Author: therawinformant

The G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM) share price is one to watch today after posting a half-year statutory net loss after tax of $239 million.

What does G8 Education do?

G8 Education is Australia’s largest private provider of quality early childhood education and care, with more than 58,000 children attending one of its 470+ Australian centres every day. 

Why is the G8 Education share price worth watching today?

The G8 Education share price is worth watching after reporting a 28.4% decrease in half-year revenue to $308.3 million. This was largely due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent restrictions on the early childhood industry.

Underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) fell 44.4% to $28.7 million thanks to the pandemic but offset by significant government support.

That flowed through to the bottom line with the educator posting a $239.2 million net loss, inclusive of a $237 million non-cash impairment expense. Underlying net profit fell by 55.9% to $11.6 million for the year.

Total expenses reduced by 24% from FY19 on a pro-forma basis largely thanks to reduced employee expenses during the year.

The group’s current occupancy is 69% with attended occupancy of 50% as at 30 June 2020. 

No interim dividend for shareholders

The G8 Education share price will be worth watching as management declined to pay an interim dividend. This comes at a time of significant uncertainty in terms of future earnings with management instead focusing on capital management.

The company’s dividend policy remains temporarily suspended with the deferred FY19 final dividend to be paid on October 30.

However, a dividend may be paid in respect of calendar year 2021 depending on subsequent financial performance.

Outlook

Management was unable to provide guidance for FY21 given the significant uncertainty the company is facing right now.

G8 will perform a strategic portfolio review to address underperforming centres. However, management cited the company’s “financial flexibility” in dealing with current challenges to emerge from COVID-19 as a “stronger business”.

The G8 Education share price is down 45.5% in 2020 while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has fallen 8.7% lower this year.

More reading

• Last week’s worst performing ASX shares
• Fortescue and 2 more ASX 200 shares to watch this week
• These ASX shares were top performers last week
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Blue chips, earnings drag ASX lower
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

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.

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The Australian share market ended last week slightly lower as reporting season began to draw to a close. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) ended the week 0.2% lower with the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) performing marginally better, down just 0.02% for the week.

Uncertainty over economic recovery both at home and in the US, as well as geopolitical tensions with China, have dampened sentiment, despite some better than expected earnings results. 

This earnings season has laid bare the economic damage of COVID-19. But some ASX shares have been surprisingly resilient, and are flourishing in pandemic conditions. Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) reported stronger than expected results as Bunnings and Officeworks saw sales surge in lockdown. Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) advised earnings for the full year would be 96% higher than forecast just last month thanks to better than expected collections. Let’s take a look at some of the best performing shares on the ASX last week. 

Phoslock Environmental Technologies Ltd (ASX: PET) 

The Phoslock Environmental Technologies share price gained a whopping 48.94% last week to finish the week at 35 cents. The share price has been trending upwards since hitting a low of 19 cents earlier in the month when Phoslock advised first half revenues were substantially down on the prior period.

Flooding has impacted key projects in China and COVID-19 has impacted a number of projects across the globe. In Europe, several projects have been delayed where authorities have cited more pressing expenditure priorities in the face of the pandemic. While these projects have been delayed, none have been cancelled, and Phoslock believes they will proceed in due course. 

Phoslock has advised that its global pipeline remains strong with a current contract value of $380 million. Projects in Brazil are continuing as planned, with positive feedback on the efficacy of Phoslock’s technology. Work in North America is proceeding, with the company building a strong and widespread portfolio of treatments in the US. This provides a positive basis for confidence in developing US business activity. Although there have been challenges to the development of the China business, many ongoing projects are unaffected including the South Beijing canals. 

WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)

The WiseTech Global share price soared 39.99% last week to close the week at $27.90. The logistics technology company released its full year results during the week, revealing solid revenue growth despite COVID-19 headwinds. Revenue increased 23% to $429.4 million, in line with guidance, with recurring revenue accounting for 89% of revenue, up from 88% in FY19. FY20 Statutory NPAT was $160.8 million, up 197% on FY19. This included a non-cash fair value gain of $110 million thanks to the renegotiation of earn out obligations. Excluding this gain underlying NPAT was flat at $52.6 million. 

