Category: Stock Market

The Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) share price has been running hot recently after a major company announcement last week.

Shares in Sayona Mining are trading up 8.3% at 29 cents apiece at the time of writing – a surge of 96.6% in this month alone. 

The lithium company’s share performance far exceeds that of the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ), which is up 4.07% for the same period.

Let’s look into why investors are bullish on this stock.

What happened last week?

The Sayona Mining share price is riding high after the company announced on Thursday it was restarting its North American Lithium (NAL) operation. Production of its first spodumene concentrate is due to begin in the first quarter of 2023. 

Investors are likely hoping this new development will put Sayona Mining on a course toward operational profitability. As my Fool colleague Zach Bristow pointed out, it’s only profitable when certain accounting measures are applied.

The predicted fall in the price of lithium carbonate and spodumene concentrate are headwinds for Sayona Mining’s sentiment, as well as its operational profitability when production gets off the ground.

As reported by my colleague James Mickleboro, Goldman Sachs expects the price of lithium carbonate to fall to US$11,500 past 2025, down from the average expected forecast of US$46,640 for this year.

Over the long run, the price of spodumene concentrate is expected to fall as much as US$800. This is down from an average forecast of US$3,679 for this year.

The Sayona Mining share price has been in overextended territory since Monday, so a downwards correction by bears towards its mean price of $0.158 may be on the cards.

Sayona Mining share price snapshot

The Sayona Mining share price is up 89.29% year to date. Shares in the company are significantly out-performing the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which has contracted 7.87% this year.

Sayona Mining’s market capitalisation is $2.3 billion, based on the current share price.

The post Why has the Sayona Mining share price rocketed almost 100% in a month? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is the Sayona Mining share price surging 15% on Monday?
• Why Appen, Centuria Industrial, NRW, and Sayona Mining shares are pushing higher
• Sayona share price lights up on ‘rapid progress’ toward production
• Up 33% in July, why did the Sayona share price have such a stellar month?
• Is ASX lithium company Sayona Mining profitable?

Motley Fool contributor Matthew Farley 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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History is dotted with examples of how new technologies have unseated industry leaders, and ASX lithium shares might be next to face- this risk.

The Graphene Manufacturing Group Ltd (CVE: GMG) claims its batteries are better than its lithium-ion competitors.

The Brisbane company, which is listed on the TSX Venture exchange in Canada, says its graphene aluminium-ion batteries can charge 70 times faster and are longer lasting, reported the Australian Financial Review.

Graphene vs. lithium batteries

The new batteries are also believed to be kinder to the environment than the lithium-based incumbents, which use rare earths. The mining and processing of rare earths has created controversy due to the amount of pollution generated.

Graphene Manufacturing Group’s founder and managing director Craig Nicol says that his battery is almost net zero. He also pointed out that his battery is less prone to fires compared to the lithium powered ones.

Are ASX lithium shares facing a graphene shock?

ASX lithium shares are market darlings due to surging demand for electric vehicles that are powered by lithium-ion batteries. But sentiment could turn against the sector if graphene aluminium-ion batteries prove to be a better substitute.

So far investors seem unperturbed. The Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) share price, Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price and IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) share price are sitting on 20% plus gains each over the past year.

In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has slumped around 8% into the red. Lithium, nickel and copper are regarded as the metals of the future due to the global electrification trend.

The snubbed $8.3 billion bid for OZ Minerals Limited (ASX: OZL) by BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) will further bolster sentiment towards battery metal miners, like ASX lithium shares.

What’s powering GMG’s batteries  

The Graphene Manufacturing Group (GMG) has an informal partnership with Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO). GMG will integrate some of its energy-saving products into Rio Tinto’s operations, while the mining giant will supply GMG with aluminium needed to manufacture the batteries.

GMG developed a way to extract graphene from gas as opposed to the more costly way of extracting it from graphite. The company also has the exclusive licence from the University of Queensland for technology used in battery cathodes.

The technology uses nanotechnology to insert aluminium ions inside GMG’s graphene platelets, reported the AFR. This allows GMG to make a denser battery that holds more charge.

Time to sell your ASX lithium shares?

Graphene is a form of carbon consisting of a single layer of atoms arranged in a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice nanostructure.

