Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares have continued sliding since the bank’s latest quarterly update.

A new 52-week low naturally makes the shares look more tempting.

But has the investment case improved enough for me to buy?

The valuation has come down

Westpac shares touched a 52-week low of $33.46 on Monday, well below their 52-week high of $43.32.

That represents a decline of almost 23% from the peak and has taken some of the heat out of the valuation.

According to CommSec, analysts currently expect earnings per share of $2.08 in FY26 and $2.15 in FY27. At $33.46, Westpac is trading at around 16 times FY26 earnings and approximately 15.6 times FY27 earnings.

Those numbers look considerably more reasonable to me than they did when the shares were above $40.

Consensus forecasts also point to fully franked dividends of $1.54 per share in FY26 and $1.55 in FY27, so investors are still being offered a healthy stream of income while they wait.

But a cheaper share price alone is not enough to make me change my view.

My main concern hasn’t gone away

I wrote negatively about Westpac earlier this month after its third-quarter update, and the issue that bothered me then is still important today.

Mortgage applications have slowed.

Westpac reported average monthly mortgage applications of around 29,000 during the third quarter, while the run rate following the federal budget had fallen further to approximately 26,000.

That catches my attention because home lending remains a huge part of Westpac’s business. Its Australian mortgage portfolio stood at $529.1 billion at the end of June.

The bank also expects Australian housing credit growth to slow from 6.8% in FY26 to 4.7% in FY27.

Westpac is still profitable and its third-quarter update contained positives, including growth in business lending and deposits. But I would like to see clearer evidence that the bank can generate stronger growth outside its enormous mortgage business before becoming more positive.

The consensus numbers do not give me much reason to rush either. Earnings per share are currently expected to rise only modestly between FY26 and FY27, while the dividend forecast is almost unchanged.

I’d rather own CBA or NAB

If I wanted to buy an Australian bank today, I would still look elsewhere.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) remains my preferred high-quality banking business.

I like its enormous customer franchise, strong digital capabilities, and ability to grow relationships across personal banking, home lending, business banking, and other financial services.

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) also interests me more than Westpac.

NAB’s strong position in business banking gives it exposure to an area I find attractive, particularly when competition and slower growth can make Australian home lending more challenging.

Westpac is working to strengthen its own business banking operations, including adding more regional bankers. That could help over time.

For now, though, I think CBA and NAB give me stronger reasons to invest.

Foolish takeaway

The new 52-week low has made Westpac shares more reasonably priced, but I am still not a buyer.

I would want more than a falling share price to change my mind. The slowdown in mortgage applications remains a concern, while current forecasts suggest earnings growth could be fairly subdued in the near term.

Westpac could certainly recover from here, and its dividend may attract income investors.

For my own money, though, I would rather put it behind CBA or NAB and wait for stronger evidence before reconsidering Westpac.

The post Are Westpac shares a buy at their new 52-week low? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Grace Alvino 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.

Shares in automotive repairer AMA Group Ltd (ASX: AMA) have fallen almost 50% over the past 12 months, but the analyst team at Bell Potter thinks the company is worth another look.

Solid profit result posted

The company last week reported its full-year results, with revenue coming in at $1.04 billion and EBITDA tipping the scales at $68 million, up 8.6%.

Managing Director Ray Smith-Roberts said the company had delivered positive results despite a challenging operating environment.

He said:

AMA is increasingly becoming a vertically integrated business that combines vehicle repair services with automotive parts sourcing and supply, enabling greater control over repair quality, turnaround times and costs. Being vertically integrated, with multiple income streams, provides us with a key competitive advantage. Strong performances from our ACM, Mechanical and ADAS businesses demonstrate the value of complementary capabilities across the vehicle repair lifecycle and position the Group to respond to evolving customer and industry needs.

The company opened three new sites during the year, in South Australia, New South Wales, and Tasmania.

The company also declared a dividend of 0.5 cents per share – its first since 2019.

On the outlook for FY27, AMA Group said it expected EBITDA to be in the range of $75 to $80 million, “subject to ordinary trading conditions”.

Shares looking cheap, broker says

Bell Potter has a positive outlook on the company despite the earnings results missing consensus estimates.

