Day: 23 May 2022

There are a number of ASX growth shares that experts currently rate as buys in May 2022.

The analysts at Macquarie have looked at some of the most recent updates from companies that may be compelling at their current prices.

Here are two of those buy-rated companies:

Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL)

Aristocrat Leisure describes itself as a global gaming content and technology company and mobile games publisher with more than 7,000 employees in more than 20 locations. It offers electronic gaming (poker) machines, casino management systems, and free-to-play mobile games.

Its regulated gaming products are approved for use in more than 300 licensed jurisdictions and are available in more than 100 countries.

This ASX growth share recently reported its result for the first six months of FY22. Its ‘normalised’ results showed operating revenue growth of 23.1% to $2.74 billion, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 30.3% to $970.3 million, and net profit after tax (NPAT) increased 46.5% to $530.7 million.

It also grew its interim dividend per share by 73.3% to 26 cents per share.

The company outlined in its outlook that it’s expecting ongoing growth over the rest of the full year. It also said it will keep investing in the business to grow its capabilities and facilitate its ongoing transformation in “scale and velocity”.

Macquarie currently rates it as a buy, with a price target of $44. That implies a possible upside of around 25%. The company noted the strong growth in the result as well as the $500 million on-market share buy-back of up to $500 million.

The broker thinks the Aristocrat Leisure share price is valued at 21 times FY22’s estimated earnings.

Hub24 Ltd (ASX: HUB)

Hub24 is a business that offers the Hub24 platform which gives advisers and their clients a “comprehensive range of investment options, including market-leading managed portfolio solutions, and enhanced transaction and reporting functionality”. After acquisitions, it also owns the Xplore Platform and Class Limited.

Despite volatility, this ASX growth share continues to grow at a quick double-digit rate.

In the quarter for the three months to March 2022, it saw platform net inflows of $2.6 billion – this is an increase of 36.4% year on year. Year-to-date net inflows for the nine months to 31 March 2022 were $9.3 billion.

Total funds under administration (FUA) as at 31 March 2022 was $68.3 billion, including platform FUA of $51 billion (up 43.3%).

Hub24 boasts that it is ranked as first for adviser advocacy by Adviser Ratings. It also said that its ‘value proposition’ continues to resonate with growth in net inflows and a “strong” pipeline of new opportunities across all customer segments including large licensee clients, brokers, boutique advice practices, and self-licensed advisers.

In the latest quarter, the ASX growth share signed 21 new distribution agreements and the total number of advisers using the platform is now 3,432 (up 24.4% year on year).

Hub24’s market share has increased to 4.9%, up from 2.5% a year before.

It’s currently rated as a buy by Macquarie with a price target of $32.60. That implies a potential upside of more than 30%.

According to Macquarie, the Hub24 share price is valued at 54 times FY22’s estimated earnings and 35 times FY23’s estimated earnings.

The post Buy these ASX growth shares in May: experts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• Why the Aristocrat share price is surging again today
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Hub24 Ltd. 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 Scott Phillips.

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The Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) share price has lost 27% over the past five years.

From mid-2017, the insurance giant’s shares were on a slow and gradual incline until the global pandemic hit.

Impacted by the fallout from COVID-19, IAG shares dropped over 30% in a space of two months in early 2020.

Since then, IAG shares have continued to sink lower, hitting a multi-year low of $4.17 at the end of last year.

When looking back at this time in May 2017, the company’s shares were trading around $6.255 per share. Today, you can pick up the same shares for $4.56, almost a third cheaper than they were five years ago.

Most people assume the company’s strong bi-annual dividend payout makes up for any potential loss in share price growth.

So, have IAG shares provided value over the last five years? Below, we take a closer look to see if it has been worth investing in the company’s shares solely for its dividends.

IAG’s dividend history

Here’s a list below of the company’s historical dividends paid out to shareholders in the past five years.

• October 2017 – 20 cents

• March 2018 – 14 cents

• September 2018 – 20 cents

• November 2018 – 5.5 cents

• March 2019 – 12 cents

• September 2019 – 20 cents

• March 2020 – 10 cents

• March 2021 – 7 cents

• September 2021 – 13 cents

• March 2022 – 6 cents

How much money would an investor make?

