Australia has a small but fast-growing ASX tech sector. Some of these listed companies have already made it to the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

Here we look at 3 of those companies, all of which I believe are good options to buy and hold for the long term.

WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)

WiseTech Global is the leading global developer of software solutions to the logistics industry. The company has a strong and entrenched position in this market.

The WiseTech share price fell heavily from mid-February to mid-March by more than 60%. The company’s supply chains were significantly impacted during the early phase of the coronavirus crisis. As a result, the company downgraded its earnings projections for FY2020 back in February to between 5% and 22% year-over-year growth.  

Since then, the WiseTech share price has rallied strongly and regained about half of those losses. Global markets are now beginning to open up, especially the Chinese market. This should hopefully lead to further uplift in sales.

More challenges in the months ahead may lead to additional share price volatility for WiseTech. However, I believe that its long-term growth prospects remain strong, driven by the growing demand for logistics solutions.

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)

Appen provides data for use in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) and is the global leader in this field.

In a market update last week, Appen commented that its earnings base continues to be resilient. This is in spite of challenging market conditions. So far, there has been negligible impact on its customer base, except for some smaller customers.

Appen further revealed that its balance sheet continues to be strong with cash in excess of $100 million. It will also continue to invest in technology areas that will help achieve its long-term growth trajectory.

I think that Appen remains well placed for strong growth over the next 5 years. This will be driven by the rapidly rising demand for AI products and machine learning solutions.

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)

Altium designs software that enables engineers to manufacture printed circuit boards for a broad range of devices. This includes everything from computers to cars and the growing number of interconnected devices that make up the ‘internet of things’ (IoT).

Altium has recently experienced challenges to sales, especially at the smaller end of its target market. It recently noticed signs of distress amongst some start-ups and other smaller customers.

Despite these short-term challenges, I believe that Altium’s long-term future still remains bright. It has a strong balance sheet and has continued to grow its margins over the past few years.

In particular, IoT is a rapidly growing sector. This provides Altium with plenty of scope to grow strongly over the next 5 to 10 years.

More reading

• Why Woolworths shares are offering a rare buying opportunity today
• In your 50s? Here are the 2 best ASX 200 shares to buy now
• These ASX shares are set to get a big boost from the next big government stimulus
• These 5 ASX 200 shares were last week’s biggest winners
• 3 leading ASX 200 shares to buy for market-beating returns

Motley Fool contributor Phil Harpur owns shares of Altium, Appen Ltd, and WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Altium, Appen Ltd, and WiseTech Global. 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 3 ASX 200 tech shares to buy and hold beyond 2025 appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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I think that WAM Global Limited (ASX: WGB) is a great share for those investors who are older than 50.  

If you’re in retirement, or getting closer to retirement, I think it becomes more important to have good diversification in your portfolio.

I also believe that most Aussie investors should have some exposure to shares that are listed overseas. The ASX only makes up 2% of the global share market.

Why WAM Global is a great share for investors older than 50

WAM Global is a listed investment company (LIC). That means the job of the investment team at Wilson Asset Management (WAM) is to invest in shares on your behalf.

Investors older than 50 may not have the time or desire to continually manage their investment portfolio. WAM Global can do the investing decisions for you.

As the name might suggest, this LIC invests in global shares.

What are some of the shares it owns right now? At the end of April 2020 it owned shares like Tencent, Amazon, Aon, Activision, CME Group, Costco, Doller General, Hasbro, Hello Fresh, Intuit, Logitech, Lowe’s, Microsoft and Nomad Foods. That’s a defensive group of names that’s suited to no matter what happens with the coronavirus.

What about the dividend?

LICs have the ability to turn capital gains made and investment income received into a smoothed dividend to investors older than 50 (and all other shareholders). WAM Global has been steadily growing its dividend since it started paying one. Keep in mind it only listed in June 2018.

It currently offers an annualised fully franked dividend of 6 cents per share. This amounts to a grossed-up dividend yield of 4.2%.

For investors older than 50 that’s not a huge yield. But it will probably keep growing over time. Just like the other WAM LICs have done.

Is it a good time to buy right now?

WAM Global’s share price has recovered strongly since 23 March 2020 – it’s up 47%. In March would have been the best time to buy. The share price discount to the net tangible asset (NTA) isn’t as big as it used to be. Australia’s dollar has continued to strengthen. 

At the end of April 2020 it had a pre-tax NTA of $2.25, so today’s share price is an 8.5% discount to the NTA last month. Many share prices have been rising throughout May 2020, so the discount could be somewhere in the mid-teens.

I think it’s a good price today to buy for the long-term for investors older than 50, though be aware there could be another market fall later this year.

More reading

• Top ASX Stock Picks for June 2020
• 2 ASX shares that are absurdly cheap right now
• How to build good wealth with small investments
• Do you have $3,000 to invest in these 3 top ASX dividend shares?
• How to build your first ASX share portfolio

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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.

The post Why this global share is great for investors older than 50 appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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I think there’s a rare buying opportunity for Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) shares today.

Woolworths shares have had a fairly interesting ride lately.

Back in February, Woolworths shares made a fresh new all-time high of $43.96. Then the March share market crash hit and the shares went all the way down to $32.12. When it became apparent that Australians were stocking up on food, toilet paper, and other essentials in February and March, the Woolies share price rebounded back to the $40 level.

But since then, Woolworths shares have languished while the rest of the market has surged. For some context, since 23 March the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has risen close to 28%. Woolworths shares? A 3.66% drop.

Why are Woolworths shares stuck in the mud?

You would think that after Woolworths reported a record quarter (ending 31 March 2020) that investors would be scrambling to get a hold of this company’s shares. Especially those investors who were willing to pay nearly $45 for the same shares just a few months ago.

But investors know that the healthy bump Woolies got in February and March isn’t here to stay. According to the company, consumption patterns have more or less returned to normal. What hasn’t returned to normal though is Woolworths’ spending. The company has had to ramp up costs considerably as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Safety screens, extra cleaning, enforcing social distancing at its stores, and additional staffing costs are all expensive and will probably be weighing the company’s balance sheet down for at least the next year, possibly longer.

It’s my view that investors are seeing these costs and as a result, aren’t in a rush for Woolworths shares.

Why the Woolworths share price might be a buy today

At current levels, I’m seeing a pricing opportunity for Woolworths shares. Why? Because the company is trading at no premium to its arch-rival Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL). Being a larger, more diverse company with a higher market share of the Australia grocery industry, Woolworths has historically commanded a pricing premium to Coles.

But today, the shares are neck-and-neck. On current prices of $35.28 (at the time of writing), Woolworths shares are trading on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 17.48 and a trailing dividend yield of 2.93%.

If we look at the Coles share price at $15.48, we can see a P/E ratio of 17.08 and a trailing dividend yield of 2.77%.

So the companies are pretty much dead-even on a P/E basis and Woolworths actually comes out on top regarding dividend yield.

Foolish takeaway

I think dividend shares will continue to be in demand in 2020 as a result of record-low interest rates. And in my view, Woolworths is one of the most reliable ASX dividend shares on the ASX today.

As such, I think Woolworths is a decent buy today.

More reading

• 3 ASX 200 tech shares to buy and hold beyond 2025
• In your 50s? Here are the 2 best ASX 200 shares to buy now
• These ASX shares are set to get a big boost from the next big government stimulus
• These 5 ASX 200 shares were last week’s biggest winners
• 3 leading ASX 200 shares to buy for market-beating returns

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of COLESGROUP DEF SET and Woolworths 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.

The post Why Woolworths shares are offering a rare buying opportunity today appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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