Category: Stock Market

The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price will be in focus on Thursday after the conglomerate released its half-year results.

Let’s see how the company performed during the half.

Wesfarmers share price on watch after half-year results release

• Revenue up 0.5% to $22,673 million
• Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) up 1.6% to $2,195 million
• Net profit after tax up 3% to $1,425 million
• Operating cash flows up 47% to $2,898 million
• Fully franked interim dividend up 3.4% to 91 cents

What happened during the half?

For the six months ended 31 December, Wesfarmers reported a 0.5% increase in revenue to $22,673 million.

This was driven by a 1.7% increase in Bunnings revenue, a 7.8% jump in Kmart revenue, a 1.8% lift in Officeworks revenue, and a 3.2% improvement in Industrial and Safety revenue. This offset weaker Catch, Target, Wesfarmers Health, and WesCEF revenue. The latter was down 21.2% on the prior corresponding period.

Wesfarmers’ earnings grew at a quicker rate during the half, with net profit after tax up 3% to $1,425 million.

This was driven largely by the Kmart Group business, which posted a 26.5% increase in earnings for the year. Management advised that its record result reflects the positive customer response to Kmart’s lowest price positioning.

Bunnings earnings were relatively flat for the year but up 3.1% excluding property contributions.

The main drag on its earnings was the WesCEF business, which posted a 46.9% decline in earnings for the period. Its earnings were impacted by lower global commodity prices, as well as higher Western Australian gas costs.

Finally, thanks partly to its strong cash flow generation, the Wesfarmers board elected to increase its interim dividend by 3.4% to 91 cents per share.

How does this compare to expectations?

This result appears to have been a bit of a mixed bag compared to the market’s expectations.

On the positive side, Morgans was forecasting “EBIT to be down 5% mainly due to materially lower WesCEF earnings.”

So, the company has beaten those expectations, which could be good news for the Wesfarmers share price.

One negative, though, is the performance of the Bunnings business compared to expectations.

Goldman Sachs was forecasting a solid 5.1% increase in Bunnings EBIT for the half. Given that it is the key business in the Wesfarmers portfolio, its underperformance could be a worry for some investors.

Management commentary

Wesfarmers’s Managing Director, Rob Scott, was pleased with the company’s performance. He said:

Wesfarmers’ retail divisions executed strongly during the half, responding effectively to changing customer needs as households increasingly sought out value. In this environment, the retail divisions’ core offer of everyday products with market-leading value credentials supported growth in sales and customer transaction numbers.

The retail divisions have benefitted from a proactive focus on productivity and efficiency initiatives in recent years, which together with their unique sourcing capabilities and strong supplier partnerships enabled them to mitigate ongoing cost pressures and provide compelling value for customers during the half.

Outlook

No guidance has been provided for FY 2024, but management has given investors an update on the first five weeks of the second half. It said:

For the first five weeks of the second half of the 2024 financial year, Kmart Group has continued to deliver strong sales growth. Sales growth in Bunnings remained broadly in line with results for the first half. Officeworks’ sales for the first five weeks were in line with the prior corresponding period.

The Wesfarmers share price is up almost 20% over the last 12 months.

The post Wesfarmers share price on watch amid stellar first-half Kmart growth appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Beginners: Here are 2 ASX dividend stocks to get your portfolio started!
• Are Wesfarmers shares a good long-term buy?
• 2 ASX stocks that could explode in February
• Own Wesfarmers shares? Here’s your half-year results preview
• Would I be crazy to buy Wesfarmers shares at $58?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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 Goldman Sachs Group and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Wesfarmers. 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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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bank shares are often seen as some of the best options for dividends. But, there are other sectors that can deliver strong passive income. ASX Insurance shares can also provide a very good yield.

Sure, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), ANZ Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) and National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) have some of the bigger yields in the ASX 200 at the moment.

But, banks also come with potential issues. For example, there is a lot of competition in the sector (hurting margins) and banks have huge balance sheets. They have large loan books – it would only take a relatively small amount of loans going bad to hurt profit significantly in one year.

I’m going to talk about three ASX Insurance shares that are demonstrating good dividends and underlying earnings growth.

Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL)

Medibank is the largest private health insurer in Australia, with its Medibank and ahm brands.

The business has millions of policyholders and this number continues to grow, adding scale to the company and helping profitability. In FY23, it saw net resident policyholder growth of 10,900 (0.6%) and net non-resident policy unit growth of 78,400 (39.9%).

Medibank decided on a dividend payout ratio of 80.5% in FY23, which enabled a dividend per share of 14.6 cents. This puts the trailing grossed-up dividend yield at 5.5%.

The business added another 5,200 resident policyholders in the first four months of FY24, as well as ongoing growth in the non-resident business.

The projection on Commsec suggests Medibank could pay an annual dividend per share of 16 cents, which would be a grossed-up dividend yield of 6%.

NIB Holdings Limited (ASX: NHF)

NIB is another private health insurer – it’s not quite as big as Medibank, but it is rapidly growing. The company also has exposure to other areas such as travel insurance and NDIS-related earnings. Diversification is sometimes useful for protecting and growing earnings. It also gives the company more areas to look for acquisitions.

While the dividend hasn’t gone up every single year, it has been steadily trending higher since 2010. The business has provided an attractive mix between income and capital growth, as it has regularly invested for more growth.

One of the most attractive things about NIB and Medibank is that they operate in the healthcare sector, which usually has a more consistent demand for services because we all get sick sometimes (even in a recession), and the ageing tailwinds are growing in strength.

In FY23, NIB paid an annual dividend per share of 28 cents, which means the dividend translates into a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 5%.

According to Commsec, the business could pay a grossed-up dividend yield of 5.4%.  

Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG)

IAG is one of the biggest insurance businesses in Australia (and New Zealand), with a number of brands including NRMA Insurance, CGU, SGIO, SGIC, Swann Insurance, WFI and Lumley Insurance.

Everyone with a car needs car insurance and I’d imagine most independent adults have some sort of home and/or contents insurance. There’s a lot of consistency to the premiums, the main difficulty is the variability of claims, which can be troublesome if there’s a large and expensive storm or flood.

But, the inflationary period has led to strong gross written premium (GWP) growth, and its investments in bonds are now making a lot more of a return thanks to higher interest rates. Things are looking good for the company, particularly if it can achieve ongoing higher insurance profit margins.

According to Commsec, the business is forecast to pay an annual dividend per share of 27 cents. At the franking credit rate of the last dividend paid, this would translate into a forward grossed-up dividend yield of 4.9%.

The post Beyond ASX 200 bank shares: 3 insurance plays with nice dividends appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Big news: 15 ASX 200 shares smashing 52-week highs this Tuesday
• I’d buy these two resilient ASX dividend shares for big income
• Want a large and growing dividend? Medibank shares might be the answer
• Brokers say these 3 ASX dividend shares are buys
• IAG share price hits 2-year high ahead of earnings results next week

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 positions in and has recommended NIB Holdings. 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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Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares were under pressure on Thursday.

The banking giant’s shares dropped 1.5% to $114.07 following broad market weakness and the release of its half-year results.

Should you buy CBA shares?

The team at Goldman Sachs has been running the rule over the bank’s results and was relatively pleased with what was reported. It said:

CBA’s 1H24 cash earnings grew by 3% hoh and were -1%/+2% versus GSe / Visible Alpha consensus expectations (VAe). The quality of the result was good, with PPOP +2%/+1% vs. GSe/VAe, largely on account of expenses.

However, the broker saw nothing in the result that it believes can justify the premium that CBA shares trade on compared to the rest of the big four banks. It adds:

CBA’s relative NIM resilience was evident in today’s result and was attributed to i) the effective management of its volume vs. margin trade-off, supported by ii) its deposit franchise strength.

Despite this, we do not think this justifies the 55% 12-month forward PPOP premium CBA is currently trading on versus peers (ex-dividend adjusted), compared to the 29% 15-year average.

In addition, it highlights that the bank is facing competitive and cost pressures. It said:

Coupled with i) a business mix that leaves it more exposed to the current competitive environment, and ii) the fact we do not think it can escape elevated FY24E cost pressures given heightened inflation, despite historically good performance on balancing investment and productivity, we stay Sell.

