The FlexiGroup Limited (ASX: FXL) share price will be on watch today after the financial services company released an update on its buy now pay later business.

What did FlexiGroup announce?

According to the release, the company’s buy now pay later offering has been growing in popularity during the pandemic. So much so, like rivals Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P), it has just passed a couple of milestones.

FlexiGroup has added over 380,000 new interest free instalment customers to its platform over the last 11 months. This has lifted its customer numbers to over 2.1 million, making it one of the largest instalment players in the ANZ market by both customer numbers and volume.

In respect to the latter, the company has processed $2 billion of transactions through its platform over the last 11 months.

Management revealed that this growth has been driven by the continued expansion of humm, along with its strategic partnership with Mastercard. The payment giant powers its interest free instalment products and enables customers to shop anywhere Mastercard is accepted.

Humming along very nicely.

The release advises that FlexiGroup’s digital offering has seen over 600,000 app downloads.

Positively, these apps are being opened more frequently than ever by consumers. The company notes that its payment products are used for purchases both small and large, with customers making an average of 9 purchases a year through its apps.

This led to online sales volumes for the humm platform increasing 103% in the first half and accelerating to 282% for the five months to May 2020.

The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Rebecca James, commented: “Our firm leadership position in interest free instalment transactions over $1,000, which is well in excess of the BNPL industry average, continues to be a strong differentiator.”

“We don’t believe in a one size fits all approach. Our services are designed not only with category specific features, but individually customisable payment options that empower each consumer to make their own decisions, set their own plan and ultimately stay totally in control of their own buying. It is this approach which continues to drive growth in high value verticals such as health, home and home improvement, and luxury goods,” she added.

The chief executive was particularly pleased with the frequency that customers are using its products.

She explained: “While we’ve added 380,000 new customers to our platform over the last 11 months, the most significant change is the number of times our customers are choosing to use our payment services – now 9 times a year and growing. This demonstrates that our strategy is well and truly working, and that our brands are now well entrenched with our customers.”

More reading

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James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended FlexiGroup 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.

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The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price climbed 1% yesterday while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) edged 0.03% higher to 5,944.50 points.

While the S&P/ASX 200 Materials (+1.68%) sector shares like BHP provided some strong gains, this was largely offset by a soft performance from the S&P/ASX 200 Info Tech (-1.76%) and S&P/ASX 200 Industrials (-2.35%) sectors.

One good day doesn’t necessarily make BHP a good investment, but is it worth another look at its current price?

Is it time to buy BHP shares?

I think BHP is an interesting company to look at buying right now. It’s currently the largest ASX share by market capitalisation and the Aussie miner is worth an incredible $167.6 billion.

The BHP share price has fallen 9.2% in 2020 but is starting to gain some momentum. BHP hit a new 52-week low of $24.05 in mid-March before nearly doubling to its current $35.36 valuation.

That means that many of the potential gains have been snapped up by brave investors in the recent bear market.

I think a lot of the potential BHP share price growth lies with fiscal policy in 2020 and 2021. If the government turns to infrastructure to fast-track an economic recovery that could be good news for BHP.

More construction means more steel, which means more demand for key inputs like iron ore. Government work is about as reliable as it gets, which means BHP shares could climb higher if we see some serious new investment.

The BHP share price is up 24% in the last 5 years, and I don’t think BHP is super cheap at $35.36 right now. However, with a company as old and large as BHP, you also have to account for dividends.

BHP is currently yielding a tidy 6% dividend, which is handy income for any retiree or even young investors looking to re-invest their gains for long-term growth.

Foolish takeaway

If you like reliable dividends then I think BHP shares could be a solid addition to a well-diversified portfolio.

The short-term outlook for iron ore prices is strong and the Aussie miner has been a blue-chip dividend share for decades.

Of course, nothing is guaranteed and it’s wise to only buy if you’re willing to hold on a long-term investment horizon.

More reading

• These ASX stocks might be a better option than Carsales.Com
• How to try and beat the market with ASX shares
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• ASX 200 finishes flat, ASX travel shares drop
• Afterpay and 2 more ASX 200 shares to watch this week

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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 Is it time to buy BHP shares right now? appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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