Category: Stock Market

Last week, banking giant Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) released its half-year results.

Investors didn’t respond overly positively to the release, with Westpac shares losing almost 3% of their value over the week.

But one leading broker remains positive. Well, just about!

According to a note out of Morgans, its analysts have been a little shaken by the result but have seen enough to retain their add rating with a new lowered price target of $24.22.

Based on the current Westpac share price of $21.09, this implies potential upside of 15% for investors over the next 12 months.

In addition, the broker is expecting a $1.49 per share fully franked dividend in FY 2023 and then a $1.52 per share fully franked divided in FY 2024. This boosts the total potential return to approximately 22% over the next 12 months.

What did the broker say about Westpac shares?

While the broker was pleased with the bank’s earnings, it was disappointed with a couple of items. It explains:

WBC delivered solid 1H23 earnings growth, a lift in ROE, a step-up in DPS, and finished the period with a strong capital and liquidity position. The NIM leverage and stepping away from the FY24 cost target were the disappointments.

Nevertheless, Morgans sees enough value in Westpac shares to overlook this. It said:

Potential 12 month TSR at current prices is c.18% [now 22%] so still justifies an ADD. However, our conviction has waned given some of the potential upside to ROE that we had been targeting has either fallen away (eg. cost target) or been proven (eg. CET1 ratio increase). Positives are the relatively low risk asset and funding mix and undemanding valuation. Concerns are the ability to continue to deliver transformation and grow its loan book at value accretive rates.

The post Broker warns that ‘our conviction has waned’ on Westpac shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• How to invest $10,000 in ASX dividend shares in May
• Bank of Queensland is offering the highest savings interest rate of any ASX bank. What might this mean for shareholders?
• Turning ASX shares into a $40,000 annual passive income generator
• It’s still rare to find a term deposit paying over 5%. Why not buy ASX dividend shares instead?
• Snapped up $5,000 worth of Westpac shares on the June dip? Here’s the passive income you’re earning now

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Westpac Banking Corporation. 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 Westpac Banking Corporation. 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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Maybe you are sick of hearing this, but it doesn’t make it any less true: it’s a turbulent time for ASX shares at the moment.

With much of the world still struggling with both high inflation and steep interest rate rises, it’s touch-and-go whether some of the largest economies will fall into recession.

In such a time, Bell Direct market analyst Grady Wulff suggests targeting three specific ASX sectors to buy into: energy, retail and healthcare.

“For energy, there is one specific stock in there that we have a really high outlook on,” Wulff said at the Australian Shareholders Association conference this week.

“Investors have fled retail stocks… but there’s value in this space when you look for value shopping.”

Healthcare has outperformed the market over the last decade, she added, but there are still “quite a few opportunities” right now.

So here are three ASX shares from those industries that Wulff and the Bell Direct team rate as buys:

The three best buys in the three best ASX sectors

From the retail sector, Wulff’s team likes the look of Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1), which is best known for operating the ubiquitous shoe chain The Athlete’s Foot.

The share price has already done pretty well. It’s risen 74% over the past five years, a whopping 266% since the COVID-19 market crash, and it has doubled since September.

Wulff told investors to not let that put them off.

“This company continues to go from strength to strength. There’s no reason not to consider it for your portfolio.”

She noted how sales are still growing year-on-year, even though customers are now grappling with interest rates that are 3.75 percentage points higher.

“The fact that they’re able to weather tougher economic conditions says they’re up to something really special.”

In the health space, Bell Direct’s current darling is Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: TLX), which produces cancer diagnostic and treatment products.

The company entered into a revenue-making phase last year after its diagnostic imaging tracer Illucix started selling commercially.

Wulff told the Sydney audience that while diagnostic products bring some money in, the real margins are still coming in the treatment products that are currently jumping through bureaucratic hoops.

“Imaging agents make around US$5,000 revenue… per dose,” she said.

“The therapy drug for prostate cancer and kidney cancer is US$250,000 per dose per patient.”

So Telix has these potentially massive catalysts coming, all while the diagnostic products are bringing in revenue to keep its research and development running without needing to raise capital.

Telix shares have rocketed 62% year to date.

Wulff’s pick in the energy sector is uranium producer Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE).

Uranium prices were at rock bottom over the 2010s after nuclear power generation went out of fashion following the Fukushima disaster.