For argument’s sake, let’s say if you’d bought $10,000 worth of IAG shares exactly 5 years ago. You would have received approximately 1,598 shares. If we take that figure and multiply it by the current IAG share price, your current holding would be worth $7,290.16.

This means you would have made a paper loss of $2,709.84, without factoring in the accumulated dividends since October 2017.

However, when calculating the above dividends, you would have gotten a total of $1.275 for every IAG share owned. Multiply this by the current holding of 1,598 shares, this equates to $2,037.45.

Add this to the $7,290.16 that is the present value, and you would have a total of $9,327.61.

In essence, this means you would be down 6.7% having bought IAG shares in May 2017.

IAG share price snapshot

Looking at a much shorter time frame, IAG shares have lost almost 6% in the past 12 months.

However, year to date, the company’s share price is in positive territory, up 7%.

IAG presides a market capitalisation of roughly $11.46 billion and has a trailing dividend yield of 4.06%.

The post The IAG share price has tumbled 27% in 5 years. Have the dividends been worth it? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How does the IAG share price stack up against analyst ratings?
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• What is the dividend yield on IAG shares in May?
• The IAG share price has gained 6% in a month. Is this just the beginning?
• 4 ‘defensive growth’ ASX shares to buy in turbulent times: Wilsons

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 positions in 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 Scott Phillips.

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Is the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price now the cheapest option out of the banks on the ASX?

Westpac is one of the biggest banks in the country, alongside National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA).

Other banks on the ASX include Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ) and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN). And some ASX shares like Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) and Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) have banking operations, but it isn’t the biggest part of their business so it’s hard to compare apples with apples.

Is Westpac the cheapest ASX bank share?

There are a few different ways to compare banks. One way is to compare the ‘price to book’ ratio, or the ratio of the market capitalisation against the balance sheet.

Another way to compare the banks is by looking at the multiple of earnings that the share price is trading at. This is called the price/earnings (p/e) ratio.

Let’s start with the FY22 estimate for Westpac.

According to UBS, the Westpac share price is valued at 15x FY22’s estimated earnings.

How does that compare to other big banks?

UBS thinks that the CBA share price is valued at 20x FY22’s estimated earnings.

The ANZ share price is valued at 13x FY22’s estimated earnings.

The NAB share price is priced at 15x FY22’s estimated earnings.

So, based on the estimated earnings for the current financial year, it’s ANZ that has the lowest p/e ratio.

Turning to the smaller banks, the BOQ share price is valued at 9x FY22’s estimated earnings according to Morgans.

Broker Citi believes that the Bendigo Bank share price is priced at 14x FY22’s estimated earnings.

On the above numbers, Westpac wouldn’t count as the cheapest on earnings multiple terms.

What is Westpac’s valuation for FY23?

UBS expects Westpac to grow its earnings per share (EPS) in FY23. If it does achieve the projected profit, then the Westpac share price is valued at 13x FY23’s estimated earnings.

However, UBS is also expecting ANZ to grow earnings in FY23 as well, putting it at just 12x FY23’s estimated earnings.

So, even looking forward, Westpac still isn’t expected to be the cheapest big four bank in the next financial year.

Outlook

Westpac CEO Peter King commented on the recent FY22 half-year result:

We are tracking well on our strategic priorities. From a ‘perform’ perspective, we maintained our return on equity over the prior half, as our cost reset program helped to offset a decline in revenue and an increase in impairments…

We’re investing in improving the customer experience, focusing on making customer service easier and faster, accelerating digital, and building on our banker expertise and capability.

The post Is the Westpac share price the cheapest in the bank sector today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 high quality ASX 200 dividend shares analysts have named as buys
• Why Nufarm, Pendal, Wesfarmers, and Westpac shares are sinking
• Why is the Westpac share price sliding lower today?
• 3 cheap ASX shares set to boom with higher interest rates: Wilsons
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 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.

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Once a week I like to look at ASIC’s short position report to find out which shares are being targeted by short sellers.

This is because I believe it is well worth keeping a close eye on short interest levels as high levels can sometimes be a sign that something isn’t quite right with a company.

