The Fletcher Building Ltd (ASX: FBU) share price is in focus today after the company announced a government-backed funding agreement to secure New Zealand’s only domestic cement manufacturing until at least 2040. Golden Bay Cement, part of Fletcher Building, will receive up to $60 million from the New Zealand Government to continue operations and invest in decarbonisation.

What did Fletcher Building report?

• Golden Bay Cement to get up to $60 million in government support for its Northland plant
• Commitment to continue cement production until at least 2040
• Planned investment of at least $150 million at the Northland facility through to 2040
• Supports domestic supply of around 60% of New Zealand’s cement
• Agreement aims to address the carbon cost gap versus imported cement

What else do investors need to know?

The arrangement is a one-off government response to ensure domestic cement supply and national infrastructure resilience. Without this support, rising costs—especially from carbon emissions—could have forced Golden Bay Cement to close and shift to imports by 2030.

The agreement also ensures Golden Bay Cement will keep investing in upgrades and alternative fuels, which have already reduced reliance on fossil fuels. The plant directly employs more than 150 people and underpins over 600 jobs across the Whangārei district.

What did Fletcher Building management say?

Andrew Reding, Fletcher Building Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, said:

Domestic cement production matters for New Zealand’s resilience as much as for its economics. An onshore source reduces exposure to shipping disruption, supply shocks and price volatility, an increasingly important consideration as global supply chains become more unpredictable. Golden Bay Cement directly employs more than 150 people and supports a further 450 jobs across the Whangārei district, underpinning our ability to build homes, hospitals, roads and infrastructure with locally sourced materials.

What’s next for Fletcher Building?

With this funding agreement, Fletcher Building will phase in at least $150 million of investment at Golden Bay Cement’s Northland plant up to 2040. The focus will be on operational resilience, modernisation, and decarbonisation, with all planned investments subject to Fletcher Building’s usual approval processes.

The company’s commitment secures local cement manufacturing, aiming for a lower-carbon operation compared to imports and supporting New Zealand’s building sector.

Fletcher Building share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Fletcher Building shares have risen 13%, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which has risen 1% over the same period.

View Original Announcement

The post Fletcher Building secures $60m for local cement production in NZ appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Laura Stewart 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. This article was prepared with the assistance of Large Language Model (LLM) tools for the initial summary of the company announcement. Any content assisted by AI is subject to our robust human-in-the-loop quality control framework, involving thorough review, substantial editing, and fact-checking by our experienced writers and editors holding appropriate credentials. The Motley Fool Australia stands behind the work of our editorial team and takes ultimate responsibility for the content published by The Motley Fool Australia.

CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) shares finished last week 1% higher at $123.32, extending their recent rebound. The biotech giant’s shares have climbed 16% over the past month and are now up around 34% since their early June lows.

Even so, it’s important to keep that rally in perspective. CSL shares remain down about 29% in 2026 and have lost roughly half their value over the past 12 months.

So, after one of the biggest falls in the company’s history, could CSL shares double from here and reclaim their former highs?

Changed narrative

For decades, CSL built a reputation as one of the ASX’s highest-quality companies, delivering consistent earnings growth through its leadership in plasma-derived therapies and global healthcare operations.

That reputation took a major hit over the past year.

A string of earnings downgrades, leadership changes, and around US$5 billion in non-cash impairments, largely tied to the CSL Vifor acquisition, have weighed heavily on investor confidence.

Impairments, downward guidance

For almost two years, the ASX biotech stock has been locked in a persistent downtrend. This has been punctuated by sharp 10% to 15% rallies before another disappointing update pushed shares to fresh multi-year lows.

The latest setback came in May, when management guided to FY26 revenue of around US$15.2 billion, about 4% below consensus forecasts, and NPAT of roughly US$3.1 billion, around 7% below expectations. The company also flagged another US$5 billion of non-cash impairments across FY26 and FY27.

Since then, little has changed fundamentally. While Tavneos faces potential withdrawal in the US and Europe, analysts note the product contributes only around 1% of group revenue.

The team at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) believes expectations have now been reset to a relatively low level. Analysts expect modest earnings growth through FY28 and argue that even small earnings beats could support the share price.

What do the experts think?

Broker sentiment has become more cautious than it was a year ago.

According to TradingView data, 10 of 18 analysts now rate CSL shares as a hold. The remaining eight have buy or strong buy recommendations. The average price target sits at $138.88, implying around 13% upside from current levels.

Some analysts remain far more optimistic. UBS retained its buy rating at the start of this month with a $158 price target. The broker argues that much of the bad news surrounding Vifor has already been priced into the shares.

Morgans is also positive, maintaining a buy recommendation and a $147.59 target price. However, it expects a recovery in investor confidence to take time as the market waits for clearer evidence that earnings have stabilised.

A handful of analysts reportedly see the shares reaching as high as $197.85 over the next year. That represents potential gains of about 60%.

That would be an impressive recovery, but still well short of doubling from current levels. Based on current broker forecasts, a return to CSL’s record highs appears more realistic over several years than within the next 12 months.

The post Could CSL shares double from here? Here’s what the experts think appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Marc Van Dinther 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 CSL and Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended CSL and Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

I love buying ASX dividend stocks after they’ve fallen because we’re getting much better bang for our buck.

Not only do we get to buy a business at a lower price-earnings (P/E) ratio, but it also means the dividend yield is larger.

For example, if a business has a dividend yield of 4% and then the share price drops 10%, the yield becomes 4.4%. With the ASX dividend stock Propel Funeral Partners Ltd (ASX: PFP), we’re talking about a much larger fall.

As the chart below shows, the Propel share price has fallen by around 34% since the start of 2026. I think this is a good time to invest in the funeral provider because of a few different reasons.

Opportunistic time to buy

One of the most important things about investing is that the price we pay has a big impact on the size of the returns generated.

There are a number of headwinds facing the Propel share price right now, which is why it’s so much cheaper. Higher interest rates may have prompted investors to consider other safe assets, such as cash, term deposits, and interest rate-linked bonds, hurting the Propel share price – this effect could reverse if/when interest rates start to come down again, possibly next year.

Plus, the ASX dividend stock is expecting FY26 revenue growth to be between flat to 1.9%. This seems like a relatively low level of revenue growth for the year, and I’m expecting more in future financial years, so this could be an opportunistic time to buy as the ageing demographic tailwinds become stronger.

Long-term growth trend

According to Propel, the industry is expected to see volume growth in the coming years.

The number of deaths in Australia is expected to increase by an average of 2.9% per year between 2026 and 2035 and then 2.4% per year between 2036 and 2045. That compares to a growth rate of 1.1% between 1990 and 2025.

As the saying goes, there are only two things certain in life – death and taxes – and we can’t invest in the Australian Taxation Office.

There is a certain number of deaths each year, which means the business has a certain level of earnings each year, making it very defensive.

According to the forecast on CMC Invest, the business is now valued at 22 times FY26’s estimated earnings. I think this looks reasonable for the long-term growth potential.

Good dividend yield

The ASX dividend stock is delivering a solid level of dividends for investors, which could grow in the coming years.

Based on the forecast on CMC Invest, the potential grossed-up dividend yield for FY26 is 5.5% (including franking credits), and this yield could grow to 6.2% by FY28 (including franking credits).

That’s not the biggest yield on the ASX, but it is a good level of payouts, and it could deliver payout growth in the years ahead.

The post 1 ASX dividend stock down 34% I’d buy right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Propel Funeral Partners. 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.