But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year and the subsequent global energy crisis have prompted many countries to reactivate their reactors.

“The company’s project is the Honeymoon mine, which has been in care-and-maintenance since 2013… because uranium prices have been so low,” said Wulff.

“We’ve now seen the price of uranium come off the low last year.”

She recently spoke to the Boss Energy managing director Duncan Craib, who is confident of digging up the nuclear fuel very soon.

“He’s very optimistic that they’re on track, on time and on budget for first production in December 2023, first sales in 2024, and sales to double by 2025.”

The Boss Energy share price has already climbed 35% so far this year.

The post 3 shares to buy from the 3 hottest ASX sectors right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• 3 ASX 300 shares that turned $5,000 into $59,000 or much more in 5 years
• Which ASX retail shares could be ‘most impacted’ by Amazon’s rapid growth?
• Why these ASX 300 retail shares could be immune to rising interest rates

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has positions in Telix Pharmaceuticals. 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 Accent 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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Just because we’re smack-bang in the middle of two reporting seasons doesn’t mean there’s no exciting earnings news to be found among S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares.

Plenty of stocks dropped updates over the week just been. And some of those updates saw companies upping their forecasts for the entire financial year 2023. We love to see it.

So, without further ado, let’s dive into two ASX 200 stocks that made moves amid guidance upgrades this week.

2 ASX 200 stocks upgrading their earnings guidance this week

Graincorp Ltd (ASX: GNC)

First off the bat was Graincorp. The ASX 200 agriculture company saw its stock leap 10% on Thursday on the back of a notable guidance upgrade.

Graincorp posted $383 million of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) for the first half and a $200 million net profit after tax (NPAT).

On the back of what managing director and CEP Robert Spurway called “an excellent result”, the company upped its full-year earnings forecast.

It now expects to bring in between $500 million and $560 million of EBITDA and between $220 million and $260 million of NPAT in the financial year 2023.

That’s up from previous forecasts of $470 million to $530 million of EBITDA and $180 million to $220 million of NPAT.

QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE)

Unfortunately, the market didn’t respond so well to a guidance upgrade from ASX 200 insurance stock QBE on Friday. Though, there was one detail in the company’s quarterly report that might have worried investors.

QBE posted a 14% jump in gross written premiums on a constant currency basis. Additionally, its group-wide renewable rate increases came in at an average of 10%.

Looking forward, it expects its full-year gross written premium growth to come in at around 10% on a constant currency basis – up from its previous guidance of mid-to-high single digits.

However, the ASX 200 insurer also revealed natural catastrophes over the first four months of 2023 had cost it US$480 million – nearly 90% of its first-half catastrophe allowance. It also disclosed US$130 million of adverse development on natural catastrophe events occurring in late 2022.

The ASX 200 insurance stock plunged 3.76% to $14.59 at market close on Friday.

The post Green skies ahead: These 2 ASX 200 stocks upgraded their earnings guidance this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Friday
• What’s the 5-year forecast for commodity prices and ASX 200 mining shares?
• I’m following Warren Buffett and preparing for a stock market crash
• QBE shares plunge 3% as floods, cyclones, and storms take their toll

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper 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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So you’d like to invest in ASX dividend shares this May? Excellent idea. Dividend shares provide many wealth-building benefits. They enable an investor to participate in the wealth creation of Australian businesses, all while securing a stream of passive income in the form of the regular payments that the best dividend shares pay their investors regularly.

But deciding to invest is the easy part. Choosing which investments to put your hard-earned money into is where the rubber hits the road.

So here are some ideas on the best places to invest for dividend cash flow this May.

Where to spend $10,000 on ASX dividend shares this May

I would start by deploying $2,500 each into Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) and Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS). Both Coles and Telstra are the bluest of ASX blue chip shares. Both companies have a long and proud history of delivering robust dividends to their ASX investors.

Sure, both companies offer solid, fully franked yields today. On recent pricing, Coles can boast of a dividend yield of 3.63%, while Telstra has 3.94% on the table. 

But the primary reason to consider these two companies is their defensiveness. Coles and Telstra were two of the few ASX dividend shares that held their dividend payments steady throughout the COVID-ravaged years of 2020 and 2021. For anyone worried about a recession this year, this should provide a lot of comfort.