With that in mind, here are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX this week according to ASIC:

• Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) continues to be the most shorted ASX share with short interest of 7.15%, which is down slightly week on week. Short sellers appear to believe the market is expecting too much from the travel market recovery.
• Betmakers Technology Group Ltd (ASX: BET) has seen its short interest ease to 13.5%. Valuation concerns appear to be weighing on sentiment, particularly given how its operations are loss-making in an unforgiving investment environment.
• Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN) has short interest of 12.3%, which is up slightly week on week. Short sellers appear to be betting that a sudden and major change to this medical device company’s sales model in the United States will stifle its growth.
• Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) has seen its short interest rise to 11.1% despite the medical device company reporting heavy insider buying recently. Short sellers don’t appear to believe Polynovo’s poor operating performance will improve.
• Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) has short interest of 9.8%, which is up week on week. Last week this online travel agent released its full year results and revealed another loss. However, it expects a big improvement in FY 2023.
• Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) has seen its short interest ease to 9.6%. Kogan’s poor performance, management’s dismal inventory management, and rising competition from Amazon appear to be behind this high level of short interest.
• Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) has seen its short interest rise to 9.6%. Short sellers may believe that Appen could be facing softening demand for its services. Some tech giants are believed to be looking to bypass companies like Appen by taking things in-house.
• EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) has seen its short interest reduce to 9.5%. This payments company shares have crashed lower this year amid valuation and regulatory concerns and a poor performance during the third quarter.
• Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) has entered the top ten with 9.1% of its shares held short. Labour shortages, cost pressures, and lower grades have been weighing on this gold miner’s shares.
• AMA Group Ltd (ASX: AMA) has 9.1% of its shares held short, which is flat week on week. This smash repair company’s precarious balance sheet has some investors believing that a recapitalisation will be required.

The post These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• These ASX All Ordinaries shares have the greatest margin risks from surging inflation: UBS
• Webjet share price tipped to rise: Broker says it ‘hasn’t wasted a crisis’
• Why is the Kogan share price leaping 5% 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. has positions in and has recommended Appen Ltd, Betmakers Technology Group Ltd, EML Payments, Kogan.com ltd, Nanosonics Limited, and POLYNOVO FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended EML Payments, Kogan.com ltd, and Nanosonics Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Betmakers Technology Group Ltd, Flight Centre Travel Group Limited, and Webjet 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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With the market in considerable turbulence, ASX shares that pay out dividends seem to be back in favour.

They were out of fashion for much of the pandemic as businesses tightened their belts to preserve capital.

But now investors are looking to ASX shares with chunky yields as a buffer from tough market and economic conditions.

“We liken an attractive yield to being ‘paid to play’ while we wait for market conditions to improve,” Celeste Funds executive chair Paul Biddle told the Australian Financial Review.

“That’s not a bad outcome if the sharemarket is flat this year.”

Keeping this in mind, another prominent fund manager this week revealed which dividend stock he has picked up in recent times — and another that he has cut loose:

‘Very attractive dividend yield’

Blackmore Capital chief investment officer Marcus Bogdan said that his fund recently bought shares in Atlas Arteria Group (ASX: ALX).

“We’re allocating capital to Atlas Arteria, which is a toll road operator in both Europe and the US,” he told Switzer TV Investing.

“It provides a very attractive dividend yield for our investors.”

Indeed, Atlas Arteria shares are handing out a dividend yield of 5.16% while its stock price holds steady this year.

The analyst community generally agrees with Bogdan.

According to CMC Markets, six out of 11 analysts rate the stock as a strong buy, with another labelling it as a moderate buy.

Last month, Atlas Funds Management chief investment officer Hugh Dive told The Motley Fool that his fund had also been “buying a lot” of Atlas Arteria stocks. 

“That bounced back much faster than we expected when the lockdowns were opened in France,” he said.

“Has extremely low cost of debt. Great set of assets. Dividends are growing quite strongly.”

The dividend share that’s reached ‘peak earnings’

Meanwhile, Bogdan’s team recently sold off their interest in another dividend share, Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS).

“Healius was a terrific stock we held through the pandemic,” said Bogdan.

“It was one of the few healthcare stocks [we held] because they’re a pathology company that benefited from PCR testing.”

The huge volume of COVID-19 testing saw a “100% uplift in profits” for Healius. But the Blackmore team feels like that pot of honey is running out.

“The company is reaching, sort of, peak earnings,” he said.

“So we’re taking advantage of the higher price that we’ve enjoyed.”

Bogdan’s team then reallocated the proceeds from that sale onto Atlas Arteria.