While it’s too early to say if this material can displace lithium, which is ubiquitously used in almost all batteries, investors in ASX lithium shares should keep a close eye on this development.

The post What is graphene and could it threaten the future of ASX lithium shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why the Amazon share price rose today
• What this new Chinese record could mean for Core Lithium shares
• Why today’s jump in Tesla shares surprised investors
• Why Bitcoin and Ethereum are rising today
• Telstra share price higher on earnings beat and surprise dividend increase

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau has positions in Allkem Limited, BHP Billiton Limited, Independence Group NL, OZ Minerals Limited, and Rio Tinto Ltd. 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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

What happened

Shares of Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) climbed 3.5% on Wednesday after a closely watched price index indicated that inflation was moderating. 

So what

The consumer price index (CPI) increased 8.5% year over year in July. That was better than the 8.7% rise economists expected and a notable improvement from the 9.1% year-over-year increase in June. 

The CPI measures the prices Americans pay for a wide array of goods and services. The index is widely used by investors, businesses, and government officials to monitor inflation levels.

The moderation in CPI growth was largely due to lower energy prices. Gasoline prices declined by 7.7% in July, which helped to offset higher food and housing costs.

Investors took the news as a signal that inflation might have already peaked. That could allow the Federal Reserve to pull back on its plan to raise interest rates, which many analysts feared could drive the economy into a recession.

With these risks now likely reduced, investors bid up stocks. The S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) and Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ: .IXIC) indexes both climbed more than 2% on Wednesday.

Now what

The positive CPI news was particularly bullish for Amazon. The e-commerce giant has seen its shipping and delivery costs soar due to higher gas and diesel prices. Should energy prices continue to fall, Amazon’s profit margins should rebound.

A lower probability of a recession also benefits Amazon. Consumers tend to spend less on discretionary items during economic downturns. But if the economy were to continue to grow at a decent clip, consumer confidence and discretionary spending would likely rise. And that would no doubt lead to higher sales for the online retail titan.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Why the Amazon share price rose today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• The 1 reason Amazon shares may not be a buy right now
• Should investors pounce on Amazon stock during the Nasdaq tech sell-off?
• Amazon stock shrugged off bad news: Here’s what that means for investors
• Amazon share price surges 13% after hours on revenue beat
• The genius move Amazon shareholders have been hoping for

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Joe Tenebruso has the following options: long January 2024 $100 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) shares are charging higher in morning trade, up 5.9%.

The Core Lithium share price closed yesterday at $1.45 and currently stands at $1.53.

With shares in the ASX lithium producer already up a phenomenal 143% in 2022, could there be more growth ahead?

Judging by this new record out of China, that looks quite possible.

Own Core Lithium shares? China just reported record EV sales

The latest figures out from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), as reported by Technode, showed that the sales volume of passenger EVs in China hit a record monthly high in June.

The CPCA reported a total of 571,000 EV sales in June, up an eye-popping 141% year on year. For the full calendar year, CPCA is forecasting an 84% increase in EV sales in China, to 5.5 million vehicles.

For some context, that’s about a million more than all the rest of the world’s EV markets combined.

Lithium is a core element in the batteries that make EVs go. And rocketing sales growth in the world’s most populous nation, and second largest economy, could offer some healthy longer-term tailwinds for Core Lithium shares.

Who are the primary producers?

While China is among the world’s leading four lithium producers, Australia tops the list.

In 2020, Australia produced 40,000 tonnes of lithium out of total global production of 82,000 tonnes, according to Geoscience Australia. The government organisation also reported that Australia has a massive economic demonstrated resource of 6.17 million tonnes of lithium.

Those figures also give credence to the outlook for more growth potential ahead for Core Lithium shares.

And if you were wondering, Chile and Argentina round out the list of top producers of the lightweight, highly conductive battery metal.

How have Core Lithium shares been performing longer-term?

Not only has 2022 been a good year, but Core Lithium shares have seriously outperformed longer-term as well.

Over the past five years, the ASX lithium share has rocketed 2,086%. That compares to a 26% five-year gain posted by the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

The post What this new Chinese record could mean for Core Lithium shares 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 Wednesday
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Tuesday
• Could this development further energise ASX lithium shares in FY23?
• Why is the Core Lithium share price leaping 10% on Tuesday?

