion and an interim dividend of 59 cents per share.

But the big news was that Westpac has reiterated its cost reduction plans. Australia’s oldest bank is aiming to reduce its cost base to $8 billion by FY 2024. This compares to operating costs of $13.3 billion in FY 2021. Though, those numbers include $2.3 million of notable items.

This went down well with analysts at Citi. In fact, its analysts believe Westpac could deliver “the strongest EPS growth in the sector” in the coming years.

In light of this, its analysts have put a buy rating and $29.00 price target on the bank’s shares.

The post Brokers name 2 ASX 200 blue chip shares to buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• This is the best ASX bank share to buy in a rising rate environment: Citi
• Hoping to bag the next Westpac dividend? Read this
• Buy these 2 ASX shares on sale right now: top broker
• Top ASX dividend shares to buy in May 2022
• Thursday thrashing: ASX tech shares tumble

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 REA Group Limited and Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/iAep2ZE

Today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bolted upwards in the morning before strength moderated in the afternoon following worse than expected economic data out of China. At the end of the session, the benchmark index finished 0.25% higher at 7,093 points.

Despite the market getting a dose of concerning data from China, most ASX shares pushed onwards and upwards today. The biggest winners could be found in the tech and industrial sectors, with investors willing to bring back the bidding pressure.

At the other end of the market, the healthcare sector was the straggler at the back of the pack. A handful of healthcare shares had a green glimmer, though CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) weighed the sector down.

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, Brambles Ltd (ASX: BXB) was the biggest gainer today. Shares in the pooling solutions company spiked 11.22% after confirming it is in early takeover talks with CVC Capital that could value Brambles at more than $20 billion. Find out more about Brambles here.

The next best performing ASX share across the market today was Qube Holdings Ltd (ASX: QUB). The logistics company’s share price strengthened by 5.76% today after announcing the completion of its $400 million share buyback program. Uncover the latest Qube Holdings details here.

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

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Brambles Ltd (ASX: BXB)	$11.60	11.22%
Qube Holdings Ltd (ASX: QUB)	$2.94	5.76%
Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)	$2.60	5.26%
Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO)	$87.88	4.42%
Skycity Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SKC)	$2.58	4.03%
Block Inc (ASX: MFG)	$119.23	3.79%
Home Consortium Ltd (ASX: HMC)	$5.78	3.58%
Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)	$1.185	3.49%
Dominos Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP)	$70.11	3.45%
Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD)	$21.27	3.35%

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.

More reading

• Here’s why the CBA share price could soon be in for some pain
• Brokers: 2 ASX 200 shares that could be top buys for growth
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Why Brambles, Core Lithium, Infomedia, and Qube shares are charging higher
• Why is the ASX 200 giving back the morning’s gains on Monday?

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 CSL Ltd. and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Corporate Travel Management Limited and Dominos Pizza Enterprises Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/OKY5N61

Lithium prices may pull back in the near term but will regain strength by 2024, one global analyst predicts.

Some of the ASX lithium shares we’re talking about here include Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS), Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO), Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) and Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA).

Let’s look at the outlook for lithium prices in more detail.

‘Increasing’ lithium deficits

A global analyst is predicting lithium supply will exceed demand in the near term before returning to increasing deficits. Lithium is a crucial element in electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

S&P Global Commodity Insights principal research analyst Kevin Murphy said:

Over the near-term, supply-side growth will exceed demand for lithium. This will lead to a pullback in lithium carbonate spot prices during 2022 and into 2023 although prices will remain well above the lows hit in 2020.

By 2024 the lithium market is expected to return to increasing deficits which will provide buoyancy to prices.

Murphy added that lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) supply is forecast to jump to 1.2 million tonnes by 2026. However, he noted demand could be higher, at 1.25 million tonnes.

ASX lithium shares had a stellar start to the week amid a positive outlook from analysts at Macquarie.

The Pilbara Minerals share price soared 5.2% today. Meanwhile, Core Lithium jumped 3.5% and Sayona Mining leapt 6.25%.

Share price snapshot for ASX lithium shares

The Sayona Mining share price has exploded 698% in a year, while Core Lithium has rocketed 415%. Meanwhile, the Pilbara Minerals share price has soared 137% in the last 52 weeks.

In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has climbed 1.12% in a year.

The post Own ASX lithium shares? Here’s a global expert’s outlook on lithium demand (and supply) appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Do any ASX lithium stocks pay dividends?
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Why Brambles, Core Lithium, Infomedia, and Qube shares are charging higher
• The Mineral Resources share price has dumped 13% in a month. Time to dig in?
• Why are ASX lithium shares off to such a flying start this week?

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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/kOqd27l