“By taking some profits out of Healius and putting it into Atlas, we’re actually increasing the overall dividend yield of the portfolio.”

The post Expert reveals the dividend ASX share he just bought (and one he dropped) appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Top brokers name 3 ASX dividend shares to buy today
• 2 blue chip ASX 200 shares to buy according to experts

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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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The Reserve Bank raised the cash rate this month, and is expected to do so again multiple times this year.

Most sectors and businesses would find this situation detrimental to earnings.

After all, money becoming more expensive makes it harder to borrow to grow or operate, and it takes away available capital from potential investors.

It’s already well-publicised that bank ASX shares will be rare winners in such an environment.

Banks will simply pass on each rate rise in full to its loan customers, and only pass it on partially to deposit clients. This easily increases their net interest margin.

But there are other businesses, believe it or not, which could benefit from higher interest rates.

A pair of experts recently named two such non-bank ASX shares that you may consider buying:

40% upgrade in earnings as rates rise

Tribeca portfolio manager Jun Bei Liu told a Livewire video that she knows of a bunch, but the pick of them would be Computershare Limited (ASX: CPU).

“That’s the number one beneficiary of higher interest rates,” she told a Livewire video.

Liu said that, for many investors, the link between a share registry business and higher interest rates may not be obvious. 

“Well, they hold a lot of cash, so their earnings are actually extremely sensitive to high rates. With every 50 basis-point increase, their earnings will lift by double digits.”

She admitted that the effect will take a while to kick in, due to residual hedges that Computershare had put in to survive the zero-interest pandemic era.

“But earnings are going to be significantly upgraded,” said Liu.

“Even at the current spot or consensus expectations for the bond yield, this company’s earnings could be upgraded somewhere between 30% to 40%.”

Light at the end of the tunnel

TMS Capital portfolio manager Ben Clark’s surprise interest rate winner is annuities provider Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF).

He admitted it’s a company that’s had issues in recent years.

“To be honest, it’s been one I’ve got wrong in the past. This company was blown apart, particularly by the Royal Commission,” he said.

“It’s effectively Salesforce Inc (NYSE: CRM) with financial planners pushing their products, particularly bank-employed financial planners. But it was also impacted by the move in cash rates to zero. Annuities don’t sound particularly attractive when you’re locking in a 1% rate for the rest of your life.”

But during that period of turbulence, Clark feels management has reformed the business, moving away from retail products.

“It’s [now] much more closely aligned to institutional solutions for annuities, particularly things like inflation linked to annuities and more boutique solutions to problems in big LICs [listed investment companies].”

With this transformation, Clark reckons “there’s earnings momentum coming back”.

“For the first time in what feels like years, we’ve also seen the financial advice industry start to calm down,” he said.

“I think the retail side will start to pick up once you can start to lock in much more attractive yields.”

The post 2 ASX shares (not banks!) to boom from rising interest rates: experts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These 2 ASX tech shares have escaped obliteration so far this year
• Macquarie picks ASX 200 shares to buy in this volatile environment
• Here’s why ASX 200 tech shares are having such a disastrous run on Friday
• 3 ASX 300 shares rocking new 52-week highs on Thursday
• ‘Outlook bright’: expert picks 2 ASX shares to buy right now

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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 Challenger 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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With oil prices storming higher this year, the energy sector has been a great place to invest.

The good news is that one leading broker still sees plenty of upside for a couple of popular energy shares. Here’s what analysts at Morgans are saying about them:

Santos Ltd (ASX: STO)

The team at Morgans is very positive on Santos. Its analysts rate the energy producer highly due to its growth potential and diversified earnings base.

The broker explained:

We expect the resilience of STO’s growth profile and diversified earnings base see it best placed to outperform against a backdrop of a broader sector recovery. While pre-FEED, we see Dorado as likely to provide attractive growth for STO, while its recent acquisition increasing its stake in Darwin LNG has increased our confidence in Barossa’s development.

Morgans has an add rating and $10.00 price target on Santos’ shares. This compares favourably to the current Santos share price of $8.08.

Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WPL)

Another ASX energy share that Morgans rates highly is Woodside. The broker is bullish thanks largely to its upcoming merger with the petroleum assets of BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP). This merger was approved by shareholders last week.