In light of the above, the broker has reiterated its sell rating with a trimmed price target of $81.98 on CBA’s shares (from $82.37). Based on its latest share price of $114.07, this implies potential downside of 28% for investors over the next 12 months.

The post Why you should sell your CBA shares before it’s too late appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Everything you need to know about the CBA dividend
• CBA shares tumble 3% on half-year profit decline and margin pain
• CBA share price on watch following $5b cash profit and dividend boost
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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 Goldman Sachs Group. 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.

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Looking for some ASX growth shares to buy? If you are, then it could be worth considering the three listed below.

Both have been named as buys by brokers and tipped to rise strongly from current levels. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

The first ASX growth share for investors to look at is Life360.

It is a Silicon Valley-based technology company with a focus on products and services for digitally native families.

The company’s key product is the eponymous Life360 app, which has almost 60 million active users. It offers features such as communications, driver safety, and location sharing.

Goldman Sachs is a big fan of the company, noting that it is “exposed to a US$12bn global TAM with a large opportunity to expand its product suite, grow average revenue per paying circle (ARPPC), increase payer conversion, and lift penetration rates outside of the US.”

The broker currently has a buy rating and $10.50 price target on its shares, which suggests potential upside of 42%.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

Analysts at Macquarie still see material upside potential for this ASX growth share despite its recent gains.

The broker appears to believe that the stars are aligning for the leading global provider of elastic interconnection services and is tipping explosive earnings growth over the coming years.

It is for this reason that the broker reiterated its outperform rating on Megaport’s shares at the end of last month with an improved price target of $15.50. This implies potential upside of 22% for investors.

TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE)

Another ASX growth share that Goldman Sachs is a big fan of is enterprise software provider TechnologyOne.

Goldman believes the company “is well placed to meet its A$500mn FY26 ARR target through a combination of SaaS flip uplift, net expansion and new customer growth.” It expects this and margin expansion to “drive a mid-high teens EPS CAGR to FY26E.”

Goldman has a buy rating and $18.05 price target on its shares. This would mean upside of 13% for investors.

The post Brokers say these explosive ASX growth shares are buys with massive upside appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Will the Life360 share price rise another 55% in 2024?
• 2 ASX shares with millionaire-maker potential
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Analysts tip 10% to 30% returns for these ASX growth shares in 2024
• 2 sizzling-hot ASX stocks to buy right now

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Life360. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs Group, Life360, Macquarie Group, Megaport, and Technology One. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Megaport and Technology One. 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 you’re on the lookout for some new ASX dividend shares for your portfolio, then it could be worth checking out the two listed below.

Here’s what analysts are saying about them:

Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV)

Lovisa could be an ASX dividend share to buy according to analysts. It is a leading fast fashion jewellery retailer with over 800 stores across over 30 countries.

But if you thought that would be where its journey ends, you would be wrong. Management has huge global expansion plans and has just entered the massive China market. And importantly, this expansion is being overseen by a highly experienced CEO that has an incredible track record of taking brands global.

The team at Morgans is very bullish on the company’s expansion plans. It notes that “investment will be needed to expand LOV’s network in the US and Europe and to take it into new markets, but the company has the balance sheet capacity to fund this and the returns could be stellar.”

This could be great news for the company’s earnings and dividends over the next decade. In the meantime, Morgans is forecasting fully franked dividends of 70 cents per share in FY 2024 and 81 cents per share in FY 2025. Based on the current Lovisa share price of $25.10, this implies yields of 2.8% and 3.2%, respectively.

The broker has an add rating and $27.50 price target on its shares.

Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN)

Goldman Sachs is feeling positive about Suncorp and sees it as an ASX dividend share to buy.

Suncorp is the insurance giant behind a huge collection of brands. This includes AAMI, Apia, Bingle, CIL Insurance, GIO, Shannons, Terri Scheer, and Vero.

The broker believes that Suncorp is well-positioned thanks “in large part [to] the tailwinds that exist in the general insurance market.” This includes “very strong renewal premium rate increases and the benefit of higher investment yields.”