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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

What happened

Many investors would have expected Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares to be sinking today. But the opposite is happening. After an early jump of 5%, Tesla stock was still 3.1% higher as of 1:30 p.m. ET. 

So what

That move was a bit surprising after it was revealed yesterday that CEO Elon Musk sold almost $7 billion worth of his Tesla shares between Aug. 5 and Aug. 9. Musk’s sales came at prices from about $838.5 to $912 per share. 

Now what

While the share sales themselves in no way affect the shareholder value in Tesla, Musk is a widely followed CEO, and his actions — and words — have moved the stock in the past. Musk later addressed his followers on Twitter to say the sales were in preparation for the potential purchase of the social media company. He is in a lawsuit with the company trying to back out of the agreement he previously made for the acquisition. 

But his sale of Tesla stock actually seems prudent in that context. If Musk loses the court case and is forced to acquire Twitter, he may need to come up with liquid capital. By selling some Tesla shares now, he avoids the potential for what he called “an emergency sale of Tesla stock.” 

That likely helped boost investor sentiment with Tesla today. There was other news yesterday that was taken as a positive development. Reuters reported that Tesla sold a little more than 28,000 vehicles from its Shanghai plant in July. While that was a huge drop from the record 78,906 vehicles delivered in June, it wasn’t unexpected. 

July production was heavily impacted by shutdowns related to upgrades that are intended to boost capacity at the critical plant by nearly 30%. The factory should now be able to produce more than 1 million vehicles annually. That’s more important news for Tesla investors who want to see it grow production by at least 50% per year for several more years. And it explains why the stock popped today, despite the news of Musk’s share sales. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Why today’s jump in Tesla shares surprised investors appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Elon Musk just sold US$7 billion worth of Tesla shares. What’s going on?
• Why the Tesla share price sank today
• Tesla shareholders approved a 3-for-1 stock split — is the stock a buy?
• Here’s why Tesla stock popped today
• Think you can’t afford to buy Tesla shares? Think again…

Howard Smith 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 Tesla. 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.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

What happened

Shares of most cryptocurrencies and crypto stocks moved higher today after new data showed that inflation might be starting to peak.

Over the last 24 hours, the price of the world’s largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), traded 4.7% higher as of 10:10 a.m. ET today, while the price of the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), traded 8.7% higher. On the day, shares of the Bitcoin miner CleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) traded almost 15% higher.

So what

All week investors have been waiting for the latest reading of the consumer price index (CPI), which tracks the prices of a range of daily consumer goods and services. This morning, the data showed the index grew 8.5% in July on a year-over-year basis. What’s more, the CPI remained unchanged from June on a seasonally adjusted basis. Both of those numbers came in below expectations and suggest that inflation could have peaked last month.

The decline was led by a 4.6% drop in energy prices from June. Within energy, fuel prices fell 11% and all gasoline prices dropped 7.7%. Transportation services also dropped half a percent from June and the shelter index rose half a percent but at a smaller pace of growth than over the last two months. Furthermore, energy services only grew 0.1% from June after a 3.5% rise in June. Within this category, utility gas service fell by 3.6% in July.

The better-than-expected inflation report could mean that the Federal Reserve’s hawkish policy so far this year is working to tame inflation, which could potentially let the Fed ease up on interest rate hikes as the year progresses. Rate hikes have crushed crypto prices this year with Bitcoin and Ethereum down roughly 50% and 51.4%, respectively. Rising rates make safer assets yield more and put pressure on growth and risk assets. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Why Bitcoin and Ethereum are rising today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why this Bitcoin maximalist says all other ‘crypto is a scam’
• Why Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Shiba Inu are falling today
• Can the Bitcoin price reach US$30,000 again in 2022?
• Why Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin are shooting higher today
• Could this key metric signal more bad news for the Bitcoin price?

Bram Berkowitz has positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Bitcoin and Ethereum. 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.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price has been a solid performer on Thursday.

In morning trade, the telco giant’s shares are up almost 2% to $4.08.

Why is the Telstra share price pushing higher?

Investors have been bidding the Telstra share price higher after the company’s full year results impressed the market.

In case you missed it, the company reported a 4.7% year over year decline in revenue to $22,045 million but an 8.4% increase in underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to $7,256 million.

