Category: Stock Market

When it comes to buying, selling, and investing in ASX shares, I like to keep one of the legendary Warren Buffett’s quotes in mind.

In his 1988 letter to the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Buffett said the following:

We expect to hold these securities [Coca-Cola and Freddie Mac] for a long time. In fact, when we own portions of outstanding businesses with outstanding managements, our favorite holding period is forever.

When I buy an ASX share, I also keep in mind another Buffett quote, “Only buy something that you’d be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years.”

If you never have to worry about what price you’d sell an ASX share for, it takes away half of the stress of investing in it.

With that in mind, here are three ASX shares that I would buy with the full intention of having them in my brokerage account when I die.

2 ASX 200 shares I would never sell

Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX: SOL)

Washington H. Soul Pattinson, or Soul Patts as it’s more easily known, is an ASX 200 veteran investment house. Its primary business is owning a portfolio of other ASX shares and assets on behalf of its investors. Soul Patts just reported its latest earnings this morning, and boy, were they impressive.

The company reported a 38.4% rise in profits, as well as a 21.4% hike to its dividend. But this company has been delivering for its shareholders for decades.

In its report today, the company proudly announced that it has achieved an average shareholder return for its investors of 12.4% per annum over the past 20 years. That’s an outperformance of 3% per year over the broader market. That’s enough to convince me that this ASX share is a timeless winner.

Brickworks Ltd (ASX: BKW)

Another ASX 200 winner in my view is building and construction materials company Brickworks. As it happens, Brickworks also reported its latest earnings this morning. And they were just as impressive as Soul Patts’. Profits were up a pleasing 24%, which allowed Brickworks to boost its dividend by 5%.

While not quite as impressive as Soul Patts’ historical performance, Brickworks still told investors that it has delivered an annual return of 10% over the past 20 years. This company also has the distinction of not cutting its dividend in more than 40 years.

Brickworks has astutely built up a portfolio of other assets, including shares and property, that help it survive the cyclical nature of its core business. Due to its long and proud history of delivering for shareholders, this is another company you couldn’t convince me to part ways with.

The post Here is a pair of ASX 200 shares I would buy and never sell appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday
• Want to bank more passive income? This ASX 200 bank share’s dividend yield outstrips all others
• Is this the cheapest ASX 200 dividend share to buy today?
• Why is the National Storage share price down 5% today?
• Why Brickworks, Healius, Mincor, and Northern Star shares are rising today

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Berkshire Hathaway, Coca-Cola, and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Berkshire Hathaway, Brickworks, and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2024 $47.50 calls on Coca-Cola. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Brickworks and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Berkshire Hathaway. 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) is sadly back in the red today after what was an encouraging few days of trading. After the strong recovery we witnessed over the past two days, the ASX 200 is back to a loss so far this Thursday.

At the time of writing, the Index is presently nursing a 0.69% fall, which has dragged the ASX 200 back under 7,000 points.

That’s not a reason to pack up and go home though. So let’s focus on something else — the shares that are currently topping the ASX 200’s share trading volume charts right now, according to investing.com. See if you can spot a trend with today’s stocks.

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Thursday

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

After a long absence from this list, ASX 200 lithium share Core Lithium returns first up today. So far this session, a hefty 20.16 million Core shares have made their way across the ASX boards. We have seen some news out of this lithium miner this Thursday.

As we covered this morning, Core has announced a lithium spodumene concentrate sales agreement with Chinese company Sichuan Yahua from its Finniss lithium project. But investors don’t seem too impressed, with Core Lithium shares down a nasty 3.54% so far today to 76 cents a share.

It was even worse this morning too, with the company dropping as low as 72 cents (down almost 7%). All of these developments probably explain the high volumes we are seeing.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Next up we have another ASX 200 lithium stock in Pilbara Minerals. A sizeable 33.53 million Pilbara shares have swapped hands as it currently stands.

