Retailers have been out of favour due to cost of living pressures and recent interest rate rises, and Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN) has not escaped the downturn.

The baby goods retailer’s shares are down more than 60% on a 12-month basis and are trading just a few cents higher than their 52-week low of $1.

However, the analyst team at Morgans believes they’re ripe for a re-rating and have a buy rating on the shares and a bullish share price target, which I’ll get to shortly.

First let’s have a look at the trading update which the company issued just this week.

Solid start to the year

In a statement to the ASX, Baby Bunting said that over the first 14 weeks of the financial year, it had achieved comparable store sales growth of 2.2%, with 2% growth in Australia and 8.7% growth in New Zealand.

Under the company’s “store of the future” program, it has now refurbished 17 stores, which have delivered cumulative sales growth of 20%.

This financial year, the company plans to refurbish 10-12 stores, with six to be completed in the first half.

Baby Bunting said the risks involved in the program included the duration of store closures, targeted at 10-12 weeks per store, and the level of sales redirection.

The company also plans to open three new large-format stores during the year, with the first opening in December.

Net profit for the full year is expected to come in at $19-$21 million, with total sales revenue of $585-$600 million.

The company added:

In light of interest rate rises and cost-of-living pressures, we continue to closely monitor and react to trading conditions as we execute our plans for the key promotional periods during the balance of the year, including the important trading periods of November, Boxing Day and June Storktake. Outlook assumes no significant changes in economic and retail trading conditions, and no significant increases in sea and land freight expenses.

Retailer’s shares looking cheap

In a research note, Morgans said that Baby Bunting was Australia’s largest specialist provider of baby goods, and there was still room to grow.

The broker added:

It has an opportunity to build its share of this large market segment as it expands its store network, extends its private label range, enters New Zealand, and increases its online presence. We expect earnings growth into FY27, driven by Store of the Future.

Morgans has a price target of $1.62 on Baby Bunting shares, compared to $1.05 currently. If achieved, this would be a 54.3% increase.

Baby Bunting is currently valued at $150.5 million.

The post Trading near 12-month lows, this ASX retailer could be set for a 54% gain appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Cameron England 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.

Knowing how much superannuation you have in the first place is a great starting point for figuring out how much income you’ll be able to rely on in retirement.

And while comparisons with others might not always be useful, there are tools available to help you discern whether you’ll be able to afford a comfortable retirement when the time comes.

How much superannuation do people aged 45 actually have?

The most recent figures from the Association of Superannuation Funds (ASFA) show that the average superannuation balance for men aged 45-49 is $193,501, while for women it is $147,146.

What is perhaps more useful is ASFA’s Super Detective tool, which allows you to enter your age, and one of two income brackets, and it will give an estimate of how much you need in your superannuation to be on track for a comfortable retirement.

For people aged 45 earning $75,000 per year, this comes out to $209,500, while for those earning $100,000, it is $173,000.

Keep in mind that ASFA’s Retirement Standard assumes that you retire at 67 and own your home outright.

The Retirement Standard calculates that a comfortable retirement needs an annual income stream of $56,166 for singles and $78,998 for couples.

This so-called comfortable retirement includes the ability to afford top-level private health cover, to own and maintain a reasonable car, and to enjoy occasional travel and leisure activities.

What if your superannuation is falling short?

If your superannuation needs a top up, it’s worth looking into concessional contributions.

These are pre-tax contributions you can make into your superannuation up to a cap of $32,500.

Your employer’s contributions and any salary sacrifice amounts are included in this amount.

If you have unused cap amounts at the end of the financial year, you can check your myGov account to see how much you can contribute, with those contributions attracting a 15% tax rate, and therefore likely to be tax-effective.

If you have unused amounts from the previous five financial years, these amounts can also be used as concessional contributions. However, your superannuation balance must be less than $500,000 at 30 June of the previous financial year in order to be able to take advantage of this method.

It is also possible to make non-concessional contributions of up to $130,000, with these amounts not offering any tax benefits.

Under what is known as the “bring forward arrangement”, it is also possible to use 1-2 years of future non-concessional contributions, as long as you are aged under 75 and have less than $1.84 million in superannuation on 30 June of the previous financial year.

The post Average superannuation balance at 45. How does yours compare? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Cameron England 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.

It was a volatile and ultimately negative session for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and many ASX shares this Thursday.

After yesterday’s drop, it seemed investors were in the mood to keep selling this morning when the market opened sharply lower. However, the ASX 200 spent much of the day recovering, and only ended up closing with a loss of 0.094%. That leaves the index at 8,719.7 points.

This wild day on the Australian markets came after a gloomy mid-week session on the American markets this morning.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI), in a strange coincidence, exactly matched today’s showing from the ASX, falling 0.094%.

However, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) was far more decisive, dropping a hefty 1.88%.

Let’s get back to the local markets now and take a look at how today’s trading conditions percolated down into the various ASX sectors.

Winners and losers

Despite the market’s slight loss, we saw many corners of the market do quite well.

First though, let’s get the red sectors out of the way.

Leading the losers this Thursday were mining stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) was hit hard, tanking by a nasty 3.95%.

Tech shares had a day to forget too, with the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) crashing 3.41%.

Gold stocks were no safe haven either. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) cratered by 2.88%.

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) were a little tamer, though, as you can see by the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ)’s 0.74% slump.

Our last losers this Thursday were energy shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) was set back by 0.04% today.

Let’s turn to the winners now. Leading said winners this session were consumer staples stocks, with the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) rocketing up 3.47%.

Financial shares also had a strong day. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) soared 2.19%.

We can say the same for utilities stocks, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ)’s 2.09% surge.

Communications shares also ran hot. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) jumped 1.54% today.

Healthcare shares didn’t miss out, with the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) lifting 0.68%.

Nor did consumer discretionary stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) bounced up 0.63% this Thursday.

Finally, industrial shares finished comfortably ahead, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ)’s 0.28% improvement.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown

Financial services stock Generation Development Group Ltd (ASX: GDG) was our winner this session. Generation shares exploded 17.16% higher today, closing out at $3.14 each.

There wasn’t any news from Generation that easily explains this. However, the company has been bouncing back with a vengeance after recently hitting a 52-week low.

Here’s how the other high flyers landed their planes:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Generation Development Group Ltd (ASX: GDG)	$3.14	17.16%
4DMedical Ltd (ASX: 4DX)	$4.08	7.37%
Bank of Queensland Ltd (ASX: BOQ)	$6.87	5.86%
Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC)	$0.65	4.84%
Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE)	$5.94	4.58%
Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW)	$41.28	4.27%
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN)	$10.62	3.81%
A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)	$6.82	3.65%
Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA)	$61.35	3.45%
Vivcinity Centres (ASX: VCX)	$2.81	3.31%

Our top 10 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary that shows which companies made big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the weekday market closes to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 Treasury Wine Estates. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Bendigo And Adelaide Bank and Treasury Wine Estates. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Generation Development Group and Nine Entertainment. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.