Author: therawinformant

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end its winning streak on Thursday. In afternoon trade the benchmark index is down 0.25% to 6,434 points.

Four shares that have fallen more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping lower:

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

The Fortescue share price has fallen 4% to $16.61. This is despite there being no news out of the iron ore producer today. In fact, not even a bullish broker note out of Macquarie has been able to support its shares. Macquarie has retained its outperform rating and $20.00 price target on the company’s shares following its annual general meeting update.

Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA)

The Nearmap share price has fallen 3% to $2.41 following the release of its annual general meeting update. At its event, the aerial imagery technology company provided guidance for annualised contract value (ACV) in FY 2021. Management expects to deliver ACV of between $120 million and $128 million this year. This compares to the ACV of $106.4 million it achieved in FY 2020. The company also reiterated its target of 20% to 40% annual ACV growth over the medium to long term.

Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR)

The Saracen share price has continued its slide and is down a further 3% to $5.27. Investors have been selling Saracen and other gold miners this week after a sharp pullback in the gold price. It isn’t just Saracen that is under pressure today. The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index is down 1.2% at the time of writing.

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

The Westpac share price is down 2% to $18.38. Today’s decline appears to have been driven by profit taking from some investors following strong gains in the banking sector this week. Prior to today, the Westpac share price was up 5.5% since the start of the week.

More reading

• The Nearmap (ASX:NEA) share price is up and down today. Here’s why.
• ASX 200 down 0.1%: Xero hits record high, Telstra and Wesfarmers updates impress
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Where you could invest $20,000 into ASX shares today
• An insider just bought $355,000 worth of Westpac (ASX:WBC) shares

James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nearmap Ltd. 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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In afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) looks set to end its winning streak. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.3% to 6,431.8 points.

Four shares that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here’s why they are storming higher:

InvoCare Limited (ASX: IVC)

The InvoCare share price has climbed 3.5% to $11.91 after announcing two new acquisitions. The funerals company has entered into conditional sales agreements to acquire 100% of the shares of Family Pet Care and the business and assets of Pets in Peace for a combined price of $49.8 million. The acquisitions are forecast to deliver combined annual revenue of ~$19.3 million and be earnings per share accretive in the first full year of operation.

Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC)

The Nine Entertainment share price is up 4.5% to $2.46 following the release of a trading update. That update revealed that the media and entertainment company expects its first-half earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to be up by around 30% compared to the prior corresponding period.

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

The Telstra share price is up 4.5% to $3.13. Investors have been buying the telco giant’s shares after it announced a potential restructuring of the company to create three separate legal entities. Telstra believes the restructure would enable it to take advantage of potential monetisation opportunities for its infrastructure assets. These are expected to create additional value for shareholders. In addition to this, Telstra has reconfirmed the FY 2021 guidance.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

The Wesfarmers share price is up over 2.5% to $48.88. This follows the release of the conglomerate’s trading update this morning. That update revealed that Wesfarmers has started the year very positively, with strong sales growth being achieved across much of the company. The Bunnings business has achieved sales growth of 25.2% for the first four months of FY 2021. This has been supported by a 23.4% increase in Officeworks sales and a 114.4% jump in Catch sales.

More reading

• ASX 200 down 0.1%: Xero hits record high, Telstra and Wesfarmers updates impress
• Best and worst ASX retail stocks to own in the COVID recovery
• Nine (ASX:NEC) share price surges after AGM update
• Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price on watch after FY 2021 trading update
• Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price on watch after major update

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended InvoCare 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 Bailador Technology Investments Ltd (ASX: BTI) share price shot up this morning, climbing 12.38% to $1.18 before falling back to $1.12 at the time of writing. This came after the company released an update about its investment in Straker Translations Ltd (ASX: STG).

What did Bailador announce?

Bailador updated the market on the flow-on effect of Straker’s agreement yesterday to become a strategic translations service provider for global tech giant IBM (NYSE: IBM). The deal with IBM resulted in a significant increase in the Straker share price.

According to Bailador, the value of its investment in Straker has increased in value by 61% since its last valuation on 31 October 2020. This has boosted Bailador’s net tangible assets (NTA) by 3.2% compared to its report on 10 November 2020. At that time, Bailador had a pre-tax NTA of $1.37.