Unlike Core Lithium, we haven’t had any news out of Pilbara this session to speak of. However, Pilbara is also suffering a depressing share price loss over today’s trade thus far. At present, the leading lithium share is suffering a 4.44% fall to trade at $3.44 each after falling close to 7% this morning. It looks like this drop is to blame for the high trading volumes on display.

Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA)

Our third, final, and most traded ASX 200 share today is yet another lithium producer in Sayona Mining. This session has seen a whopping 52.75 million Sayona shares bought and sold on the markets so far. This looks like a very similar situation to that of Pilbara – no news but a big share price drop.

Unfortunately for Sayona investors, this lithium share has cratered by a horrid 7.5% today, down to 18.5 cents a share. This loss, together with Sayona’s relatively large share count, is the likely reason this company leads out trading volumes this Thursday.

The post Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Want to bank more passive income? This ASX 200 bank share’s dividend yield outstrips all others
• Why is the Pilbara Minerals share price sliding today?
• Investing in ASX 200 lithium shares? You’ll want to read this
• Why are ASX lithium shares sinking today?
• Why Core Lithium, National Storage, OFX, and Polynovo shares are dropping today

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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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It has been a great day for the Panoramic Resources Ltd (ASX: PAN) share price.

In afternoon trade, the ASX nickel share is up 15% to 15.5 cents.

Investors have been scrambling to buy its shares after it was the subject of a bullish broker note.

Who is bullish on this ASX nickel share?

The team at Morgans is bullish on Panoramic Resources and is tipping major upside for its shares over the next 12 months.

According to a note, the broker has retained its add rating with a 25 cents price target.

Based on the current Panoramic Resources share price, this implies potential upside of 61% for this ASX nickel share between now and this time next year.

Why is Morgans bullish?

The broker notes that Panoramic Resources has just released an updated mine plan for the Savannah Nickel Operation, which underlines a 12+ year operating life, with strong upside to extend.

In addition, it highlights that its operations are steadily ramping up and design production levels are forecast to achieve its target mine rate of 960ktpa in early FY 2024.

Morgans believes this leaves it well-placed to deliver strong earnings growth in the coming years. In fact, it is forecasting a net profit of $5.8 million this year. After which, it forecasts $22.2 million in FY 2024 and $43.4 million in FY 2025.

In light of this, the company is the broker’s preferred nickel exposure on the ASX right now. It commented:

PAN is our preferred nickel exposure on the ASX with a 12+ year mine life, on track to reach nameplate production this year, and significant exploration at both Savannah, Savannah North and regional targets.

While our DCF valuation is built on PAN’s published study operating life only, based on recent positive drilling results beneath Savannah workings, and open-ended mineralisation at Savannah North, we see strong potential to increase the mine life through upcoming exploration and Resource definition drilling to re-classify Inferred and Indicated Resources into mineable Reserves.

PAN also produces copper and cobalt in concentrate, giving significant by-product credits and additional revenue over the life of mine.

The post Buy this ASX nickel share for 60%+ upside: Morgans appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Want to bank more passive income? This ASX 200 bank share’s dividend yield outstrips all others
• ASX 200 gold shares are defying today’s sell-off. Here’s why
• How to make $500 of monthly income from CBA shares
• Is this the cheapest ASX 200 dividend share to buy today?
• Buy this ASX ETF for retirement income

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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No doubt, some market watchers consider S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bank shares a boring investment. But what if I told you one ASX 200 bank share currently boasts a dividend yield of more than 7%.

That’s right, one of Australia’s biggest banks offers a passive income-to-share price ratio many mining stocks would envy.

So, which S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) giant is behind the burgeoning dividend stat? Keep reading to find out.

The highest dividend yield of all ASX 200 bank shares is….

ASX 200 investors would be hard-pressed to avoid bank stocks. Indeed, the financial sector accounts for nearly a third of the entire index’s value.

But it’s not $164 billion financial giant Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) that offers the highest dividend yield. Nor is it one of its big four peers.