Let’s now turn to Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC). Banks tend to be a little more cyclical than the likes of Coles or Telstra, evidenced by Westpac’s patchy dividends over 2020 and 2021. But fundamentally, Westpac is a strong and robust business and is heavily entrenched in the Australian financial landscape as a big four bank.

Additionally, Westpac’s current dividend yield of more than 6.3% (also fully franked) is too large to ignore. For immediate and robust cash flow, Westpac could be another great choice for an additional $2,500.

Rounding out with an income ETF

Finally, let’s consider an exchange-traded find (ETF) for our final $2,500 in the Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (ASX: VHY). ETFs are a great way of obtaining instant diversification with one easy investment. This can be especially useful in building an income portfolio.

The three shares named above are all great companies. But they only cover small corners of the ASX. What about retail shares or mining giants? Healthcare shares or energy stocks? That’s where this ETF can come in.

It is specifically designed to only hold ASX shares that offer significant dividend income to investors. At present, its portfolio comprises around 60 ASX dividend shares. These include everything from miner BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and retailer JB Hi-Fi Ltd (ASX: JBH) to health insurance kingpin Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL) and energy titan Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS).

This ETF currently has a trailing yield of 5.81%.

As such, the Vanguard High Yield ETF could be a great way to spend the remaining $2,500 we have earmarked for ASX dividend shares this May.

The post How to invest $10,000 in ASX dividend shares in May appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Bank of Queensland is offering the highest savings interest rate of any ASX bank. What might this mean for shareholders?
• Why are ASX 200 mining stocks having such a shocking end to the week?
• What’s the 5-year forecast for commodity prices and ASX 200 mining shares?
• Why are BHP shares sliding today?
• I’m following Warren Buffett and preparing for a stock market crash

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Telstra Group and Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF. 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 Coles Group and Telstra Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Jb Hi-Fi, Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF, and Westpac Banking Corporation. 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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One of the most popular options out there for investors seeking passive income is Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA).

The banking giant’s shares are found in countless income and super portfolios across the country. And this is for good reason. CBA is arguably one of the highest quality banks in the world and its shares more often than not provide investors with a generous dividend yield.

But will that be the case if you were to invest $10,000 into CBA shares right now? Or have you missed the boat on this one?

How much passive income will CBA shares generate?

If you are lucky enough to have $10,000 at your disposal and decided to put it to work with CBA shares, based on its current share price, it would result in you owning 101 shares.

While that might not sound like a big holding, don’t let the numbers fool you. This is a decent investment and could provide you with a nice passive income boost.

For example, according to a recent note out of Morgans, its analysts are forecasting fully franked dividends per share of $4.26 in FY 2023 and then $4.20 in FY 2024. Based on the current CBA share price of $98.96, this will mean dividend yields of 4.3% and 4.25%, respectively.

It will also mean that your $10,000 investment would yield passive income of approximately $430 in FY 2023 and $424 in FY 2024.

Should you invest?

Morgans appears to be Australia’s largest bank could be a decent option for investors. The broker has CBA on its best ideas list again this month. It commented:

The second largest stock on the ASX by market capitalisation. We view CBA as the highest quality bank and a core portfolio holding for the long term, but the trade-off is it is the most expensive on key valuation metrics (including the lowest dividend yield). Amongst the major banks, CBA has the highest return on equity, lowest cost of equity (reflecting asset and funding mix), and strongest technology. It is currently benefitting from the sugar hit of both the rising rate environment and relatively benign credit environment.

The post If I invest $10,000 in CBA shares how much passive income will I receive? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Bank of Queensland is offering the highest savings interest rate of any ASX bank. What might this mean for shareholders?
• Three reasons the CBA share price made news this week
• How much would I need to invest in ASX shares for a retirement income of $65,000 per year?
• It’s still rare to find a term deposit paying over 5%. Why not buy ASX dividend shares instead?
• The top 10 ASX shares held by millionaires

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 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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Bank of Queensland Ltd (ASX: BOQ) shares outperformed the big four ASX bank shares on Friday.

The Bank of Queensland share price finished the day at $5.70, up 1.79%.

By comparison, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares and ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) shares gained 0.6% and 0.8%, respectively, while National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) scraped into the green by 0.15%. Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) finished in the red.

Meantime, Bank of Queensland today increased the maximum savings interest rate on its Future Saver account by 0.15% to 5.3%.

This is the highest ongoing savings interest rate available today, according to RateCity.