The Straker share price has increased slightly today, trading up 0.63% at $1.60, which may have a further positive effect on Bailador’s NTA.

About the Bailador share price

Bailador is an investment company that invests in the information technology sector. It has been listed on the ASX since 2014. 

In FY2020, Bailador posted a loss after tax of $4.12 million, compared to a profit after tax of $17.05 million in FY2019. The company saw a 1% net decrease in the value of its portfolio of assets in FY2020.

Bailador paid a special dividend of 2.5 cents per share in February 2020.

The Bailador share price is up 132.65% from its 52-week low of 49 cents, and up 1.79% since the beginning of the year. Bailador shares have also increased 16.33% since this time last year.

More reading

• ASX 200 surges again on Wednesday
• Why CBA, Straker, Woodside, & Xero shares are surging higher
• Why the Straker Translations (ASX:STG) share price is rocketing 37% higher today

Motley Fool contributor Chris Chitty has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Straker Translations. 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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Engineering services group EVZ Limited (ASX: EVZ)‘s shares are on the move after the company issued an earnings guidance for the first half of FY21 this morning. Immediately after the announcement, the EVZ share price surged by 7.5 cents to 18.5 cents, representing a gain of almost 70%.

What made the EVZ share price shoot the moon?

In the announcement, EVZ forecast earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of between $3 million to $3.5 million for the six months ending 31 December 2020. The company predicts revenue to finish between $30 million and $32 million.

EVZ says that the forecast is a significant improvement on the disappointing results posted for the corresponding period in FY20, when it posted a net loss of $2.8 million on sales of $66.2 million.

Chief executive Scott Farthing said, “This result marks a significant return to profit for the EVZ Limited group of companies as our businesses continue to deliver value for our clients and shareholders in the construction, energy and fuel sectors.”

What does EVZ do?

EVZ Limited (EVZ) is an industrial engineering company that provides solutions to industrial companies. The company has three operating divisions: engineering (Brockman Engineering), power (TSF Power), and water (Syfon Systems). It operates in Australia and Asia. 

How has the EVZ share price performed in 2020?

Before today’s announcement, EZV’s share price had lost 40%. It is currently trading at 18.5 cents, an almost 70% increase against yesterday’s close. The company commands a market cap of $10 million.

More reading

• The Nearmap (ASX:NEA) share price is up and down today. Here’s why.
• ASX 200 down 0.1%: Xero hits record high, Telstra and Wesfarmers updates impress
• Azure (ASX:AZS) rockets 23% after drilling update
• Best and worst ASX retail stocks to own in the COVID recovery
• Why the SEEK (ASX:SEK) share price just hit a record high

Motley Fool contributor Eddy Sunarto 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.

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The Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) share price has the wobbles today following its annual general meeting and FY21 guidance. At the time of writing, shares in the aerial imagery specialist are trading flat at $2.48 after dropping as low as $2.45.

Let’s take a closer look at what was said in its annual address to shareholders, and its outlook for FY21.

Key highlights

During FY20, Nearmap completed a number of significant milestones.

Annualised contract value (ACV) surpassed 10,000 subscriptions, which saw the average revenue of each subscription rise more than $10,000. This was achieved despite COVID-19 challenges, which resulted in a small loss of customers in the North American market.

After the successful introduction of wide-scale 3D content in FY19, the release of artificial intelligence content expanded Nearmap’s product offering. The premium subscription service helped drive revenue growth, with enterprise sales across multiple industries.

In North America, ACV grew 27% and is becoming a larger part of the company’s total ACV portfolio. In addition, the company entered new geographical markets in Canada, capturing content to increase revenue streams.

The Australian and New Zealand business surged in the second-half of FY20, offsetting the softening demand experienced in the first-half. This was due to sales leaders focusing their efforts on expansion in the North American market. However, after a re-organisation of sales leadership, customer experience retention teams delivered improved performance. ACV increased 11% in FY20 and management advised that the ANZ segment continues to generate a steady flow of cash.

Fortunately for Nearmap, its business operations have not been impacted by COVID-19 as employees work remotely. In terms of cash management, the company made a number of small headcount reductions and cut salaries to all staff, ensuring continuity.