That crown goes to regional competitor Bank of Queensland Ltd (ASX: BOQ). Take a look for yourself:

ASX 200 bank	Dividends declared in the last year	Share price	Trailing yield
Bank of Queensland	46 cents	$6.52	7%
ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ)	$1.46	$22.77	6.4%
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN)	55.5 cents	$8.94	6.2%
Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)	$1.25	$21.41	5.8%
National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)	$1.51	$27.80	5.4%
Commonwealth Bank	$4.20	$96.95	4.3%
Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG)	$6.50	$171.24	3.8%

So there you have it, folks. The dividend yield on offer from Bank of Queensland shares at the time of writing means a $10,000 investment could herald $700 of annual passive income. That’s certainly nothing to scoff at!

Coming up in its dust is ANZ at 6.4%, while fellow regional player Bendigo Bank offers a 6.2% dividend yield.

But there might be more to the Bank of Queensland’s apparent dividend superiority.

The stock has underperformed all its ASX 200 banking peers’ over the last 12 months, falling 23% in that time. That’s compared to the ASX 200’s 5% tumble (see below) and the financial sector’s 11% slump.

That fall means Bank of Queensland’s shares now appear to be priced cheaper in comparison to dividends than they otherwise may have.

The post Want to bank more passive income? This ASX 200 bank share’s dividend yield outstrips all others appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is the National Storage share price down 5% today?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Rising Flight Centre share price delivers 25% gains to SPP investors in a week
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday

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 positions in and has recommended Bendigo And Adelaide Bank and Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Westpac Banking. 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) gold shares are defying the broader market sell-off and marching confidently higher on Thursday.

In afternoon trade the ASX 200 is down 0.6%. The benchmark index is following the lead of US markets.

All the major US indexes finished sharply lower overnight following the latest 0.25% interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve.

But gold stocks are broadly outperforming today.

At the time of writing the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) – which also contains some smaller miners outside of ASX 200 gold shares – is up 1.5%.

Here’s how some of the big Aussie gold miners are performing at this same time:

• Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) shares are up 2.0%
• Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) shares are up 1.3%
• Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) shares are up 2.1%
• Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR) shares are up 1.4%

So, why are ASX 200 gold shares smashing the benchmark today?

Why are ASX 200 gold shares outperforming today?

The gold sector is broadly gaining today following an overnight lift in the gold price.

At this time yesterday, bullion was trading for US$1,944 per troy ounce.

Today that same ounce is worth US$1,974, up 1.5%.

The boost in the price of the yellow metal – and by extension the boost for ASX 200 gold shares – likely has less to do with Fed chair Jerome Powell than it does with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Gold has been rising and falling over the past two weeks on fast-shifting sentiment surrounding the global banking crisis, sparked by the failure of US-based Silicon Valley Bank.

As a classic haven asset, the gold price has gone up as investor fears over the health of banks have increased.

And Yellen looks to have rekindled those fears by noting that the US government isn’t discussing providing deposit insurance to all banks large and small.

“I have not considered or discussed anything to do with blanket insurance or guarantees of all deposits,” Yellen said. She added that bank runs “may more readily happen now”.

Commenting on Yellen’s remarks, Redmond Wong, strategist at Saxo Capital Markets HK said (quoted by Bloomberg):

Smaller banks are likely to face a flight of deposits [following Yellen’s] 180-degree change in her comments about covering the uninsured deposits.

Bank lending will slow further or even contract and bring about a recession. Treasury yields may fall further and Treasuries, in particular the front end of the curve, are a buy. Gold is a buy.

With enough investors seemingly aligned with Wong’s views, ASX 200 gold shares are making hay today.

The post ASX 200 gold shares are defying today’s sell-off. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Brickworks, Healius, Mincor, and Northern Star shares are rising today
• Beach and bling: 2 ASX 200 shares Firetrail is loving right now
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Why are ASX 200 gold stocks on a rollercoaster lately?
• Why ASX 200 gold shares could see the yellow metal hit new record highs: expert

SVB Financial provides credit and banking services to The Motley Fool. 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 positions in and has recommended SVB Financial. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended SVB Financial. 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 are a popular option for income investors and it isn’t hard to see why.

