More than one expert reckons these days that ASX shares in the uranium industry are about to enjoy a revival not seen for years.

The Market Matters team, for example, reckons it’s a sector with “meaningful tailwinds that are likely to persist for years to come”.

“The global energy mix is changing as decarbonisation is one of, if not, the most dominant investment theme[s] for the next decade,” said the team leader and Shaw and Partners portfolio manager James Gerrish.

“We believe nuclear energy will become a larger slice of the energy mix, and we are seeing tangible evidence of this occurring.”

He noted that year to date almost 100 million pounds of uranium have been contracted, which is already the highest yearly amount for more than a decade.

Funnily enough, the spot uranium price has held steady over the past 12 months, which means related stocks have also gone sideways.

But, of course, both nuclear reactors and uranium mines take a while to reactivate after being dormant for years.

Over the long term, Gerrish’s team are believers.

“Market Matters is bullish on uranium, believing the sector is about to enjoy a period of renaissance.”

But which ASX uranium shares are the best buys at the moment? There are two that were mentioned:

Two well-funded Aussie businesses ready to rake it in

Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) is Gerrish’s “preferred pick from a risk-reward perspective”.

“The company owns 75% of the Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia that had been [in] care and maintenance for a number of years,” he said.

“However, works for a restart are now ~50% complete with first production expected next year.”

While more agile mines might produce uranium earlier than that, Paladin will have economies of scale to its advantage.

“They are well-funded, and construction is on time and on budget with further upside in exploration assets in Australia and Canada.”

The Paladin Energy share price is down 3% so far in 2023.

Gerrish’s team already owns the stock in its emerging companies portfolio.

His team’s second pick, Silex Systems Ltd (ASX: SLX), is not a uranium producer as such.

“Silex is developing a laser-enriched uranium technology in conjunction with sector giant Cameco Corp (NYSE: CCJ),” said Gerrish.

“The demonstration plant in Kentucky is expected to be up and running in around 12 months’ time.”

He added that Silex is cashed up after a capital raise this year.

“The US government is also likely to support any capital requirements as part of the inflation reduction act,” said Gerrish.

“Supply of High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU), which the next generation of nuclear reactors require, is heavily reliant on Russia.”

Silex shares are already 12% higher than where they started 2023. 

Again, the Market Matters team is bullish and long on the stock, holding it in its emerging companies portfolio.

The post The 2 best ASX uranium shares to buy right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Down 20% since February, should I buy the dip on Paladin Energy shares?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
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• 3 ASX 300 shares that turned $5,000 into $59,000 or much more in 5 years
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

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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One expert is urging investors go “long and bullish” on an ASX stock that’s already rocketed this week.

Shaw and Partners portfolio manager James Gerrish said his Market Matters team likes the look of construction materials supplier James Hardie Industries plc (ASX: JHX).

The stock soared 8.3% on Tuesday after its fourth-quarter results “pleased a nervous market”.

“Encouragingly its 1Q24 guidance was a clear beat – at the midpoint they have guided to 1Q profit of US$155 million vs US$137 million consensus — i.e. 13% above,” Gerrish said in his newsletter.

“In our opinion, the key positive was US margins remained solid and their guidance implies this will continue which will drive earnings upgrades.”

Amid dark clouds for the economy, James Hardie showed off its pricing power by pulling off an amazing magic trick.

“While James Hardie has experienced a drop in sales volumes as the building sector struggles, the company’s ability to increase prices has seen revenues actually increase,” said Gerrish.

“The volume of plasterboard/cladding sold in Australia & New Zealand fell by 10%, but revenue increased by 2% as price increases were pushed onto customers in the March quarter.”

Grab James Hardie shares while they’re cheap

With consumers dealing with interest rates more than three percentage points higher than just a year ago, real estate prices have spiralled down and the construction industry is feeling the pressure.

This presents a tempting buying opportunity, according to Gerrish.

“With plenty of bad news built into James Hardie’s share price after it halved from its late 2021 high, Market Matters remains optimistic towards Hardies,” he said.

“The company is operating well in a tough environment hence when the construction sector does show signs of improvement, James Hardie will be very well positioned to benefit.”