FY21 guidance

As momentum remains strong, Nearmap expects the end of FY21 to produce ACV of between $120 million and $128 million.

Management stated that forecasts are based on a constant currency basis and do not factor any unforeseen circumstances.

Furthermore, Nearmap will deploy around $10–$15 million in investment activities to support acceleration of ACV. The company is targeting between 20% and 40% ACV growth over the medium to long term, with underlying churn below 10%.

Nearmap share price summary

The Nearmap share price has been climbing higher since the dilution of shareholder value through a capital raising last month. Gaining more than 6% since the start of October, the company has been on the march to reach its former highs.

In June 2019, the Nearmap share price soared higher than $4. Today, shares can be bought for little over half the price at $2.47.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Where you could invest $20,000 into ASX shares today
• ASX 200 jumps 1.75% on Monday
• 2 top ASX tech shares to buy after the recent market turmoil
• Are these small cap ASX shares the next Kogan (ASX:KGN) and Nearmap (ASX:NEA)?

Aaron Teboneras owns shares of Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nearmap Ltd. 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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At lunch on Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is fighting hard to maintain its winning run but has fallen just short. The benchmark index is currently down 0.1% to 6,443 points.

Here’s what has been happening on the market today:

Xero’s strong growth continues.

The Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price raced to a record high this morning following the release of its half year results. For the six months ended 30 September, the cloud-based business and accounting software platform provider delivered a 21% increase in operating revenue to NZ$409.8 million. This was driven by a 19% increase in total subscribers to 2.45 million. On the bottom line, Xero’s net profit after tax came in 26 times greater than the prior corresponding period at NZ$34.5 million.

Telstra update.

The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price is charging higher today after it announced a potential restructuring of the company to create three separate legal entities. Telstra’s CEO, Andrew Penn, believes the restructure would enable the company to take advantage of potential monetisation opportunities for its infrastructure assets which could create additional value for shareholders. In addition to this, Telstra has reconfirmed the FY 2021 guidance provided to the market with its full year results in August.

Wesfarmers update.

The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price has been a positive performer following the release of a trading update. This morning the conglomerate revealed strong sales growth across the majority of its businesses. The star performer was arguably Bunnings. At the end of October, the hardware giant’s year to date sales were up 25.2% over the prior corresponding period. Also growing strongly were its Officeworks and Catch businesses. Year to date, their sales are up 23.4% and 114.4%, respectively.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers.

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Thursday has been the Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL) share price with a 5% gain. Investors may believe the health supplements company was a winner from record Chinese Single Day sales on Wednesday. The worst performer has been the Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price with a 4% decline. This is despite analysts at Macquarie reiterated their outperform rating and $20.000 price target on the iron ore producer’s shares this morning.

More reading

• Best and worst ASX retail stocks to own in the COVID recovery
• The Soul Patts (ASX:SOL) share price just hit a 52-week high
• 2 ASX healthcare shares that have risen since Pfizer’s vaccine news
• Xero (ASX:XRO) share price hits record high after delivering strong first half growth
• Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price on watch after FY 2021 trading update

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 Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Blackmores Limited and Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers 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 Azure Minerals Limited (ASX: AZS) share price has rocketed up today after the company’s update on drilling at its Andover project in the West Pilbara region of Western Australia. In early trade, the Azure share price shot up 23% to 70 cents. It has since retreated to 66 cents, up 17.7% at the time of writing.

What was announced?

Azure announced that the latest diamond drillhole (ANDDooo4) had intersected a 38m-wide zone containing significant amounts of nickel-copper sulphides. This includes zones of massive sulphides which the company says are the likely source of the new EM conductor’s electrical signature. This particular drill was designed to test a strong conductor (VC7) identified by Azure’s recent surface electromagnetic (FLTEM) survey.

Azure advised that diamond drilling was also continuing in other locations, with ANDD0005 under way to test for potential up-dip extensions. Further holes are planned to test down-dip and along strike.

What did management say?

Commenting on the new nickel discovery, Azure managing director Tony Rovira said: 

The key point to take away from our drilling successes to date, is that wherever we have targeted an EM conductor at Andover, we have intersected nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation.

The strongly mineralised intersection in ANDD0004 leads us to believe that if the 1km-long conductor plate is similarly mineralised throughout, there is excellent potential here for a major new nickel-copper deposit.