Goldman expects this to underpin fully franked dividends per share of 75 cents in FY 2024 and 82 cents in FY 2025. Based on the current Suncorp share price of $14.44, this will mean yields of 5.2% and 5.7%, respectively.

The broker has a buy rating and $15.00 price target on the company’s shares.

The post 2 excellent ASX dividend shares that analysts love appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• I’d grow my wealth by buying these so-called ‘expensive’ ASX stocks
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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Lovisa. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs Group and Lovisa. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Lovisa. 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 Life360 Inc (ASX: 360) share price was well and truly on form in 2023.

During the 12 months, the location technology company’s shares rose a massive 55%.

This is six times greater than the return of the ASX 200 index over the same period.

They say lightning can’t strike twice, but could it with Life360 shares? Could they deliver another 55% return for investors from current levels? Let’s find out.

Could the Life360 share price rise another 55%?

There are plenty of analysts that believe the company’s shares can climb materially this year.

For example, the team at Goldman Sachs currently has a buy rating and $10.50 price target on its shares. This implies potential upside of approximately 42% for investors over the next 12 months.

Goldman highlights that the rapidly growing company has a “compelling valuation” and is experiencing a number of tailwinds. It said:

Life360’s valuation is compelling at 0.18x growth-adjusted EV/GP vs 0.41x/0.49x MP1/SDR, and 11x/19x FY25E EV/EBITDA pre/post stock comp (adj. for R&D capitalisation). The set-up heading into the 4Q result is akin to early 2023, with reasonable consensus earnings expectations that could be upgraded through FY24E on better-than-expected operating leverage (noting we assume +15% FY24E OpEx growth). With positive tailwinds from International expansion and improving payer conversion, we stay Buy.

Over at Bell Potter, its analysts have a buy rating and $11,00 price target on the company’s shares. This suggests potential upside of approximately 50% for the Life360 share price from current levels.

Bell Potter sees a huge growth runway ahead for the company thanks to its Life360 app. It said:

The app is used globally by close to 60 million people and, of these, there are around 5 million paying subscribers. There is, therefore, a very long runway to go in terms of converting users to paying customers and even after a recent hefty price rise the company is adding around a few hundred thousand paying subscribers a quarter.

Finally, the team at Morgan Stanley is the biggest bull and believes that another 55% return is possible this year. It has an overweight rating and $11.50 price target on Life360’s shares.

It is tipping a full year result that will beat consensus expectations later this month, setting the stage for a major re-rating of its share price.

The post Will the Life360 share price rise another 55% in 2024? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 2 ASX shares with millionaire-maker potential
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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Life360. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs Group and Life360. 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.

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On Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was out of form and sank deep into the red. The benchmark index fell 0.75% to 7,547.7 points.

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

ASX 200 expected to rebound

The Australian share market looks set to rebound on Thursday following a solid night of trade on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 37 points or 0.5% higher this morning. In late trade on Wall Street, the Dow Jones is up 0.1%, the S&P 500 has risen 0.5%, and the Nasdaq is 0.7% higher.

Oil prices tumble

ASX 200 energy shares including Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) will be on watch after a tough night for oil prices. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 1.5% to US$76.71 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 1.4% to US$81.60 a barrel. Surging US crude stockpiles put pressure on oil prices.

Telstra results

Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) shares will be on watch today when the telco giant releases its half-year results. According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, it expects Telstra to report EBITDA of $4,054 million (versus the consensus estimate of $4,038 mllion) and earnings per share of 9 cents.

Gold price edges lower

ASX 200 gold shares such as Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could have a subdued day of trade after the gold price edged lower overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 0.2% to US$2,003.7 an ounce. Traders were selling gold after rate cut hopes faded.

CBA shares rated as a sell

The team at Goldman Sachs believes investors should be selling their Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares. In response to the bank’s half-year results, the broker has reiterated its sell rating with a trimmed price target of $81.98. It said: “1H24 cash earnings were below our expectations driven by higher-than-expected BDDs (no provision releases).”