Founder and CEO Richard White said: “Notwithstanding the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19, our business has remained resilient, delivering solid revenue and EBITDA growth in FY20 in line with guidance.” Acquired businesses contributed 29% of growth, driven predominantly by the full-year impact of the 14 acquisitions completed in FY19 and five acquisitions completed in FY20. 

Idp Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) 

The Idp Education share price gained 31.64% last week to close the week at $18.43. IDP Education provides international education services helping students to study in English speaking countries. Border closures have disrupted Idp Education’s business, but the company nonetheless reported strong results for the full year. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) increased 11% to $107.8 million. Net profit after tax and amortisation (NPATA) was $70.4 million, up 3%. 

CEO Andrew Barkla said: “Our results reflect strong momentum in the first half of the year followed by a pivot towards disciplined capital management and product innovation in the second half.” The pandemic prompted the company to accelerate its digital strategy delivery which enabled an agile response to COVID-19 restrictions. Disciplined cost control measures also delivered $35 million in overhead savings in the second half compared to the first. 

Monadelphous Group Limited (ASX: MND) 

The Monadelphous Group share price rose 29.26% last week to close the week at $11. The share price surged during the week when the engineering group delivered better than expected results. Although second half performance was significantly impacted by COVID-19, Monadelphous managed to record revenue of $1.65 billion for the full year, a 2.6% increase on FY19. Net profit after tax was $35.5 million, a decrease on FY19’s $57.4 million profit. 

Disciplined financial management practises were instituted as a result of the uncertainty created by the pandemic. This resulted in strong cash flow from operations of $119.1 million in FY20, with Monadelphous ending the year with a cash balance of $208 million. The company has secured approximately $1.2 billion in new contracts and extensions since the beginning of the financial year. This means Monadelphous enters the new financial year with a solid forward workload and well positioned to capitalise on opportunities in the resources sector which are expected to arise over coming years. 

Codan Limited (ASX: CDA) 

The Codan share price gained 26.67% last week to finish the week at $10.45. The technology company also released its full year results last week, revealing record sales, profits, and dividends. The company, which manufactures technology used by mining companies, security and military groups, governments, humanitarian organisations, and adventurers, recorded the highest full year sales in its history of $348 million. This flowed through to a record statutory net profit after tax of $64 million, a 40% increase. Results were driven by the strength of gold detector sales, continued growth of recreational metal detectors, and major contracts delivered by the communications business. 

Codan announced a final dividend of 11 cents a share, fully franked. This brought full year dividends to 18.5 cents, a 32% increase on the prior year. Codan has been diversifying its revenues by releasing more new products, transitioning to a full solutions provider and broadening its geographic footprint. This has resulted in more evenly distributed demand across international markets with the company saying it is well-placed to deliver another strong performance in FY21. 

 

More reading

• Last week’s worst performing ASX shares
• Fortescue and 2 more ASX 200 shares to watch this week
• G8 Education share price on watch after $239 million loss
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Blue chips, earnings drag ASX lower
• 2 of the best ETFs for investing in ASX shares

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The NIB Holdings Limited (ASX: NHF) share price will be in focus today following the release of its full year results.

How did NIB perform in FY 2020?

For the 12 months ended 30 June 2020, the private health insurer reported a 3.4% increase in total revenue to $2.5 billion. This was driven by premium increases in 2019 and all of its health insurance businesses growing their membership numbers. The latter saw the company report policyholder growth of 1.9% for the year, compared to industry growth of 0.4%. This means NIB accounted for more than 41% of total industry growth for the year.

