Investors have witnessed many S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and All Ordinaries (ASX: XAO) shares withdraw guidances and defer dividend payments across March and April.

With uncertain times ahead, here are 3 top ASX dividend shares to watch. 

1. Money3 Corporation Limited (ASX: MNY) 

Money3 may not be a household ASX dividend share, but it represents a solid small-cap business with strong cash flow. It has also faced minimal disruption as a result of COVID-19.

The company provides automotive finance for the purchase and maintenance of vehicles. It estimates that approximately 1 in every 500 vehicles in Australia and 1 in every 800 vehicles in New Zealand have a current Money3 loan. Despite potential COVID-19 concerns, the business has reported a “minimal” impact on cash collections. It is expecting demand to return for automotive finance as lockdown restrictions ease. 

The company reported solid YTD March 2020 financial results, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) growing 43.6%. Net profit after tax (NPAT) also soared 49.2% on the prior corresponding period. As at 27 April, the company had a cash balance of $43 million and currently pays a dividend yield of 6.25%. 

2. Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) 

Despite the ASX 200 falling more than 3% on Thursday, the Fortescue share price held up held firm, falling a mere 0.73%. This follows news that the world’s largest iron ore miner, Vale SA was ordered to halt mining at its Itabira complex after 188 workers tested positive to coronavirus.

At the same time, demand in China is firm with low port stockpiles. Australian majors BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and Fortescue will be poised to benefit. In my opinion, Fortescue could be the better pick, given its pure exposure to iron ore. It currently pays a dividend yield of 7.02%. 

3. Tassal Group Limited (ASX: TGR) 

There are many consumer tailwinds for Tassal’s salmon and prawns business. In Tassal’s recent presentation to the Goldman Sachs Emerging Leaders conference, it highlighted the following trends: 

• Rise in consumer demand for sustainable products that have traceability 
• Rise in at-home meals over eating out 
• Greater demand for easy to prepare meals solutions 
• Online media consumption to play a larger role in purchasing decisions.

From a supply perspective, Tassal highlighted that its strategic focus is to continually optimise biomass growth, size and sales mix to drive salmon EBITDA $/kg. I believe Tassal’s experience in sustainable farming practices in breeding, biosecurity, feed diet formulation, growth times and survival all attribute to bigger salmon that will generate better margins.

In my opinion, Tassal should be a very consistent ASX dividend share into the future, and currently pays a dividend yield of 4.68%. 

More reading

• 3 quality ASX dividend shares to solve your income needs
• 3 ASX 200 shares to add to your watchlist in 2020
• My share investing journey during the pandemic
• 2 top ASX dividend shares for income in 2020
• Here are another 2 insanely cheap ASX 200 shares to buy right now

Motley Fool contributor Lina Lim has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end the week deep in the red after a major selloff on Wall Street overnight. In late morning trade the benchmark index is down 3.1% to 5,774.1 points.

There are not many shares that have managed to push higher today. But four shares that have are listed below. Here’s why they are on the rise:

The Mach7 Technologies Ltd (ASX: M7T) share price has returned from a trading halt and jumped 7.5% to 85 cents. Investors have been buying the enterprise image management systems provider’s shares after it announced the acquisition of Client Outlook for ~A$40.8 million. Client Outlook is a leading provider of an enterprise image viewing technology called eUnity. It increases Mach7’s addressable market opportunity from US$0.75 billion to US$2.75 billion.

The Meridian Energy Ltd (ASX: MEZ) share price is up 1.5% to $4.57. Investors have been buying the renewable energy company’s shares due to its status as a safe haven asset. The New Zealand-based energy company has operations on both sides of the Tasman sea.

The Spark Infrastructure Group (ASX: SKI) share price has risen 3% to $2.16. As with Meridian, Spark is seen as a safe haven asset and investors will often flock to it when markets become volatile. Incidentally, one broker that is positive on Spark is Macquarie. Last week it put an outperform rating and $2.33 price target on the company’s shares. This could mean there’s still further for its shares to run from here.

The TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPM) share price is up over 0.5% to $8.10. Investors have been buying the telecommunications company’s shares after it revealed the special dividend it plans to pay if its Vodafone Australia merger completes as planned. TPG Telecom plans to pay a fully franked special dividend in the range of 49 cents per share to 52 cents per share. This equates to a generous 6% to 6.4% dividend yield based on its current share price.

More reading

• TPG Telecom share price lower after revealing special dividend plans
• Can this ASX dividend share afford its 11% yield?
• The TPG share price is on the up. A good long-term buy today?
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX bulls crash through 6,000 points
• These were the worst performers on the ASX 200 last week

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of MACH7 FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Why Mach7, Meridian, Spark, & TPG Telecom are pushing higher appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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A Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) economic release reported improved consumer sentiment up 16.4% in May. We examine the release and its implications for the  S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).  

The 10 June economic release, penned by Westpac’s Chief Economist Bill Evans, reported improved consumer confidence to be back “around pre-COVID levels”, having “recovered all of the extreme 20% drop seen when the pandemic exploded in March-April.” 

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment recorded the 16.4% gain in May. A rise to 88.1 from the “extremely weak” 75.6 in April.

Evans reported that the Index is now only 2% below the average established in the September-February period. 

However, the release did warn that given the difficult recovery ahead, “it would be surprising if the recent upward momentum continues.” 

Further, the release pointed out that while the monthly gain was impressive, the index is still “relatively weak by historical standards — in pessimistic territory overall and down 7% on a year ago.” 

COVID recession and 1990s recession: better times ahead

While the release found that the data still suggests families are financially constricted and concerned about the near-term economic outlook, there is “firming optimism around prospects for finances in the year ahead.” 

Further, the release found that respondents are “confident that they can see eventual better times ahead whereas in the early 1990s there was a pervasive mood of despair for years.” 

ASX 200 and improved consumer sentiment 

Importantly for ASX 200 stocks reliant on discretionary spending, the Westpac release indicated that the largest gains were around views on the economic outlook and “time to buy a major item”. 

The ‘time to buy a major item’ sub-index posted a  strong 10.1% gain in June, on the back of a 26.7% May increase. 

That said, the buyer sentiment is still well below the long-run average. 

Consumer expectations for house prices

Evans reported that consumer expectations for house prices improved. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute House Price Expectations Index rose 10.5%. 

However, the index is still 43% below the cheery readings just before the COVID-19 lockdown. Further, Evans reported that survey results continue to “point to a sharp deterioration… compared to a few months ago.”

Finally, the proportion favouring real estate as the answer to ‘wisest place for savings’ dropped to 4% in March. Evans stated that this suggests “investors look likely to stay away from Australia’s housing market near term.” 

ASX 200 analysis

Evans concluded the release by noting that “unusually, more respondents nominated shares (11.4%) than real estate as preferred investment options.”

Can the currently reported investment preference for shares over real estate, coupled with improved consumer sentiment lift the ASX 200? Will the improved sentiment percolate across the economy? 

The sentiment can certainly impact the discretionary spending sector, at least in the near-term. 

For instance, the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary (ASX: XDJ) is up 7% from this time last month. It’s also up 4% from this time 3 months ago. 

Additionally, Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) — a stock that certainly benefits from improved consumer sentiment — is up 12.4% from this time last month. JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) is also enjoying gains — up 11.3% from last month. 

More reading

• Why Jumbo, Santos, Westpac, & Zip Co shares are crashing lower
• 3 ASX 200 shares to buy and hold for decades
• Is ‘sell’ really a dirty word? How to know when to let go of your ASX shares
• Why the AFIC share price could be cheap today
• Woolworths facing fresh threat from Amazon.com

Motley Fool contributor Kiryll Prakapenka has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. 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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