Within Australia, Gerrish feels like conditions will improve for the company and the wider building industry.

“The government committed to a large immigration push plus, of course, they have a huge rental crisis to address sooner rather than later,” he said.

“Although this is unlikely to support the weak construction industry over the coming months, we must be conscious that stocks look at least six months ahead.”

Despite the spectacular rise this week, James Hardie shares are still about 35% lower than their December 2021 high.

The post Go ‘long and bullish’ on this ASX share that just rocketed 8% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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If your portfolio lacks banking sector exposure, then now could be the time to pounce on ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) shares.

With the banking giant’s shares down approximately 10% over the last three months, the team at Citi appear to believe a buying opportunity has opened up for investors.

Particularly given that ANZ shares are the broker’s top pick in the banking sector right now.

What is Citi saying about ANZ shares?

According to a recent note, the broker has a buy rating and $26.50 price target on the bank’s shares.

Based on its current share price of $23.58, this implies potential upside of 12.4% for investors over the next 12 months.

And with Citi expecting ANZ shares to provide investors with 7% fully franked dividend yields through to at least FY 2025, the total 12-month potential return on offer here stretches to almost 20%.

Why is ANZ its top pick?

When reviewing the bank’s recent half-year results, Citi revealed why it thinks investors should choose ANZ above other big four banks. It said:

ANZ reported 1H23 cash earnings of $3,821m, in-line with market expectations. However, unlike its recent reported peers, this result was well-received, despite ANZ facing the same competitive pressures on both sides of its balance sheet. We see ANZ having two key advantages for the current environment: 1) a strong deposit franchise finally showing its strength; and 2) a large weighting to Institutional banking.

These advantages are inextricably linked. We have lowered our forward NIM estimates to reflect the industry competition pressure, but the profile shows a more modest decline. Cash EPS estimates are unchanged in FY23, down 7-8% in FY24/25, with our longer-term ROE of 10.5% thereafter remaining intact. This leaves a more modest 3% TP reduction to $26.50. We see ANZ’s unique capabilities as set to deliver relative outperformance in the current market conditions. ANZ is our preferred Major Bank exposure.

All in all, this could make ANZ a top option to consider if you’re lacking banking sector exposure.

The post Why ANZ shares are Citi’s top banking pick 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 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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Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) shares have climbed more than 10% in the last month, but which ASX All Ords lithium company is the largest shareholder?

Sayona shares closed 4.44% lower on Wednesday to finish at 21.5 cents apiece. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) fell 0.98% yesterday.

Let’s take a closer look at the details of the largest shareholder of Sayona Mining stock.

And the largest shareholder is…

Fellow lithium player Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL) is the largest shareholder of Sayona stock with a 14.3% stake.

The two companies are involved in a joint venture known as the North American Lithium (NAL) project.

Piedmont has a 25% stake in Sayona Quebec, with the other 75% equity interest owned by Sayona. Sayona Quebec is developing the North American Lithium mine.

Under the joint venture agreement, Sayona will sell Piedmont either 50% of production at the facility or 113,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate.

Four shipments from this project are planned for the second half of the 2023 calendar year.

Each shipment will include an allocation for Piedmont, along with other customers. The company is also working on other offtake agreements.

Sayona and Piedmont delivered news of the successful restart of the North American Lithium mine, based in Quebec, on 31 March.

The US$80 million restart took place on time, and on budget. Sayona aims to produce 226,000 metric tonnes of spodumene per year from the facility.

A pre-feasibility study assessing downstream production at the project is currently taking place with results expected by the end of the financial year.

Piedmont also has other lithium projects on the go, including the Tennessee Lithium project and the Carolina Lithium project in the US state of North Carolina.

Share price snapshot

The Sayona share price has lost around 20% in the last year. The company has a current market capitalisation of $1.96 billion.

Meantime, Piedmont shares have gained nearly 12% over the past 12 months. Piedmont has a market cap of nearly $366 million.

The post Guess which All Ords lithium company is the biggest shareholder of Sayona Mining stock appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Power portfolios: Millionaire investors shun ASX 200 lithium shares

Motley Fool contributor Monica O’Shea 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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