Things weren’t as positive for its earnings due to a sizeable increase in claims expense. NIB’s claim expense (including a deferred claims provision of $98.8 million) was up 6.7% to $1.9 billion in FY 2020. This ultimately led to its underlying operating profit falling 25.6% to $150.1 million for the year.

Also weighing on its profits were volatile markets, which led to net investment income falling 54% to $16.6 million over the period. This led to the company posting a net profit after tax of $89.2 million, down 40.3% on the prior corresponding period. According to CommSec, the market was expecting a net profit after tax of $95.02 million. So this profit result is a little short of expectations.

Despite the sizeable profit decline, the company has still declared a final dividend. It will pay shareholders a fully franked 4 cents per share final dividend, down from a final dividend of 13 cents per share last year. This brought its full year dividend to 14 cents per share, compared to 23 cents per share in FY 2019.

Outlook.

NIB advised that it continues to target net organic policyholder growth of 2% to 3% in Australian residents health insurance business. And while it is wary about macroeconomic threats, current market conditions look conducive.

In addition to this, it notes that the sector outlook in New Zealand is similar and market conditions in other businesses remain challenging. Though, for the latter, it feels the longer-term fundamentals are good.

The company’s Managing Director, Mark Fitzgibbon, commented: “COVID-19 remains a confounding factor in our planning and forecasting. It’s implication for sales, claims, expenses, investment income and earnings is enormous. Nevertheless, we have cause to have confidence in our arhi and New Zealand businesses and we’re adjusting strategy in other parts of the Group to adapt to current circumstances,”

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Where to now for the NIB share price?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended NIB Holdings 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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Every Monday I like to look at ASIC’s short position report to find out which shares are being targeted by short sellers.

This is because I believe it is well worth keeping a close eye on short interest levels as high levels can sometimes be a sign that something isn’t quite right with a company.

With that in mind, here are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX this week according to ASIC:

• Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) has become the most shorted share on the ASX with short interest of 13.1%. Short sellers have been increasing their positions following its full year results release last week. They appear to believe the Webjet share price is severely overvalued based on its medium term outlook.
• Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR) has seen its short interest reduce slightly week on week to 11.9%. Short sellers appear to believe the pandemic is going to undo the hard work the department store operator has put into its turnaround plans.
• Speedcast International Ltd (ASX: SDA) has short interest of 11.7% again. The communications satellite technology provider’s shares remain suspended while it declares itself bankrupt. It has recently made progress and announced that it has received a US$395 million equity commitment to complete its chapter 11 recapitalisation.
• Inghams Group Ltd (ASX: ING) has 10.3% of its shares held short, which is up week on week once again. Last week the poultry producer released a disappointing full year result. Inghams reported a 68.2% drop in profits for FY 2020.
• Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE) has seen its short interest remain flat week on week at 8.9%. Short sellers have been going after the lithium miner due to an oversupply of the battery making ingredient and weak demand.
• CLINUVEL Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV) has also seen its short interest remain flat this week at 7.8%. Short sellers appear concerned that lockdowns will weigh heavily on demand for its SCENESSE product. This product is used to prevent skin damage from the sun in people with erythropoietic protoporphyria.
• InvoCare Limited (ASX: IVC) has short interest of 7.7%, which is down slightly week on week. Last week the funerals company released its half year results and revealed a sharp decline in profits. InvoCare’s performance was hit by social distancing restrictions.
• Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) has entered the top ten with short interest of 7.6%. As with Webjet, short sellers appear to believe this travel company’s valuation is expensive given its medium term outlook.
• Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) is back in the top ten with short interest of 7.5%. Short sellers may believe the aerial imagery technology and location data company is going to struggle in FY 2021 because of the pandemic.
• Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ) has seen its short interest fall slightly to 7.45%. Short sellers continue to close their position after a series of better than feared updates out of the banking sectors.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Blue chips, earnings drag ASX lower
• Are these ASX shares future millionaire makers?
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell next week
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Corporate Travel Management Limited, Nearmap Ltd., and Webjet Ltd. 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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Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are a great way to invest into ASX shares.