Over the last three decades, Australia’s largest bank has paid billions and billions of dollars in dividends to its shareholders.

The good news is that this is unlikely to change any time soon, with analysts forecasting bigger and bigger dividends over the coming years.

With that in mind, let’s take a look to see what it would take to generate a $500 monthly income from CBA’s shares.

How to make $500 monthly income from CBA shares

As a reminder, in FY 2022, the banking giant paid its shareholders a fully franked $3.85 per share dividend.

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts expect this to increase to $4.68 per share in FY 2023. After which, the broker expects further increases to $4.84 per share in FY 2024 and then $4.91 per share in FY 2025.

If you wanted to generate $500 of monthly income from CBA shares, you would need to receive $6,000 of dividends each year and then distribute them accordingly.

In order to receive $6,000 of dividends in FY 2023, you would need to own 1,282 shares based on Goldman’s dividend estimate.

That’s no small purchase, unfortunately. With the CBA share price currently fetching $96.95, this would mean an investment of almost $125,000.

But it sure could be worth it if you have those funds at your disposal. Based on Goldman’s estimates, your investment would then generate $6,200 worth of dividends in FY 2024 and then almost $6,300 the following year.

That’s a total of $18,500 of dividends in the space of three years.

And if its shares were to bounce back from current levels to hit its recent high of $111.43, your $125,000 investment would grow to be worth approximately $143,000.

The post How to make $500 of monthly income from CBA shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ASX big four bank shares close the day ahead as financial fears linger
• Goldman ‘remains confident in the health’ of ASX 200 bank shares and names it top pick
• Online trading in these ASX 200 bank stocks is surging. Here’s why
• Which ASX 200 big four bank share could be the safest to hold?
• ASX 200 bank shares shrug off global banking turmoil to leap higher

Fetching Disclosure…

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Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW) just announced its FY23 half-year result which included ongoing growth for its underlying value and underlying profit. The report revealed that the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) dividend share could be materially undervalued.

The business reported a number of impressive financial metrics considering the widespread uncertainty over the past year.

It said that total revenue increased by 13% to $584 million, underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 25% to $607 million and underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) went up 24% to $410 million.

The Brickworks dividend was increased by the board to 23 cents per share, a rise of 5%.

Building products EBITDA was largely steady, with an uplift in North America offset by a “modest fall” in Australia.

Brickworks reported that properties within the industrial joint venture trust continue to be completed and property values have increased thanks to strong demand and rent potential.

Now I will look at two aspects of the business – is it good value and an effective ASX 200 dividend share?

Is the Brickworks share price significantly undervalued?

Brickworks is very open about how much the undervalued assets within its business are worth.

The ASX 200 dividend share has four different asset groups – listed investments, the property trust net tangible assets (NTA), the building products NTA and development land. It also has net debt.

Most of the value of the listed investments segment is represented by Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) shares, the old investment conglomerate. It also owns FBR Ltd (ASX: FBR) shares, which is a business working on a bricklaying robotic truck. This segment had a worth of $2.73 billion on 31 January 2023.

Its property trusts are industrial properties that it owns half of, along with Goodman Group (ASX: GMG). These industrial properties are benefiting from higher revaluations, with strong demand and fast growth of rental potential. This provides a stable asset base for Brickworks, and growing rental profit. The property trust NTA is $2.24 billion for Brickworks.

Brickworks has a building products NTA of $577 million, which includes both the Australian building products business and the North American building products business.

It has three large parcels of land which have a combined “as is” market value of $461 million. This land has been identified for development and is planned for sale into the property trust.

Finally, it has net debt of $595 million.

Therefore, Brickworks revealed that it had a total inferred asset value of $5.4 billion at 31 January, which translates into $35.56 per share.