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Woodside Energy Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Telstra Group. 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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It’s fair to say that ASX healthcare shares have flummoxed investors over the past couple of years.

As interest rates headed up and consumers closed their wallets, many fund managers expected the health sector to outperform because of their defensive nature.

Perhaps because of the unusual nature of the current downturn with consumers having a massive savings buffer from COVID-19, that thesis never really played out.

But now, as the prospect of rate cuts becomes tantalisingly close, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel for long-struggling healthcare shares.

“We’ve got a couple of key holdings in the portfolio in small-cap healthcare,” QV Equities portfolio manager Marc Whittaker said in a video blog.

“That’s a sector that I’m really excited about. Valuations are really compelling.”

So if you’re looking for cheap health stocks to pick up right now before they shoot up, these are the ones QVE team is backing:

‘Excited’ for a return to business-as-usual

With a $600 million market cap, Australian Clinical Labs Ltd (ASX: ACL) is the third largest pathology services provider in the nation, according to Whittaker.

“Pathology is a great sector,” he said.

“It’s really about volume… You run your laboratory, largely across a fixed-cost network. And the more volume you can put through your laboratory network, the higher your operating leverage, the higher your scale, efficiencies, and so on.”

After a 43% drop in the share price since August 2022, his team is “excited” about Australian Clinical Labs’ prospects.

“Top line’s growing at around 5% to 6%, and that’s roughly in line with what we think the long term average is for the sector. So that’s been encouraging.”

After the surge in COVID-19 testing a couple of years ago, the environment and financial metrics are starting to recover back to normal.

“On the margin side, or the cost side, things are still washing through a little bit.”

GP shortage is rapidly being addressed

The post-pandemic story is similar with diagnostic imaging provider Integral Diagnostics Ltd (ASX: IDX), with the stock losing more than half its value since April 2022.

The problem for both businesses, according to Whittaker, is that there is “a bottleneck when it comes to GP visitation”.

“Whether that’s because people are still loathe to get back to the GP after the COVID experience and/or the fact there’s a bit of a shortage in GPs at the moment.

“We’ve had a controlled immigration intake for quite some time, and that really means a lot of GPs we rely on [who] come from offshore haven’t been arriving.”

But that inflow of foreign doctors is starting to now recover, and will be a tailwind for Integral Diagnostics.

“Top line’s doing okay, costs just need to start normalising a little bit,” said Whittaker.

“That top line should be enhanced by these GP visitations as they improve over time.”

The healthcare shares backed by irresistible themes

He added that both Integral and ACL, in the long run, have the demographic trend of an ageing population in their favour.

“Both are compounders in my view, so longer term, we expect them to keep delivering.”

QVE senior portfolio manager Simon Conn likes that both companies also have scope to improve efficiencies.

“One of the things I like about the sector is the technology — pathology and radiology, both benefiting from technology,” he said.

“So the ability to diagnose more things with pathology tests and radiology scans is really seeing the amount of work that these businesses do grow over time.”

The post 2 ASX healthcare shares with ‘compelling’ valuations to buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 3 ‘attractive’ small-cap ASX shares ready to rocket in 2024

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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 recommended Integral Diagnostics. 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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Did you know there are roughly 2,400 ASX shares?

This means that even finance journalists like me occasionally come across tickers that I’d never before.

It also means that, at any given time, there are plenty of good buys that you don’t even realise they exist.

So with an open mind, take a look at the two stocks below that Glenmore Asset Management portfolio manager Robert Gregory is keen on.

They are both investment management companies, which is perhaps why they’re not discussed much by experts from rival financial firms.

It’s all a bit “meta”:

The small-cap ASX shares ‘ahead of our expectations’

Pacific Current Group Ltd (ASX: PAC) is reportedly a small team but has a pretty decent market capitalisation of $507 million.

The share price has risen 35% over the past 12 months, with a 7.4% boost in January alone.

Gregory attributed this to a business update late in the month.

“PAC released its quarterly funds under management (FUM) update, which was ahead of our expectations,” he said in a memo to clients.

“PAC reported group FUM of $227 billion at 31 December 2023, up +6% over the December 2023 quarter.”