As a comparison, a note out of Goldman Sachs reveals that it was expecting underling EBITDA of $7.13 billion and the consensus estimate was $7.17 billion. The company has beaten both estimates, which helps explain why the Telstra share price is having such a good day.

Telstra’s operating earnings growth was underpinned by an impressive performance from its mobile business. It reported EBITDA growth of 21.2% or $700 million thanks to the addition of 155,000 net retail postpaid handheld services, 2.9% postpaid handheld average revenue per user (ARPU) growth, and 6.4% mobile services revenue growth.

Pleasingly, more of the same is expected for Telstra’s underlying EBITDA in FY 2023. Management has provided underlying EBITDA guidance of $7.8 billion to $8.0 billion. This represents a 7.5% to 10% increase year over year.

Dividend surprise

Also giving the Telstra share price a boost today was news that its board has decided to increase its dividend for the first time in seven years.

Telstra will be paying shareholders an 8.5 cents per share fully franked final dividend next month. This is up from 8 cents per share previously and means a full year dividend of 16.5 cents per share.

Telstra’s CEO, Andy Penn, revealed that this increase reflects “the confidence of the Board” and “the recognition by the Board of the importance of the dividend to shareholders.”

I’m not aware of a single broker that was expecting an increase today, so this has been a very pleasant surprise for the market and shareholders.

The post Telstra share price higher on earnings beat and surprise dividend increase appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Telstra share price on watch amid strong FY22 result and surprise dividend increase
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Here’s the Telstra dividend forecast through to 2024
• ‘Exciting’ ASX 200 dividend share expected to deliver material returns: expert
• ‘Wouldn’t have been on my radar previously’: Why WAM likes Telstra shares right now

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 Telstra Corporation Limited. 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 Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price has taken a tumble on Thursday morning.

In early trade, the mining giant’s shares are down 3.5% to $95.67.

Why is the Rio Tinto share price sinking?

The good news for investors is that today’s decline has nothing to do with the company’s performance, the economy, or the price of iron ore.

The weakness in the Rio Tinto share price is actually good news for shareholders. Today’s decline has been driven by the mining giant’s shares trading ex-dividend this morning for its upcoming interim dividend.

This means that if you were on the company’s share register at the close of play on Wednesday, you’ll be in line to receive Rio Tinto’s second highest interim dividend in its history.

Unfortunately, buyers of its shares today and onwards will not be entitled to this dividend. As such, its shares have fallen to reflect this.

What is the Rio Tinto dividend?

At the end of last month, Rio Tinto released its half year results and revealed underlying EBITDA of $15.6 billion.

This allowed the company’s board to declare an interim dividend of 267 US cents per share. This equated to a fully franked $3.837 per share in local currency.

Eligible shareholders can now look forward to being paid this dividend in around six weeks on 22 September.

Based on the Rio Tinto share price at yesterday’s close of $99.18, this represents a yield of approximately 3.9% for investors. And there’s still a final dividend to come early next year!

And given that the Rio Tinto board decided to be conservative with this dividend, that final dividend could be even larger if commodity prices remain solid between now and then.

The post Why is the Rio Tinto share price sinking today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Time is running out to secure the Rio Tinto dividend. Here’s what you need to do
• The iron ore price has slumped 10% in 5 days. Here’s how ASX 200 mining shares have responded.
• ‘The world is changing’: CEO reveals what will help drive Rio Tinto shares in 2023 and beyond 
• ‘We are in for the long haul’: Rio Tinto CEO defends future spending in the face of recession fears
• Which ASX 200 shares will prove to be dividend heavyweights this earnings season?

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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The AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) share price is on watch after the bank released its earnings for the first half of 2022 this morning. The embattled financial services stock closed Wednesday’s session at $1.17.

AMP share price in focus on $1.1b capital return

• Underlying after tax profit of $117 million – down 24.5% on that of the prior corresponding period (pcp)
• Cash outflows of $1.9 billion for the half – an improvement on the pcp’s $3.6 billion outflow
• Strong capital position with a $1.5 billion surplus about target level
• It announced a $1.1 billion capital return
• As expected, the bank won’t be offering an interim dividend

AMP said its first half earnings reflect a focus on cost savings to offset margin compression.

AMP’s after-tax profits – when including the sale of the bank’s infrastructure debt platform – came to $481 million – up from $146 million.

