It has been another fairly quiet session for Bank of Queensland Ltd (ASX: BOQ) shares on Wednesday.

The bank’s share price is down 1.28% to $6.575 in midday trade, continuing its somewhat lacklustre performance over the past year.

Back on 9 June, BOQ shares fell to a 52-week low of $5.91. They’ve since recovered around 11%, although the stock remains well below its 52-week high of $7.48.

But with shares still well below their highs, are they worth buying today?

The dividend looks pretty attractive

One thing likely drawing interest from income investors is BOQ’s dividend yield.

The bank paid 55 cents per share in fully franked dividends over the past 12 months.

At today’s share price, that translates to a trailing yield of approximately 8.37%.

However, there’s something worth keeping in mind.

That figure includes the 15-cent special dividend paid in August. Excluding this one-off payment, the ordinary dividends total 40 cents, giving a yield closer to 6.1%.

Still, that’s a decent return for shareholders.

The bank also announced a $295 million capital return last month. This consists of the special dividend and an on-market share buyback of up to $196 million.

But what about the underlying business?

This is where I’d be paying closer attention.

BOQ’s half-year results showed cash earnings fell 4% to $176 million, while statutory net profit dropped 20% to $136 million.

Operating expenses also increased 6% to $553 million.

There were some positives, though.

Its net interest margin (NIM) improved to 1.67%, compared with 1.57% a year earlier, while commercial lending balances increased 16%. 

More recently, BOQ completed the migration of approximately 350,000 ME customers onto its digital banking platform.

However, the bank also flagged a $47 million pre-tax impairment charge relating to technology and other assets, which will affect its FY26 statutory results. 

Are BOQ shares good value?

Analysts appear fairly divided on where BOQ shares could be heading next.

TipRanks puts the average 12-month price target from 8 analysts at $6.20, suggesting around 5.7% downside from today’s price.

Morningstar, on the other hand, has a fair value estimate of $7.305, suggesting approximately 11% upside. However, it also rates its valuation as highly uncertain.

Personally, I can see the appeal of the dividend, but I’m not convinced BOQ is an obvious bargain at $6.58.

I’d like to see more improvement in earnings before considering buying shares.

BOQ is scheduled to release its FY26 results on 15 October, which should give us a better idea of how the turnaround is progressing.

The post Bank of Queensland shares hit a 52-week low in June. Are they cheap today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 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.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained 24.3% since 22 September 2023, but Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) shares have left those gains wanting.

So, just how much would a $10,000 investment in both of the ASX 200 gold stocks three years ago be worth today?

Read on!

Buying $10,000 worth of Northern Star shares

On 22 September 2023, gold was trading for US$1,925 per ounce, according to data from Bloomberg.

Today, that same ounce is trading for US$4,360, which puts the yellow metal up 126.5%.

As for Northern Star, three years ago you could have bought the ASX 200 gold miner for $10.92 a share. Meaning you could have picked up 915 Northern Star shares for $10,000.

In intraday trade on Wednesday, shares are changing hands $22.84 each. So, those 915 shares would be worth $20,899 today.

But let’s not forget those Northern Star dividends.

If you’d owned the stock for the past three years you would have received (or shortly will) the past six dividend payouts, totalling $1.50 a share. The first three were unfranked while the most recent three were franked at 100%. Northern Star stock traded ex-dividend on 9 September. If you held the stock at market close on 8 September you can expect to get paid on 15 October.

Now, if we add those dividends back in to today’s share price, then the accumulated value of the Northern Star shares you bought in September 2023 is worth $24.34 today. And those 915 shares are worth an accumulated $22,271.

Or a gain of 122.7%.

Which brings us to…

Investing $10,000 in Evolution Mining shares

On 22 September 2023, Evolution Mining shares closed the day trading for $3.58.

Your $10,000 investment, then, would have netted you 2,793 shares in this ASX 200 gold stock.

At the time of writing today, those same shares are changing hands for $13.97 each, meaning you could sell the whole lot now for $39,018.

But again, let’s not forget those dividends.

Having bought the gold miner three years ago, you would have received (or shortly will) the past six fully franked Evolution Mining dividends, totalling 68 cents a share. Evolution Mining stock traded ex-dividend on 9 September. If you held the stock at market close on 8 September, you can expect to see that record high 21 cent per share passive income payout land in your bank account on 2 October.

If we add those dividends back in to today’s share price, then the accumulated value of the Evolution Mining shares purchased three years ago is worth $14.65 now. And those 2,793 shares are worth an accumulated $40,917.

That’s a gain of 309.2%, which sees Evolution Mining clearly beating out Northern Star shares as the better investment over the past three years.

The post $10,000 invested in Evolution Mining and Northern Star shares 3 years ago is now worth… appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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.

Tesoro Gold Ltd (ASX: TSO) shares have been pretty much flat over the past year, but the team at Morgans believes some recent news could be the catalyst for a significant rerating.

Maiden gold reserve bolsters confidence

The company has in the past few days reported a maiden gold reserve at its Ternera deposit in Chile, with the project containing 1.28 million ounces of gold.

The reserve lies within a planned single open pit and represents 87% of the overall 1.47 million ounce gold resource at the project.

Tesoro said further:

The Ore Reserve supports a substantial, long-life development at the planned 3.0Mtpa process rate. The Reserve pit was designed based on a US$3,000/oz gold price optimal pit shell. It is underpinned by Pre-Feasibility (PFS) mine designs and schedules and the application of Modifying Factors informed by work completed across mining, geotechnical, metallurgy, processing, infrastructure, environmental and cost workstreams.

The company will now progress to a definitive feasibility study for the deposit, and will, “evaluate further opportunities to optimise the Project as the technical and development workstreams are refined”.

Tesoro said the gold reserve supports a project production life of more than 13 years.

The company said the project was close to road, power and water infrastructure and just 57km by road to the port of Caldera.

Further growth potential was also being tested through an ongoing drilling program.

Tesoro Managing Director Zeff Reeves said:

The Ternera Gold Deposit represents a rare, single open pit development opportunity in a world class mining friendly country. Establishing this initial 1.28Moz Ore Reserve is a significant step for our El Zorro Gold Project. We now have a substantial Ore Reserve contained entirely within a single open pit which supports more than 13 years of production at the planned 3.0Mtpa processing rate. This gives us a strong development base at Ternera, which still has significant upside to be unlocked from further drilling.

ASX gold shares looking cheap

Morgans said in a note to clients that the maiden reserve further reinforced their view that the project was technically robust and financeable.

They said:

The Ternera deposit supports a simple open-pit development scenario, with a single pit-constrained mining inventory and favourable geometry resulting in a moderate life of mine strip ratio of 6.3:1. We believe the combination of strong project economics, low technical complexity and favourable mining conditions should support development financing and enhance corporate appeal.

Morgans said they saw multiple catalysts over the next 12 months which could further derisk the project.

They have a price target of $2.64 on the company compared to 87.5 cents currently. Tesoro Gold is valued at $157.3 million.

The post This ASX gold stock could jump more than 200%: Broker 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.