ETFs allow us to invest in many different businesses at once in a single investment. I think it’s an attractive way to passively be invested in the share market and benefit from the long-term capital growth.

ASX shares are a good place to invest. Australia is a good country for businesses to operate in and it’s a good base for some mid-cap ASX businesses to launch their global plans from.

So which ETFs are good options to invest into ASX shares? Here are two of the best in my opinion:

BetaShares Australia 200 ETF (ASX: A200)

This is the lowest-costing ETF for ASX share investors. BetaShares offers this ETF for an annual cost of just 0.07% per annum – that’s great value. It’s even cheaper than the Vanguard ASX option. The lower the costs of an ETF, the higher the net returns.

It aims to track the returns of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). That means a sizeable amount of the returns of the ETF are influenced by the ASX’s biggest blue chips.

Looking at the latest holdings, BetaShares Australia 200 ETF’s biggest exposures are: CSL Limited (ASX: CSL), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ), Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW), Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) and Transurban Group (ASX: TCL).

The fact that you get exposure to 200 businesses in a single investment is good diversification, although it’s not as attractive as other ETFs. When you look at the sector allocation, around half of the ETF is invested in just financial and resource businesses.

However, in normal times – when COVID-19 isn’t around – the ASX normally offers an attractively-high dividend yield because banks and miners usually have higher dividend payout ratios than other sectors.

Betashares S&P ASX Australian Technology ETF (ASX: ATEC)

However, what the ASX 200 offers in income, it seems to lose in growth potential. Most ASX blue chip shares have limited growth prospects, but ASX technology shares tend to offer more profit growth potential with higher margins and global growth aspirations.

Software can be replicated for new customers at a very low cost. New revenue tends to come with a higher profit margin, more of it is added to the bottom line.

This ETF gives exposure to many of the ASX’s leading technology companies in segments like information technology, consumer electronics, online retail and medical technology.

It was only launched in March 2020, but it has been a strong performer since then. Since 4 March 2020 it has risen in value by 31.8%. The recovery since the COVID-19 crash has been strong. Over the past three months the ETF has produced net returns of 25.2%.

Some of its largest holdings right now are: Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), Xero Limited (ASX: XRO), SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK), REA Group Limited (ASX: REA), Nextdc Ltd (ASX: NXT), Carsales.Com Ltd (ASX: CAR), Altium Limited (ASX: ALU), Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC).

Many of the above names are leaders in their industries and are among the best businesses on the ASX.

This ETF’s annual management fee, at 0.48% per annum, is more than BetaShares Australia 200 ETF. But the most important number for investors is the net return figure, not the annual cost figure. The Betashares S&P ASX Australian Technology ETF return has been strong so far, which has been driven by its biggest position – Afterpay.

Foolish takeaway

Both of these ETFs are good investment options for ASX investors to consider. If you want to get the cheapest ETF to track the ASX 200, then you could go for the one I have written about in this article. However, for medium-to-long-term growth I think the Betashares S&P ASX Australian Technology one will be the better performer because of the underlying investments.

More reading

• Why Afterpay and these ASX shares just hit record highs
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Blue chips, earnings drag ASX lower
• Are these ASX shares future millionaire makers?
• 3 ASX growth shares to buy in September
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week

Tristan Harrison owns shares of Altium. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Altium. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of CSL Ltd., WiseTech Global, and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO, Appen Ltd, Transurban Group, and Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended carsales.com Limited, REA Group Limited, and 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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If I had to pick which ASX share I’d buy this week, other than last week’s pick, it would be Bubs Australia Ltd (ASX: BUB).

A quick overview of Bubs

Bubs is best known as an infant formula business. The company was set up in 2006 by current-CEO Kristy Carr.

The ASX share’s main range of products is a goat milk derived infant formula. Three years ago Bubs acquired NuLac Foods, Australia’s largest producer of goat milk products, including CapriLac, a leader in goat milk, powder and yoghurt, and Coach House Dairy, a premium range of Jersey milk products. That acquisition guaranteed exclusive supply of locally sourced fresh goat milk from Australia’s largest herd of milking goats.