The company’s boutique private capital brands Pennybacker, Victory Park, and ROC Partners all performed strongly.

“PAC’s guidance for FY24 is for total new commitments of $2 to $5 billion. Given $2.6 billion was delivered in the first half, the company is well placed for a strong FY24.”

Despite the rocketing share price, the stock remains great value for those willing to buy now.

“PAC trades on an FY24 PE multiple of ~13x, which is very attractive in our view given the robust earnings outlook.”

All six analysts agree on this one

Pacific Current owns a 4% piece of fellow investment house GQG Partners Inc (ASX: GQG), which Gregory and the Glenmore team is also bullish on.

The GQG share price also impressively rocketed 10.3% last month.

“GQG released a strong December 2023 funds under management (FUM) update, showing FUM increased from US$113 billion, end of November, to US$121 billion.

Again, notwithstanding a 37% lift in the stock price over the past 12 months, Gregory reckons GQG shares are still cheap.

“GQG continues to trade on a very attractive valuation and has a strong outlook for new inflows in 2024 given its outstanding track record across its various global equity funds.”

Pleasingly, Gregory’s peers unanimously agree.

According to CMC Invest, all six analysts covering GQG rate the stock as a buy right now.

The post 2 cheap and ‘attractive’ ASX shares to buy now that you’ve not thought of appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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.

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Although the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has climbed more than 11% since the start of November, there are still some bargains to be snapped up for long-term investors.

Remember, each dollar you save on the buying cost is a dollar added to your eventual returns.

So while it’s impossible to time the market, entry cost matters.

Here are three ASX shares going for cheap that I can think of:

Just the start of a long journey

Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO) is a long-time favourite for growth investors, but its share price has recently stalled somewhat.

In fact, the accounting software maker is now more than 10% down since the start of September.

But the long-term outlook remains positive under chief executive Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, who has been at the helm for a year now.

She was brought in with a mission to transform the former growth-at-all-costs business to a growth-with-positive-cash-flow model.

There will be hiccups along the way, which is why the stock has spluttered over the past six months.

But long-term investors know the shift will take some time.

Professional investors certainly seem to appreciate this, with 12 out of 19 analysts currently surveyed on CMC Invest rating Xero as a buy.

The ASX shares for economic optimists

Mining technology provider RPMGlobal Holdings Ltd (ASX: RUL) is also another stock that’s made plenty of people rich in the past.

The share price has more than doubled over the five years, although it’s now 17% off its December 2021 peak.

And that could make for an ideal buying opportunity.

The macroeconomic tailwinds are certainly in place.

In the west, interest rates are already stabilising and a cut could even be not too far away. 

Meanwhile, in China, its fight against deflation continues. This could mean direct or indirect economic stimulus could be imminent.

In both regions, the developments could drive up consumption, send commodity prices higher, and RPMGlobal’s clients could have more to spend on tech.

Both Moelis and Veritas recommend RPMGlobal shares as a strong buy, according to CMC Invest.

A cheapie that’s 73% more expensive than a year ago

Staying with the mining theme, Chrysos Corporation Ltd (ASX: C79) provides assay services with unique technology that speeds up the testing with higher accuracy compared to traditional methods.

You may raise your eyebrows that I call this a bargain, since the stock price has rocketed 73% higher over the past 12 months.

However, Chrysos shares are down almost 21% since 10 January, presenting a dip.

For the same reasons as RPMGlobal, I’m bullish on Chrysos.

The high part of the mining cycle could come in the next few years, and service providers like Chrysos could really cash in.

All three experts surveyed on the CMC Invest broking platform rate the shares as a buy.

The post 3 ASX shares I think you’ll be glad you bought at these prices appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why are ASX 200 tech shares taking a beating today?
• 2 ‘oversold’ ASX shares to get onto right now at ‘attractive entry levels’
• 2 ASX stock picks with explosive potential
• I think this ONE factor gives ASX shares a huge chance to make big returns
• Brokers say these ASX mining shares are strong buys in February

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has positions in Xero. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Chrysos, RPMGlobal, and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Chrysos and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended RPMGlobal. 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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