They said:

The result … missed the guidance of $70-75m and was largely driven by a lower-than-anticipated uplift in repair volumes during Q4 as a result of higher fuel prices and public transport concessions. A highlight of the result was the positive free cash flow of $2.5m – we had forecast around breakeven – and the lower than expected year end net debt level of $18.4m. Positive surprise of the result was a final dividend of 0.5c fully franked where we had not forecast any.  

Bell Potter slightly downgraded its earnings expectations for AMA Group, with its EBITDA forecast now $76.7 million, which is towards the lower end of the company’s own forecast.

This flowed through into a lower price target for the company, down from $1 to 90 cents, but still well above the current share price of 49.5 cents.

Bell Potter said one of the main risks to the company was customer concentration.

They said:

The car insurance market in Australia is heavily concentrated and a significant proportion of AMA’s revenue is derived from the top two insurers, Suncorp and IAG. Any breakdown in the relationship with one or both of these insurers could have a material adverse impact on AMA’s revenue and profitability.

The post Bell Potter says this ASX small cap could almost double in value 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.

Some of my favourite ASX opportunities are businesses that have already proven themselves in Australia but still have enormous markets overseas to pursue.

If they can keep building their international presence, I think the three shares below could be considerably larger businesses in the years ahead.

Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG)

Breville has turned an Australian appliance brand into a global premium kitchen business.

Its products now compete in major markets around the world, particularly across coffee and food preparation.

I think coffee is one of the most interesting parts of the opportunity.

Consumers have become increasingly willing to spend money on better coffee at home, and Breville has built a strong reputation for machines that sit between basic household appliances and much more expensive professional equipment.

That gives the company room to keep attracting people who want to recreate the café experience at home.

Breville can also grow by entering more countries, expanding its product range, and encouraging existing customers to buy additional products over time.

One thing I like is that the company does not need to become the dominant appliance company everywhere. Winning a larger share of premium kitchen spending across a growing collection of markets could be enough to support many years of expansion.

Catapult Sports Ltd (ASX: CAT)

Catapult Sports operates in a growing part of the technology industry.

Its technology helps professional sporting organisations analyse athlete performance, video, tactics, and other information used by coaches and performance teams.

I think there is a strong long-term reason for clubs to spend more in this area.

Elite sport is enormously competitive. Even small improvements in player preparation, recruitment, injury management, or tactical decision-making can be valuable when teams are trying to gain an advantage.

Catapult can keep expanding by signing more organisations, adding more teams within existing customers, and encouraging those customers to use more of its software and technology.

The company has also broadened its offering through areas such as video analysis and athlete scouting.

For me, that creates the opportunity for Catapult to become increasingly embedded in how professional sporting organisations operate.

There are major leagues, clubs, universities, and sporting programs across the world, so I think the addressable market still gives the business plenty of room to run.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

Megaport gives businesses a way to connect their networks directly to cloud providers, data centres, and other digital infrastructure.

I think that becomes more valuable as companies rely on a growing number of cloud services.

Artificial intelligence (AI) could create another source of demand for Megaport’s services.

AI workloads require enormous amounts of computing power and data to move between infrastructure. Businesses may need to connect to several cloud providers or specialised computing platforms rather than keeping everything in one place.

Megaport has also expanded into AI infrastructure through Latitude.sh, giving it exposure to customers looking for access to high-performance computing.

I like the broader idea here. As corporate IT infrastructure becomes more distributed, businesses need flexible ways to connect everything together. Megaport has built a global network specifically around solving that problem.

If cloud computing and AI infrastructure continue expanding, I think the amount of connectivity businesses require could grow substantially with them.

Foolish takeaway

I think Australian investors sometimes underestimate just how large the opportunity can become when an ASX-listed company succeeds internationally.

Breville, Catapult Sports, and Megaport already have businesses that extend well beyond Australia, but I think there is still plenty of territory left to capture.

I would be comfortable buying all three and giving their global ambitions years to play out.

The post 3 ASX shares I’d buy for their global growth potential appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Grace Alvino 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 Catapult Sports and Megaport. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Catapult Sports. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.