At the current Brickworks share price, that’s a discount of around 33%. I’m not suggesting that Brickworks shares should trade at $35. But, with Brickworks being a long-term investor in the Soul Pattinson shares and the industrial properties, I believe it’s worthwhile taking a very long-term view of the ASX 200 dividend share and its appealing dividend payouts.

Dividend credentials

This company’s normal dividend has been maintained or grown every year since 1976. That’s 47 years since the last decrease.

The result included another 5% increase in the dividend. That’s a solid boost.

Brickworks’ leader, Lindsay Partridge, said today:

We are proud of our long history of dividend growth, and the stability this provides to our shareholders.

Putting the last two declared dividends together, the business has a current grossed-up dividend yield of 3.8%.

While it doesn’t have the biggest dividend around, I think Brickworks represents good value for the long term, and the growing dividend is attractive in this uncertain climate.

The post Is this the cheapest ASX 200 dividend share to buy today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Brickworks, Healius, Mincor, and Northern Star shares are rising today
• Brickworks share price higher on record half-year profit
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• 2 ASX 200 shares where the dividends don’t stop
• $1,000 in monthly passive income? Buy 18,462 shares of this ASX 200 stock

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Brickworks and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Brickworks and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Brickworks and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Goodman 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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If you’re in the process of building a retirement portfolio or adding to one, it may be hard to decide which ASX shares to buy given the recent market volatility.

The good news is that exchange traded funds (ETFs) are here to make your life easier.

An ETF is a diversified collection of assets that combines the benefits of both managed funds and ASX shares and offers investors a simple and cost-effective way to achieve diversification in their investment portfolios.

Among the many ETFs options out there to choose from is one in particular that could be suitable for investors seeking to earn income in retirement. It is the Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (ASX: VHY).

Why buy this ETF for a retirement portfolio?

Rather than picking some ASX dividend shares to buy, you could just buy the Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF for your retirement portfolio.

This ETF aims to provide investors with access to a portfolio of ASX shares that have higher than average forecast dividends. Vanguard explains:

VHY is built smarter. Unlike most high yield equity ETFs, VHY uses forward looking broker estimates to determine which securities go in the fund. This ensures VHY can look past historical information and capture the securities that are forecast to pay a higher yield.

There are a number of high quality ASX 200 shares included in the ETF. This includes income investor favourites such as BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), and Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES).

At present, the ETF provides investors with a forecast dividend yield of 5.4%. This is well ahead of the Australian share market historical average of approximately 4%.

The post Buy this ASX ETF for retirement income appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Is a dividend ETF really better than an ASX index fund for income?
• These ETFs could be top options for buy and hold investors
• Income investors could get very big dividends from these ASX ETFs
• Buy this ASX ETF for big retirement income
• Dividend dessert: Which ASX ETFs are the sweetest for a passive income?

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 positions in and has recommended Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF. 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 Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG) share price is down 1.63% after the company released its FY23 full-year results today.

Meantime, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 0.59%, largely due to the United States Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate rise.

Let’s see what the pharmaceutical distributor, wholesaler, and franchisor revealed to the ASX today.

Sigma Healthcare share price down but EBITDA up 65%

Sigma Healthcare reported a return to profit in FY23 with “capacity for growth” from here.

The highlights for the 12 months ending 31 January 2023 are:

• Net revenue of $3.66 billion, up 6.2% on the prior corresponding period (pcp) of FY22
• Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $49.6 million, up 65.3% pcp
• Net profit after tax (NPAT) of $1.8 million, up from a $7.2 million loss pcp
• Net debt of $67 million, down 55% pcp
• Final fully franked dividend of 0.5 cents, payable on 18 April.

What else happened in FY23?

In a statement, Sigma said it had simplified its business operations and processes, stabilised its ERP [enterprise resources planning] systems, and completed its DC [data centre] infrastructure rebuild.

Sigma reduced its five pharmacy franchise brands to two — Amcal and Discount Drug Stores — and commenced phasing out the other brands, which include Guardian.

In a statement, the company said:

Whilst this may lead to some disruption in the current year, the merger of brands will provide critical mass to drive customer engagement and support our longer-term strategy.

