One of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s biggest energy stocks is having a rough start to the week.

AGL Energy Ltd (ASX: AGL) shares are down 5.10% to $8.01 today after the electricity provider was hit with a broker downgrade.

The decline leaves the AGL share price down almost 14% since the beginning of 2026 and around 16% over the past 12 months.

The selling follows a warning that weak wholesale electricity prices could delay the company’s earnings recovery for several years.

Here’s more on that detail.

Macquarie cuts its rating

According to The Australian, Macquarie has downgraded AGL shares from neutral to underperform and cut its price target by 12% to $7.75.

The new target sits below Friday’s closing price of $8.44 and is also slightly lower than where the stock is trading today.

Macquarie believes the electricity market remains too well supplied, with wholesale power prices sitting near 5-year lows. Mild weather, additional battery storage, and growing output from wind and solar projects have all contributed to the softer pricing environment.

The broker noted that the number of hours with prices above $300 per megawatt-hour across the National Electricity Market fell 70% during the June quarter compared with a year earlier.

AGL’s longer-term outlook weakens

Macquarie now expects wholesale power prices to recover in FY31, 2 years later than its previous FY29 forecast.

The broker reportedly cut its FY28 earnings forecast by 25% and lowered its FY29 estimate by 72%. It believes AGL’s earnings could fall back to 2021 levels by FY28.

Macquarie’s weaker outlook also takes into account the impact of data centres, which are often seen as a major source of future electricity demand. However, the broker believes this extra demand could keep coal-fired power stations operating for longer and attract more renewable generation.

This could leave the electricity market oversupplied for longer and delay a recovery in wholesale prices.

The risk would grow if the planned closures of Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG)’s Eraring power station and AGL’s Bayswater facility are delayed.

AGL’s upcoming results in focus

The downgrade comes even after AGL lifted the lower end of its FY26 guidance in May.

The company now expects underlying EBITDA of between $2.06 billion and $2.18 billion. Underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) is forecast to come in between $610 million and $680 million.

AGL said improved plant availability, steadier consumer margins, and disciplined cost management had supported the stronger outlook.

Management also warned that FY27 could include lower wholesale prices in some regions and softer market conditions.

AGL will provide its FY27 guidance when it releases its full-year results on 12 August.

The post Why this ASX 200 energy stock is crashing 5% on Monday 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 positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

If an ASX investor is on the hunt for their next dividend share, they might be drawn to the financial sector of the Australian markets. ASX financial shares have long been known for their hefty dividend potential, mainly thanks to the generosity of the ASX bank shares. AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) is a financial share, and does have a banking division. But does this make the company a sound dividend investment?

AMP is one of the ASX’s most interesting stocks, at least in my view.

This company has had quite the journey since demutualising and floating on the ASX back in the late 1990s. Unfortunately, it has been a rather arduous journey for most of the past two and a half decades. The company once commanded a price of almost $15 a share back in its early ASX days. However, chronic mismanagement and a series of scandals proved to be catastrophic for those investors who received AMP shares as part of their demutualisation. Since January 1999, the AMP share price has collapsed by more than 87%. That’s a pretty rough return for more than 27 years of waiting.

More recently, though, AMP seems to have at least steadied the ship. At $1.70 a share today (at the time of writing), AMP is up about 14.5% over the past 12 months, and up by more than 54% since mid 2021.

But how does this financial stock measure up when it comes to dividend income? Can it rival its larger and more popular peer in the financial space?

AMP shares: What kind of dividends are on offer today?

At today’s price of $1.70 a share, AMP stock is trading on a trailing yield of 2.37%. That stems from the last two dividends the company has paid out. The first of those was the final dividend worth 2 cents per share that we saw doled out back in April. The second was the interim dividend from September, also worth 2 cents per share. Both payments came partially franked at 20%.

The final dividend was a particularly welcome one, as it represented a 100% increase on the 1 cent per share payout investors bagged in April 2025.

Saying that, investors have had better in the past. For example, 2023 saw shareholders receive two payments worth 2.5 cents per share each.

Still, AMP’s relatively low yield and lack of full franking do arguably make the company uncompetitive in the ASX financial space when it comes to dividends. At least where things currently stand.

Who knows what the future might hold, though. As my Fool colleague Samantha recently covered, many ASX brokers are bullish on AMP shares right now. Perhaps the company will keep improving its income offerings to investors going forward. We’ll have to wait and see.

The post Buying AMP shares? Here’s the dividend yield you’ll get 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 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 Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO) share price is sliding again on Monday following a new announcement from the accounting software company.

At the time of writing, Xero shares are down 4.24% to $70.29. The S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is also lower, although its 1.33% fall is much smaller.

The latest drop adds to a painful year for shareholders. Xero shares have now fallen almost 40% in 2026 and around 60% over the past 12 months.

Here’s the latest.

CEO sells remaining ordinary shares

According to the release, Singh Cassidy sold 29,608 Xero shares on market on 7 July at $74 apiece.

The transaction was worth just over $2.19 million, with Xero saying the sale was made to manage personal tax obligations.

Interestingly, the sale means Singh Cassidy no longer holds any ordinary Xero shares directly. However, she still has plenty riding on the company through 171,381 restricted stock units and 1,038,308 unlisted options.

Those holdings leave her with plenty of exposure to how Xero performs from here.

More than $7.5 million sold since May

The latest sale follows another large disposal by Singh Cassidy only a few weeks earlier.

Between 26 May and 2 June, she sold 70,737 Xero shares for around $5.4 million. Xero also said those sales were made to cover tax obligations.

Combined, the two transactions have seen the Chief Executive sell 100,345 shares worth roughly $7.6 million since late May.

Both sales have been linked to tax obligations, but the timing isn’t a great look when Xero shares are already trading near their 52-week low of $65.

Strong growth has not stopped the slide

Xero’s share price had already been falling despite solid growth in the underlying business.

Its FY26 result showed operating revenue rising 31% to NZ$2.75 billion, while adjusted EBITDA increased 18% to NZ$757.4 million. Net profit fell 27% to NZ$167.4 million as acquisition costs linked to US payments business Melio weighed on the result.

Management expects FY27 operating revenue of between NZ$3.62 billion and NZ$3.73 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is forecast to reach NZ$860 million to NZ$920 million.

Why are Xero shares falling?

Today’s CEO sale seems be adding to the selling, while the weaker tech sector is also working against the stock.

However, the 60% decline over the past year points to much bigger concerns.

Investors are weighing the price paid for Melio, higher costs, and the time needed to turn faster US growth into stronger profits.

The business is still growing revenue and customers, but the market wants to see more of that growth flow through to the bottom line.

The post Another CEO share sale has this ASX 100 tech stock sinking 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 positions in and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.