Morgans commented:

We believe WPL has benefited from being in the right place, at the right time. With: 1) BHP/WPL having an existing relationship, 2) BHP eager to boost its ESG profile, and 3) WPL being a quality operator (safe hands which is important for BHP). From an economic standpoint we think WPL is getting the better of the deal, with synergies not baked into deal metrics and BHP willing to accept a discount. The deal is transformative, lifting WPL into being a top 10 global E&P with +2 billion barrels of 2P reserves, with EBITDA of US$4.7bn pa and growth options.

Morgans has an add rating and $33.60 price target on the company’s shares. This is meaningfully higher than the current Woodside share price of $28.77.

The post 2 ASX energy shares that brokers rate as buys for exposure to sky high oil prices appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Everything you need to know about the upcoming BHP dividend
• Why is the Woodside share price dropping 4% today?
• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares on Friday
• BHP share price higher following Woodside shareholder merger approval

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 Scott Phillips.

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If you’re looking for ASX 200 dividend shares to buy, then you may want to check out the two listed below.

Both have recently been named as buys by the team at Morgans. Here’s what its analysts are saying:

Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG)

The first dividend share that could be a buy is this investment bank. Morgans believes Macquarie is well-placed for long term growth and currently has an add rating and $215.00 price target on the company’s shares.

The broker said:

We continue to like MQG’s exposure to long-term structural growth areas such as infrastructure and renewables. The company also stands to benefit from recent market volatility through its trading businesses, while the company continues to gain market share in Australia mortgages.

As for dividends, the broker is forecasting partially franked dividends of $7.07 per share in FY 2023 and $7.47 per share in FY 2024. Based on the current Macquarie share price of $181.37, this will mean yields of 3.9% and 4.1%, respectively.

QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE)

Another ASX 200 dividend share that the broker rates highly is insurance giant QBE. Its analysts believe the company’s shares are cheap at the current level and have an add rating and $14.45 price target on them.

Morgans commented:

With strong rate increases still flowing through QBE’s insurance book, and further cost-out benefits to come, we expect QBE’s earnings profile to improve strongly over the next few years. The stock also has a robust balance sheet and remains relatively inexpensive overall trading on ~14x FY22F PE.

In respect to dividends, the broker has pencilled in a 45 cents per share dividend in FY 2022 and then a 72 cents per share dividend in FY 2023. Based on the latest QBE share price of $12.47, this equates to yields of 3.6% and 5.8%, respectively.

The post Broker names 2 ASX 200 dividend shares to buy this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Is QBE considered an ASX dividend share?
• Can the Macquarie share price reach $200 again in 2022?
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell next week
• Top ASX dividend shares to buy in May 2022
• 2 ASX 200 dividend shares to buy according to a top broker

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 Macquarie Group 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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On Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was on fire and raced notably higher. The benchmark index rose 1.15% to 7,145.6 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Monday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to fall

The Australian share market looks set to start the week in the red following a mixed night on Wall Street on Friday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 15 points or 0.2% lower this morning. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones was flat, the S&P 500 was also flat, and the Nasdaq fell 0.3%.

Oil prices rise

Energy producers Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could have a positive start to the week after oil prices pushed higher. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price rose 0.35% to US$110.28 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price climbed 0.45% to US$112.55 a barrel.

Elders half-year results

The Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD) share price will be on watch when the agribusiness company releases its half-year results. According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts expect Elders to report a 13% increase in sales revenue to $1,245.2 million and a 27% lift in EBIT to $93.7 million. This would mean Elders “is on track to deliver towards the upper end of guidance for 20-30% EBIT growth in FY22.”

Gold price rises

Gold miners Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) will be on watch after the gold price traded flat on Friday night. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is fetching US$1,848.4 an ounce. This couldn’t stop the precious metal from adding 2% last week.

Woolworths share price is in the buy zone

The Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price is in the buy zone according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. In response to its proposed acquisition of MyDeal.com Au Ltd (ASX: MYD), Goldman has retained its buy rating and $41.70 price target on the retail giant’s shares. While the deal is immaterial today, Goldman notes that the “key will be how WOW can leverage the capabilities and existing consumer assets of MyDeal to drive synergies with its existing business.”

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Everything you need to know about the upcoming BHP dividend
• Is the CBA share price a buy following the bank’s digital mortgage launch?
• Is QBE considered an ASX dividend share?
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Woolworths share price lifts following $218m online marketplace deal

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 Elders 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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