It is being offered to customers aged 14 to 35 years who have up to $50,000 in a Future Saver account.

Future Saver account holders aged 18 and over have to deposit $1,000 into a linked transaction account and make a minimum of five purchases per month to qualify for the 5.3% savings interest rate.

What does this mean for Bank of Queensland shares?

Well, offering the best savings interest rate around is a pretty good look for Bank of Queensland.

It’s no doubt doing this in the hope of attracting more depositor customers.

This is important to help the bank fund new home mortgages and business loans for borrowers.

You see, ASX banks can fund their loans using your savings and money borrowed from other institutions. Some of those institutions are overseas.

Borrowing externally is typically a more expensive way of funding loans than using deposited funds in savings accounts.

So, doing things that attract more depositors is a necessary part of banking.

But there’s a cost to the bank in the form of the interest it has to pay to its depositors.

So, by offering the best savings interest rate around, the Bank of Queensland is also paying more than other banks to access their savings customers’ money.

So, it’s a delicate balancing act.

All of these decisions made by the banks determine their net interest margins (NIMs).

What is the net interest margin (NIM)?

The NIM is an important metric in terms of bank earnings.

It’s the amount of money ASX banks earn from the interest they are paid by borrowers minus the interest they pay to their savings deposit holders.

The higher the NIM, the better it is for earnings.

The ASX banks typically get a share price bump when they report improving NIMs or NIMs that are higher than expected.

That’s what happened to Bank of Queensland shares last October when the junior lender became the first ASX bank to announce a substantially improved NIM on the back of all those RBA rate rises.

Bank of Queensland revealed a 1.81% NIM for 4Q FY22, well up on its 2H FY22 overall result of 1.75%.

This was better than the analysts expected, and Bank of Queensland shares skyrocketed 11.3% that day.

RBA, the gift that keeps on giving to ASX banks

You can imagine how happy the ASX banks are every time the Reserve Bank puts up the official cash rate.

Every RBA move gives the ASX banks the green light to raise their interest rates on loans. In other words, they get a pay rise every time the RBA strikes.

And the RBA has put rates up by a whopping 3.75% over the past 12 months.

Of course, most lenders have been very quick to pass on these rate rises to their borrowers because they can make more money out of their loans that way.

They haven’t been so quick to pass them on to savings account holders because that costs them money.

Stingy.

Anyway, the result of all these rate changes has been improving NIMs across the board for the banks.

Let’s take a look at the latest figures.

What are the NIMs of the major banks?

The latest NIMs reported by the Bank of Queensland and some of its competitors are:

• Commonwealth Bank NIM of 2.1% for 1H FY23, up 0.23% on 2H FY22
• Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) NIM of 1.96% for 1H FY23, up 0.05% on 2H FY22
• Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN) NIM of 1.88% for 1H FY23, up 0.19% on 2H FY22
• Bank of Queensland NIM of 1.79% for 1H FY23, up 0.04% on 2H FY22
• National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) NIM of 1.77% for 1H FY23, up 0.14% on 2H FY22
• ANZ Bank NIM of 1.75% for 1H FY23, up 0.07% on 2H FY22.

Obviously, there are many factors contributing to an ASX bank’s overall earnings. NIM is just one of them.

But given how leveraged our banks are to the residential property market, this is a metric worth keeping an eye on.

Bank of Queensland shares snapshot

The Bank of Queensland share price is down 16.2% in the year to date.

In fact, Bank of Queensland shares hit a new 52-week low of $5.60 yesterday.

Like every other ASX bank share, its price decline is more to do with market sentiment than anything else.

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the United States in March made global shares investors very nervous.

Then Credit Suisse was taken over by UBS due to a bunch of operational difficulties, which created more uncertainty.

As my colleague James reported earlier today, broker Ord Minnett says Bank of Queensland shares are a buy at this level. It reckons the stock will go to $8.50 within the next 12 months.

That’s an almost 50% potential upside for investors who buy Bank of Queensland shares now.

As James reported, the broker “made the move on valuation grounds following significant share price weakness in 2023”.

Ord Minnett believes the Bank of Queensland is well-placed to grow its loans business and boost its margins once competition eases and the ME Bank integration is completed.