Bubs also owns its a Chinese-approved manufacturing facility called Deloraine.

I think Bubs is a great buy for a number of reasons:

International growth

Entering the global market can turn a consumer business from being a decent opportunity to one with much larger potential. Look how much further A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) has grown because it is servicing the Asian and USA markets.

Bubs is doing a really good job of getting its foot into the door of international markets. We can see the growth in the ASX share’s June 2020 update a few weeks ago.

In June 2020 we saw Bubs’ China direct sales increase by 37% – this now represents around a fifth of total sales. Its ‘other export’ sales were up 71% in the fourth quarter of FY20, largely helped by the launch into Vietnam. Other international sales accounted for 9% of total sales in FY20.

Asia is a much larger total addressable market for Bubs compared to Australia. This region alone could be enough for the company to be a long-term market outperformer.

I like the ASX share’s recent moves of launching grass-fed organic cow infant formula as well as a range of vitamin and mineral supplements. Both of these segments could become material for Bubs in the next few years as their distribution grows across various stores.

Defensive, essential product

I think this COVID-19 period has shown us how important Bubs’ products are to families. Nutrition is essential, it’s not a discretionary item. I think Bubs’ existing revenue base is more defensive than some investors may give it credit for.

We saw in the FY20 third quarter how much demand there was for Bubs’ products when households were stocking up. The ASX share’s revenue grew by 67% compared to the prior corresponding period and it went up 36% on the previous quarter.

Rising profit margins

An ASX share can generate strong returns when there is a combination of strong revenue growth and rising profit margins.

In FY20 the total revenue rose by 32% to $62 million and the ‘normalised’ gross profit margin improved by 3 basis points, according to Bubs.

What’s most exciting is that infant formula, which has a gross profit margin of around 40%, is becoming a bigger part of Bubs’ total sales. In FY19 it made up 43% of total revenue, in FY20 it was 55% of total revenue. In FY20 infant formula revenue increased by 69%.

Margins could rise further as Bubs grows into Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

Near-term profitability

Reaching profitability is one of the most important things for a business to convince investors that it’s on the right path.

In FY21, excluding any residual COVID-19 adverse impacts, The ASX share expects to achieve profitability at the normalised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) level. That would be a very promising step. 

Bubs thinks the group margin will be further enhanced by optimised product mix, the highest and best use of the milk pool allocation and enhanced value chain.

Foolish takeaway

Bubs could see growth in every segment and every geographic region in FY21. I think there’s a lot of promise for Bubs over the next 12 months and particularly the next five to ten years. I think Bubs is a very exciting business which is worth owning for the long-term, I’d be happy to buy it this week.

More reading

• The smartest 7 ASX shares to buy if you have $2,000
• Should you buy the beaten down shares of Bubs and Webjet?
• 2 five-star ASX growth shares to buy in August
• 2 ASX shares you could invest $500 into
• Should you buy these 2 ASX dairy shares instead of A2 Milk?

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of BUBS AUST FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of A2 Milk. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BUBS AUST FPO. 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had a shaky week last week, dominated by mixed earnings reports and some wild fluctuations in individual share prices. Earnings season is still in full swing, and we heard from a range of ASX shares last week in what was a mixed bag of results.

It was a volatile week for the ASX 200, which touched as high as 6,188 points and as low as 6,011 at various points. Despite these swings, the ASX 200 finished only  0.2% lower for the week.

It was a fast-paced and action-packed time, to be sure.

Some ASX 200 earnings tidbits

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) announced its third-quarter results and cancelled its interim dividend.

The WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) share price took off (up nearly 40% for the week) after the logistics company announced a 23% surge in revenue.