More on Azure Minerals

Azure Minerals is a minerals explorer primarily focused on its portfolio of projects in Mexico. However, it’s the Western Australia project that’s currently exciting investors. The company’s project up-to-date includes its flagship Oposura project which mines sulphide-hosted, zinc-lead-silver deposits in Mexico. 

Today’s findings followed preliminary drill results announced in earlier this week that sent its share price surging by 44%. In that announcement, Azure Minerals reported that assays from the first 2 drill holes at Andover confirmed the presence of high-grade nickel-copper mineralisation.

How has Azure share price performed in 2020

Azure shareholders are no strangers to big share price swings in both directions. On 12 October, Azure’s share price surged up 70% in intraday trading after the company emerged from a trading halt to announce the results of its first drill hole at Andover. So far in 2020, the Azure share price has shot up by 400% since January. It commands a market cap of $137 million.

More reading

• Why the Azure Minerals (ASX:AZS) share price soared 44% higher today

Motley Fool contributor Eddy Sunarto 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.

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The prospect of a COVID‐19 vaccine is fuelling the market rally but it’s also set to create a new set of winners and losers in the ASX retail sector.

We are already starting to see a rotation unfolding even as the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) jumped a further 1.7% today. This takes its gains to around 4.4% since the start of the week.

But ASX tech stocks that outperformed through the pandemic have been sold in favour of ASX value stocks since news of Pfizer’s successful trials of its vaccine.

COVID the biggest threat to ASX retailers?

Brokers believe we will see a similar rotation among retailers as purchasing behaviour is expected to change in a new COVID-normal world.

Morgans made a swath of downgrades across the sector as it warned that an effective COVID vaccine poses the biggest threat to these ASX stocks.

It’s hard to reconcile the idea of a much-anticipated vaccine with bad news. But the broker is convinced it will hurt sentiment and valuation of retail stocks.

As good as it gets

“Whichever way you look at it, most retailers have been a major beneficiary of the redirection of spending during COVID and could now become a funding source,” said Morgans.

“We continue to think Christmas will be a boomer this year and 1H results will show extraordinary growth with strong opex leverage on buoyant top-line trading.

“However, as we saw with AGM update reactions, the market will likely look through this strength (one step closer to the peak; risk to FY22 earnings) – a potential vaccine makes this reaction even more likely in our view.”

ASX retail stocks getting the downgrade chop

This prompted the broker to downgrade its recommendation to “hold” from “add” for the Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1) share price and the Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN) share price,

Others that got a similar chop include the Beacon Lighting Group Ltd (ASX: BLX) share price, MotorCycle Holdings Ltd (ASX: MTO) share price and Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL) share price.

The analysts at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) have also echoed similar concerns about changing consumer behaviour if a vaccine is found.

The broker downgraded the Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price and JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) share price to “neutral” from “outperform”.

It chopped the Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd. (ASX: DMP) share price to underperform in the same breath.

ASX retail stocks to buy now

One of Macquarie’s preferred buys among consumer-facing stocks is the Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price. Consumers are still likely to eat more at home and the broker believes Woolies offers the best on-line experience.

On the other hand, Morgan’s key picks in the sector are the Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE) share price, the Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG) share price, Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF) share price and Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV) share price.

More reading

• The Soul Patts (ASX:SOL) share price just hit a 52-week high
• Why the Breville (ASX:BRG) share price is lifting today
• 2 ASX healthcare shares that have risen since Pfizer’s vaccine news
• Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price on watch after FY 2021 trading update
• Brickworks (ASX:BKW) hasn’t cut its dividend for over 40 years

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of Breville Group Ltd and Woolworths Limited. Connect with me on Twitter @brenlau.

The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Super Retail Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers Limited and Woolworths Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Accent Group and Collins Foods 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 SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK) share price has continued its positive run on Thursday.

In fact, at one stage today the job listings giant’s shares climbed to a record high of $24.94.

When the SEEK share price hit that level, it meant it was up an impressive 122% from its March low of $11.23.

Why is the SEEK share price at a record high?

Investors have been bidding the SEEK share price higher this week after news of a potentially effective COVID-19 vaccine sparked hopes of a swifter than expected global economic recovery.