The post Bank of Queensland is offering the highest savings interest rate of any ASX bank. What might this mean for shareholders? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Three reasons the CBA share price made news this week
• NAB share price up amid following the leader on cashbacks
• The Bendigo Bank share price has slumped 20% in 5 years. Have the dividends made up for it?
• Turning ASX shares into a $40,000 annual passive income generator
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in Anz Group, Commonwealth Bank Of Australia, and Westpac Banking Corporation. 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 Bendigo And Adelaide Bank. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Westpac Banking Corporation. 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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Income investors are a lucky bunch! The Australian share market is home to a large number of quality dividend shares.

But which ones could be buys? Two that brokers rate highly are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

HomeCo Daily Needs REIT (ASX: HDN)

HomeCo Daily Needs could be an ASX dividend share to buy right now.

In case you’re not familiar with HomeCo Daily Needs, it is a property investment company with a focus on convenience-based assets. These are assets predominantly found across neighbourhood retail, large format retail, and health and services. Essentially, anything that provides daily needs to the public.

Morgans is very positive on the company and believes it is well-placed to benefit from “accelerating click & collect trends” and its development pipeline. The broker currently has an add rating and $1.50 price target on its shares.

In addition, it is forecasting some big dividend yields in the near term. The broker expects dividends per share of 8.3 cents in FY 2023 and then 8.4 cents in FY 2024. Based on the current HomeCo Daily Needs share price of $1.21, this will mean yields of 6.9% and 7%, respectively.

Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV)

Another ASX dividend share to consider buying is Premier Investments.

It is the retail conglomerate behind popular brands such as Just Jeans, Peter Alexander, and Smiggle.

Analysts at Macquarie are very positive on the company. In response to its recent half-year results release, which came in ahead of expectations, the broker retained its outperform rating with an improved price target of $30.50.

The broker is also now forecasting fully franked dividends per share of $1.24 in FY 2023 and then 97 cents in FY 2024. Based on the latest Premier Investments share price of $25.41, this will mean yields of 4.9% and 3.8%, respectively, for income investors.

The post Brokers say these ASX dividend shares are buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• How I’d try to turn a $20k ASX share portfolio into a second income of $6,000 a year
• Buy NAB and this ASX dividend share: analysts
• 2 ASX 200 shares I’d buy for global long-term returns
• Analysts say Pilbara Minerals and this ASX dividend share are buys
• Are these ASX All Ords shares ready to buy at fundamentally fire sale prices?

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 no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Premier Investments. 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) shook off early losses on Friday to close the final session of the week 0.07% higher at 7,256.7 points.

That sees the index 0.51% higher week-on-week, thanks mainly to Monday’s 0.78% gain.

The S&P/ASX 200 Health Care Index (ASX: XHJ) led the way today, rising 1.2%. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) also posted a notable 1% gain.

However, not all was green on Friday. The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) was the worst-performing sector, falling 1%, with Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) among the stocks weighing it down.

The gold mining stock tumbled 2.2% after the company announced it extended the exclusivity period offered to suitor Newmont as it conducts due diligence for what could be a $32 billion acquisition.

Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) dumped 0.5% after oil prices slumped around 2% overnight.

So, with all that in mind, let’s dive into today’s top-performing ASX 200 shares.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown

The biggest gain on the index on Friday was posted by the Lake Resources NL (ASX: LKE) share price. It lifted 12.52% despite no news having been released by the lithium company.

These shares made today’s biggest gains:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Lake Resources NL (ASX: LKE)	$0.65	12.52%
Graincorp Ltd (ASX: GNC)	$8.25	5.63%
Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)	$1.16	4.05%
News Corp (ASX: NWS)	$25.85	4.23%
Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU)	$0.125	4.17%
Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)	$5.57	3.72%
Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN)	$5.60	3.70%
BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN)	$0.455	3.41%
Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC)	$8.16	3.16%
Charter Hall Group (ASX: CHC)	$11.28	2.92%

Our top 10 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to let you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the weekday market closes to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Friday
• What’s the 5-year forecast for commodity prices and ASX 200 mining shares?
• 3 ASX 200 shares with strong balance sheets
• ASX 200 mining shares in focus: Top broker says current iron ore price is ‘unsustainable’
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper 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 Megaport and Nanosonics. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Nanosonics. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Megaport. 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 Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price got its fair share of media coverage this week.

That news didn’t focus on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bank stock’s outperformance.

But it’s worth noting that in late afternoon trading today, the CBA share price is up 2.6% since last Friday’s close at $98.54. That compares to a 0.3% gain posted by the ASX 200.