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) also impressed with a bump in revenue and earnings and a hefty 14.6% increase for its dividend.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) was also in dividend investors’ good books last week. It announced a 77 cents per share dividend, as well as a special dividend of 18 cents per share, mostly funded from the sale of Coles shares that the company offloaded earlier in the year.

Another winner was Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD). Although the company announced an $8.2 million loss, there are signs of a recovery under way in the travel sector. That pushed up Corporate Travel shares up more than 20% for the week.

Meanwhile, a big loser for the week was Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE). After it was announced that China (a major market for Treasury) is considering possible tariffs on Australian wine over allegations of dumping, the company’s share price cratered more than 20%.

We also had some fairly momentous events over on the US markets as well. Hot stock Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TLSA) powered to over US$2,000 a share last week to yet another new all-time high. That helped push Tesla’s CEO (and major shareholder) Elon Musk’s net wealth to new heights. According to Forbes, Musk is now the world’s 5th richest person partly as a result. Tesla shares are now up more than 376% year to date

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) also passed a phenomenal milestone of its own, becoming the first publically-listed company to be valued at more than US$2 trillion when its share price passed US$473 last week. The shares closed on Friday night (our time) at close to US$500 a share, meaning Apple has now appreciated more than 65% in 2020 so far.

How did the markets end the week?

It was a topsy turvy week as companies’ earnings reports began trickling in. Overall, the ASX 200 saw a 0.2% drop for the week after starting out at 6,126.2 points and finishing up at 6,111.2 points. Monday saw a 0.8% drop, which Tuesday mirrored with a 0.8% rise. Wednesday saw the ASX 200 pile on another 0.7%, which took the index to its highest level since March at 6,167.1 points. This was erased on Thursday and Friday though, with falls of 0.8% and 0.14% respectively.

Meanwhile, in contrast to the ASX 200, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) eked out a small gain of 0.1% last week, after starting at 6,261.7 points and finishing up at 6,270.7 points. Since the All Ordinaries contains 500 ASX shares compared to the smaller ASX 200, its movements can often produce contrasting results.

Which ASX 200 shares were the biggest winners and losers?

Time now to get salacious and check out the ASX 200’s biggest winners and losers from the past week. So let’s get the kettle on and start with last week’s losers:

Worst ASX 200 losers	% loss for the week
Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE)	(22.82%)
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (ASX: URW)	(12.89%)
Cooper Energy Ltd (ASX: COE)	(10%)
Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG)	(9.52%)

As we flagged earlier, Treasury was the recipient of the wooden spoon last week over concerns that China is moving to restrict the importation of Aussie wine into China.

Struggling real estate investment trust (REIT) Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield also didn’t have a great week. Investors are apparently not convinced the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is behind the international owner of the Westfield brand.

Coopper Energy also had a shocker over issues with its bedfellow APA Group (ASX: APA) shutting down one of its gas pipelines.

Meanwhile, gold miner Resolute was sold off after political issues in Mali emerged involving a coup d’etat. Resolute has a large gold mine in the African country, so political instability isn’t good news.

Now with the bad news out of the way, lets now have a look at last week’s winners:

Best ASX 200 gainers	% gain for the week
WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)	39.99%
IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL)	31.64%
Monadelphous Group Limited (ASX: MND)	29.26%
Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD)	20.88%

Again, as we noted earlier, WiseTech was the week’s best share with an extraordinary 40% jump in market capitalisation after its well-received earnings report.

IDP Education also makes the list following a surprisingly good earnings report of its own. Investors clearly loved the company’s 29% increase for its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) that was revealed.

We’ve also already covered Corporate Travel, while engineering company Monadelphous benefitted from positive sentiment (including from brokers) after its own expectation-beating earnings.

What does this week look like for the ASX 200?

Earnings madness is set to continue this week, which will undoubtedly shape the ASX 200’s overall performance. Investors will be looking forward to seeing how companies like Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), Appen Ltd (ASX: APX), Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG), Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC), Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) have been fairing when they release results this week. Considering the number of companies that have been forced to cut or cancel dividend in recent weeks, these payouts will form a major part of the reception of these earnings, particularly from blue chip ASX 200 shares like Fortescue and Woolworths.