Pfizer’s early data from its phase three trial was pointing to 90% effectiveness, which is materially better than the company was predicting.

A quicker economic recovery could be great news for the company as it has the potential to be supportive of job openings and ultimately job listing volumes on its platform.

In fact, CEO Andrew Bassat has previously predicted a strong rebound in SEEK’s financial performance when labour markets return to normal.

At its full year results, Mr Bassat commented: “SEEK’s short-term results will be negatively impacted by the challenges of COVID-19. Over the longterm, our strategy and overall revenue opportunity remain intact albeit COVID-19 will likely impact the timeframe to achieve our A$5b revenue aspirations. We are confident in our strategy and growth prospects, and as a result we will continue to invest across ANZ, Asia, Zhaopin, OES and ESVs.”

“When labour markets return to more normal conditions, we expect to generate a high ROI given our market leadership and track record of generating strong returns from investing in product, technology and data,” he added.

Not everyone is smiling.

The strong performance of the SEEK share price isn’t good news for everyone.

At the start of the month offshore short seller, Blue Orca, took aim at SEEK’s Zhaopin business. It claimed it was full of fake listings and CVs.

While this initially dragged the SEEK share price lower, investors have now shrugged this off, much to the dismay of the short seller.

More reading

• 3 ASX shares targeting huge growth in the 2020s
• Rising jobs and house loans place these ASX shares in focus
• Why the SEEK (ASX:SEK) share price rebounded after being 8% down
• Westpac (ASX:WBC) reports FY20 result, ASX 200 up 0.4% today
• Why 5G Networks, Cedar Woods, SEEK, & Tyro shares tumbled lower today

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of SEEK Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended SEEK 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 shares of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) continue to climb, the Soul Patts share price just hit a 52-week high after hitting $27.81.

A quick refresher about Soul Patts

Soul Patts is an investment house that has investments in a variety of listed and unlisted businesses.

It has large positions in companies like TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG), Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW), Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API), Tuas Ltd (ASX: TUA) and Clover Corporation Limited (ASX: CLV). 

The company also has positions in unlisted businesses like resources, agriculture, financial services, swimming schools and a business called Ampcontrol.

It has actually been listed in Australia since 1903.

What has been going on?

The entire share market has been rising after the recent news of promising news about the BioNTech – Pfizer vaccine.

Global news media reported that the vaccine being produced could be 90% effective at stopping COVID-19. Around 44,000 people had been given a trial of the vaccine, and the results are promising when looking at the 94 people who have been infected by COVID-19, according to early results.

The Australian government is interested in this vaccine, it has signed an agreement to gain access to this one as well as ones from the University of Queensland and Oxford University. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said: “The data on our vaccine candidates continues to be positive. We will examine the evidence carefully but the latest results are heartening news.”

There are still several steps to bring the vaccine to public, but Pfizer hopes to start production of the vaccine as soon as it can.

But the Soul Patts share price was going up before then

Soul Patts shares may have gone up 9% since 4 November 2020 – being around the time of the US election – but it has actually risen by 32% over the past two months.

Changes in the share prices of Soul Patts’ investments will increase (or decrease) the book value of the Soul Patts share price. The book value is what some people focus on. 

Since 4 November 2020, the TPG share price has risen by around 10.6%. TPG is the largest position in the portfolio. Since 30 October 2020, the Brickworks share price has gone up 12%. The New Hope Corporation share price has also gone up around 10% over the past week as well.

Many of Soul Patts’ other positions are going up as the overall S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) climbs. Over the past week the Milton Corporation Limited (ASX: MLT) share price has risen 4.4% and the Bki Investment Co Ltd (ASX: BKI) share price has gone up 4.2%.

The business has increased its dividend every year since 2000 and it has paid a dividend every year since it listed in 1903.

The Motley Fool Dividend Investor service still rate the Soul Patts share price as a buy.

More reading

• 2 ASX healthcare shares that have risen since Pfizer’s vaccine news
• 2 ASX dividend shares growing their dividend every year
• Brickworks (ASX:BKW) hasn’t cut its dividend for over 40 years
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• ASX 200 surges again on Wednesday

Tristan Harrison owns shares of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Clover Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Brickworks and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company 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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