Indeed, if the big four bank stock can hold onto its gains today, it will mark a whole week in the green.

Now, here are three things that put CBA shares in the news this week.

Why was CommBank making headlines?

Tuesday was a big day for CommBank following the release of its quarterly results.

Highlights included a 10% year-on-year increase in cash net profit after tax (NPAT), which reached $2.6 billion.

Both home lending and business lending were up. Though on the negative side of the ledger, the bank’s net interest margins (NIM) dipped, pressured by a very competitive home loan market and higher interest rates paid on its deposit accounts.

The CBA share price gained 0.2% on Tuesday.

CommBank was also in the news after the 2023 federal budget came out.

CBA’s chief economist Stephen Halmarick said the budget had not impacted the bank’s inflation forecast, advising it continued to see “a return to inflation within the 2% to 3% target by mid-2024”.

Halmarick added:

The other economic forecasts in the budget are consistent with our own view that the pace of economic growth will slow meaningfully in the year ahead and the unemployment rate will edge higher.

CommBank was back in The Motley Fool headlines on Thursday following a bearish assessment from Goldman Sachs.

On the back of the bank’s quarterly update, the broker retained its sell rating with an $87.78 target for the CBA share price. That’s more than 11% below the current price.

While overall fairly positive on the bank, Goldman’s primary concerns stem around the premium that CBA trades for compared to the other big four banks.

Referring to the elevated price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, Goldman’s analysts noted, “We struggle to justify the stock’s relative PER rating (43% premium to peers vs. 21% 15-yr average).”

CBA share price snapshot

Despite the solid week gone by, the CBA share price has yet to recover from its big tumble in mid-February and into March. Year to date, the ASX 200 bank stock is down 2.5%.

The post Three reasons the CBA share price made news this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• How much would I need to invest in ASX shares for a retirement income of $65,000 per year?
• It’s still rare to find a term deposit paying over 5%. Why not buy ASX dividend shares instead?
• The top 10 ASX shares held by millionaires
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• How to invest $5,000 in ASX shares today like Warren Buffett might

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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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The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price is up 0.17% to $26.42 amid news the big four bank will be ending generous cashback offers on new and refinanced loans.

As reported in The Australian, NAB is following the lead of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) in ceasing its $2,000 cashback offer on 30 June.

CBA is ending its own $2,000 offer for new loans and refinance loans on 31 May.

Why is the cashback offer ending?

The move follows NAB’s half-year results last week which fell short of expectations.

NAB revealed a net interest margin (NIM) of 1.77%, which was short of Goldman Sachs’ expectations of 1.83%.

The ASX 200 bank also reported an 11.6% increase in expenses during the half.

Cash earnings went up by 17% to $4,070 million but this was lower than consensus estimates of $4,151 million.

As my Fool colleague James points out, the results appear to indicate that NAB’s NIM has peaked sooner than expected.

So, it’s not surprising to see the bank dumping cashbacks, given these are traditionally expensive methods of attracting new customers.

The report quoted NAB CEO Ross McEwan, who said intense competition between the banks for a smaller number of loans had resulted in NAB selling some loans at “sub cost of capital”.

McEwan said he would make “deliberate choices about … where to pull back”.

Is the NAB share price a buy?

ASX 200 bank shares have had a tumultuous time of late.

The collapse of a couple of United States banks and the forced takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS has rattled markets and bank share prices around the world have fallen.

Thus, today’s NAB share price may present a buying opportunity for some investors.

Here’s what has happened to the big four ASX 200 bank shares over the past two months:

• The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price has tumbled 9.9%
• The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price has fallen 9.5%
• The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price has dropped 8.7%
• The ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price has dipped 3.6%

Another Fool colleague, Tristan, has outlined his reasoning for calling NAB a buy at today’s share price.

The post NAB share price up amid following the leader on cashbacks appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why I think the NAB share price is a buy right now
• Why is the NAB share price tumbling 4% on Wednesday?
• Hoping to bag the boosted NAB dividend? You’d better hurry
• Banking crisis continues: What’s up (and down) with ASX 200 bank shares today?
• Here’s how I’d aim for $200 a month in passive income using ASX 200 bank shares

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in Anz Group, Commonwealth Bank Of Australia, and Westpac Banking Corporation. 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 recommended Westpac Banking Corporation. 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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