I’m also keeping a close eye on coronavirus case numbers in New South Wales and Victoria this week, as any new developments (as always) have market-moving potential. The US Presidential election campaign is also heating up, so that also merits an increasingly watchful eye this week, in my view. As I discussed last week, we shouldn’t underestimate how much the US elections can have an impact on or own ASX.

Before we go, here’s a look at how the major ASX 200 blue chip shares are fairing as we start another week in paradise:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, here is the lay of the land for some leading market indicators:

•     S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) at 6,111.2 points
•     All Ordinaries (XAO) at 6,270.7 points
•     Dow Jones Industrial Average at 27,930.33 points after rising 0.69% on Friday night (our time)
•     Gold (Spot) swapping hands for US$1,940.89 per troy ounce
•     Iron ore asking US$121.78 per tonne
•     Crude oil (Brent) trading at US$44.35 per barrel
•     Crude oil (WTI) going for US$42.34 per barrel
•     Australian dollar buying 71.61 US cents
•    10-year Australian Government bonds yielding 0.87% per annum

Foolish takeaway

As we enter another week of warnings, I think keeping the following concept in mind is a great idea. Coronavirus brought a great deal of uncertainty to investors. We simply didn’t know how much the pandemic would affect each company.

Now, the curtains are finally being pulled back, it’s a great time to assess whether a company will suffer only in the short-term, or whether it might be in terminal decline. As always Fools, stay safe, stay rational and stay Foolish this week!

More reading

• These are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX
• 2 of the best ETFs for investing in ASX shares
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Why I would buy CBA and this top ASX dividend share
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week

Sebastian Bowen owns shares of National Australia Bank Limited, Newcrest Mining Limited, Ramsay Health Care Limited, Telstra Limited, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Apple and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of CSL Ltd., Idp Education Pty Ltd, WiseTech Global, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Corporate Travel Management Limited, Macquarie Group Limited, Telstra Limited, and Treasury Wine Estates Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO, APA Group, Appen Ltd, COLESGROUP DEF SET, Transurban Group, Wesfarmers Limited, and Woolworths Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple and Ramsay Health Care 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 ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Blue chips, earnings drag ASX lower appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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On Friday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was out of form and finished the week with a small decline. The benchmark index fell 0.15% to 6,111.2 points.

Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Monday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX futures pointing lower.

The ASX 200 looks set to start the week in the red. According to the latest SPI futures, the benchmark index is poised to open the week 11 points or 0.2% lower. This is despite a solid finish to the week on Wall Street with all three major indices recording gains. The Dow Jones rose 0.7%, the S&P 500 climbed 0.35%, and the Nasdaq index pushed 0.4% higher.

Fortescue to declare big dividend?

The Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price will be on watch this morning when the iron ore producer releases its full year results. Because of its improving grades, strong iron ore prices, and its record shipments, expectations are high for Fortescue’s profits. As a result, analysts are forecasting a very generous full year dividend. Macquarie, for example, has forecast a fully franked dividend of ~$1.80 per share for FY 2020. This represents a 10% dividend yield.

Oil prices drop lower.

Energy producers such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could start the week in the red after oil prices dropped lower. According to Bloomberg, on Friday night the WTI crude oil price fell 1.1% to US$42.34 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price dropped 1.2% to US$44.35 a barrel. Despite this, oil prices recorded their fifth week of gains in the last six.

Gold price flat.

The shares of Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could be steady on Monday after a subdued night of trade for the gold price on Friday. According to CNBC, the spot gold price traded flat at US$1,947 an ounce.

NIB full year result

The NIB Holdings Limited (ASX: NHF) share price will be one to watch this morning when it releases its full year results. According to CommSec, the private health insurer is expected to post a full year net profit after tax of just $95.02 million. Investors will no doubt also be looking for commentary around the positive and negative impacts of the pandemic on its financial performance.