It referred to a renewed strategy and leadership team “to deliver a sustainable business” moving forward.

What did management say?

Sigma CEO Vikesh Ramsunder said:

Following 12-months in the role, I am pleased to report that we have returned to profit, strengthened our balance sheet and made significant progress in the transformation of the company.

We now have a much stronger operational platform to improve service delivery to customers, which underpins our pursuit of growth opportunities and will incrementally deliver improved financial outcomes for shareholders.

The sale of Sigma’s unprofitable CHS Hospital distribution business for $44 million will be finalised on 31 March, subject to regulatory approval.

Ramsunder commented:

This is the fourth transaction as part of our strategy to simplify our business and focus on our core community pharmacy operations.

The sale will release $35 million to $40 million of cash for the business.

Sigma will rename its CHS business ‘Sigma Healthcare Logistics’ and pursue opportunities in third-party logistics from here.

What’s next?

Ramsunder stopped short of providing specific FY24 guidance. But he said operational improvements and a strengthened balance sheet should lead to reported EBIT of between $26 million and $31 million.

The board has also approved a new dividend payout policy of between 50% and 60% of reported NPAT.

Sigma Healthcare share price snapshot

The Sigma Healthcare share price is up 10.5% over the past 12 months.

This compares to a 6.6% fall in ASX All Ords shares and a 4% climb in the S&P/ASX 200 Health Care Index (ASX: XHJ).

The post Sigma Healthcare share price falls despite company’s return to profit appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

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Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen 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 Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price is 3% in the red today.

However, in earlier trade, Pilbara shares tumbled 6.7% from $3.60 to $3.36 before recovering some of its losses. Pilbara shares are currently trading at $3.49, at last look.

Let’s take a look at what could be impacting the Pilbara Minerals share price today.

Why are Pilbara shares falling?

Pilbara shares may be tumbling today, but it is not the only ASX lithium share on the decline. Other lithium explorers falling today include Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO), down 3.17%, and Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL), plunging 6.67%.

The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) is down 0.86% today.

Lithium shares including Pilbara appear to be falling amid reports on a falling lithium price.

Lithium carbonate (99.5% battery grade) has descended 2.37% in a day to 288,000 Chinese Yen (US$41.9), Shanghai Metals Market data shows.

In the past four months, lithium prices have been cut in half, a report out of Bloomberg stated.

Meanwhile, in news out of Chile, all new lithium projects will now need to use a new lithium extraction method to reduce water losses.

Bloomberg reported this government measure may risk future supply from the nation, despite its huge reserves of lithium. Chile mining Minister Marcela Hernando said:

For us, any future development has to done with direct extraction.

Wider market turmoil could also be impacting sentiment in ASX lithium shares today. As my Foolish colleague Bernd reported this morning, the US Federal Reserve lifted rates by 0.25% overnight.

Commenting on the rate rise, Fed chair Jerome Powell said:

It is important that we sustain that confidence with our actions as well as our words.

We are committed to restoring price stability, and all of the evidence says that the public has confidence that we will do so.

The S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) fell 1.65% on US markets on Wednesday, with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) also sliding today, down 0.55%.

US lithium giant Albermarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) descended 3.06% overnight, however, in after-hours trade it rose 0.25%. Similarly, Livent Corp (NYSE: LTHM) dropped 2.87% on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, but in after-hours trade lifted 0.89% into the green.

Pilbara share price snapshot

The Pilbara Minerals share price has lifted 12% in the last year. However, it has tumbled by 18% in the last month.

Pilbara has a market capitalisation of nearly $10.5 billion based on the current share price.

The post Why is the Pilbara Minerals share price sliding today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Investing in ASX 200 lithium shares? You’ll want to read this
• Why are ASX lithium shares sinking today?
• What was with ASX lithium shares today?
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• Why New Hope, Pilbara Minerals, Westpac, and Zip shares are pushing higher

Motley Fool contributor Monica O’Shea 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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