More reading

• 5 blue chip ASX 200 shares a beginner can use to start a share portfolio
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 next week
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• The ASX 200 fell 0.1% today, Suncorp shines

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended NIB Holdings 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 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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The market may have been out of form on Friday, but that didn’t stop some ASX shares from pushing higher.

Nor did it stop the three ASX shares listed below from climbing to new record highs. Here’s why these shares are flying high right now:

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

The Afterpay share price hit a record high of $82.00 on Friday. Investors were fighting to buy the payments company’s shares last week after a surprise upgrade to its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) guidance for FY 2020. According to the release, due to better than expected collections, its net transaction losses were far lower than first forecast. As a result, Afterpay is now forecasting EBITDA of approximately $44 million in FY 2020. This is a 76% to 120% increase on its previous EBITDA guidance of $20 million to $25 million.

Codan Limited (ASX: CDA)

The Codan share price continued its impressive run and hit a new all-time high of $11.08 last week. The catalyst for this was the release of an impressive full year result by the electronic products company. For FY 2020, Codan delivered record sales of $348 million thanks largely to strong metal detector demand. And on the bottom line, the company reported a record statutory net profit after tax of $64 million. This was an increase of 40% year on year. The exceptionally strong gold price has been supporting demand for its metal detectors.

Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK)

The Nick Scali share price was on form again last week and climbed to a record high of $9.41. Investors have been buying this furniture retailer’s shares since the release of a very positive full year result earlier this month. Although Nick Scali posted a 2.1% decline in sales, it managed to hold its profits steady at $42.1 million. However, what really got investors excited was its guidance for the first half. Following a very strong start to the financial year, Nick Scali is forecasting its first half profit “to be up by at least 50-60%” compared to the same period last year.

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 next week
• Codan share price soars 16% thanks to record sales
• ASX 200 down 1%: Qantas results, Afterpay hits record high, Webjet crashes lower
• Why Afterpay, Codan, IDP Education, & Sonic shares are charging higher

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. 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 Afterpay and these ASX shares just hit record highs appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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If you’re wanting to add some dividend shares to your portfolio this week, then I think the two listed below could be top options.

Here’s why I think these dividend shares are in the buy zone:

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)

The first ASX dividend share to consider buying is Commonwealth Bank. It remains my favourite in the banking sector due to the quality of its operations, its strong management team, and robust balance sheet. In respect to the latter, when it released its full year results earlier this month, it revealed a CET1 ratio of 11.6%. This is comfortably ahead of APRA’s ‘unquestionably strong’ benchmark of 10.5%.

Given the pandemic and the potential for APRA to place further restrictions on dividend payments in 2021, it is difficult to predict what dividend the bank will play next year. However, I would expect something in the region of $3.00 per share. Based on the Commonwealth Bank share price, this equates to a generous fully franked 4.3% yield.

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

Another dividend share to consider buying is Rural Funds. It is a leading agriculture-focused real estate company which owns a collection of high quality rural assets. These assets are leased to some of the biggest names in the industry such as Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE).

I’m a big fan of Rural Funds because of its long leases and the periodic rental increases included in them. This gives the company great visibility on its future earnings and ultimately its distributions. In FY 2021 it intends to increase its distribution in line with its long term target of 4%. This will mean a distribution of 11.28 cents per share. Which based on the current Rural Funds share price, means a very attractive 5.15% yield.

More reading

• 2 of the best ASX dividend shares to buy next week
• 5 blue chip ASX 200 shares a beginner can use to start a share portfolio
• Where to invest your Commonwealth Bank dividends in September
• Which ASX bank share is the best buy for dividend income?
• This ASX fund manager is going back to value in a post-COVID world. Here’s why.

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended RURALFUNDS STAPLED and Treasury Wine Estates 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 I would buy CBA and this top ASX dividend share appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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