It also announced a $1.1 billion capital return today. That will be made up of a $350 million on-market buyback, starting immediately.

It’s planning to return another $750 million in financial year 2023 through a combination of capital return, special dividend, or further buyback, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval.

AMP Bank’s residential mortgage book grew at 1.15 times system last half while its net interest margin (NIM) fell to 1.32%. The division reported $46 million of underlying profits – a 45.2% drop.

Finally, the company’s Australian Wealth Management division ended the period with $126.3 billion of assets under management (AUM), down from $142.3 billion at the end of financial year 2021. The drop was primarily due to negative market returns.

AMP Capital’s continuing operations were the only division to boast higher profits last half, bringing in $26 million – a 62.5% increase.

What else happened in the first half?

The major news from AMP last half was of the sale of its Collimate Capital businesses.

It agreed to sell the Collimate Capital real estate and domestic infrastructure business to Dexus Property Group (ASX: DXS) for $250 million cash upfront and up to $300 million in potential earn-outs on 27 April.

A quick aside; that potential $300 million payday was dropped to a maximum of $75 million when AMP lost control of the AMP Capital Wholesale Office Fud last month.  

The company announced the other half of Collimate Capital – its international equity business – will be picked up by digital infrastructure firm DigitalBridge for up to $699 million on 28 April.

The AMP share price rose 12.6% over the two days in which it announced the sales.

What did management say?

AMP CEO Alexis George commented on the company’s half year results, saying:

The first half of the year has seen a challenging economic backdrop. Despite the decline in investment markets, our business is well positioned with a robust balance sheet that will help us to drive forward through a period of continued economic uncertainty.

While our profit has declined … due to a more challenging environment, it is also a reflection of the deliberate actions we took to … continue delivering competitive offers to customers and set AMP up for longer-term success.

What’s next?

AMP said the current macroeconomic environment will likely bring more challenging business conditions.

Its banking division is targeting a NIM of between 1.35% and 1.4% in financial year 2022. Its NIM improved in the second quarter. It’s expected to continue growing in the second half due to higher interest rates.

It will also renew its focus on building AMP as a leading wealth management and banking business in Australia and New Zealand after the Collimate Capital businesses’ sales are completed in the current half.

AMP share price snapshot

The AMP share price outperformed in the six months ended 30 June.

It fell around 3% over the half year while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) dumped approximately 12%.

Looking longer-term, the stock has lifted 8% in the last 12 months while the index has slumped 8%.

However, the AMP share price is still trading 77% lower than it was five years ago.

The post AMP share price in focus amid falling profits and $1.1b capital return appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Are AMP shareholders heading for a $1 billion pay day?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Up 13% in July, can the AMP share price maintain its momentum?
• Here’s the good news about bear markets
• The AMP share price has surged 9% so far this month. Can it keep going?

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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What an impressive year it has been for the AGL Energy Ltd (ASX: AGL) share price.

Since the beginning of 2022, the energy company’s shares have roared to life before settling around the mid-$8 mark.

Over the past eight months, the AGL share price is up almost 40%, outstripping the S&P/ASX 200 Energy (ASX: XEJ) sector.

For context, the benchmark index comprising 11 of the top 200 companies has risen 27% in 2022.

Even with the robust gains recently, let’s take a look at how much AGL has paid in dividends since 2017.

What is AGL’s dividend history?

Below, we take a look at the past five years’ worth of dividends that AGL has distributed to shareholders.

• September 2017 – 50 cents (final)

• March 2018 – 54 cents (interim)

• September 2018 – 63 cents (final)

• March 2019 – 55 cents (interim)

• September 2019 – 64 cents (final)

• March 2020 – 47 cents (interim)

• September 2020 – 51 cents (final)

• March 2021 – 41 cents (interim)

• September 2021 – 34 cents (final)

• March 2022 – 16 cents (interim).

Calculating the above AGL dividends since September 2017 gives us a total figure of $4.75 for every share owned.

Although the dividends represent more than 55% of the current share price, AGL shares were trading at around $24 five years ago. This is why the dividends are much higher towards the start of the period.

It is worth pointing out that AGL dividends were originally 80% franked but since 2021, they’ve been unfranked.

AGL share price snapshot

Despite tumbling over the long term, the AGL share price has gained around 13% in the past 12 months.

The company’s shares hit an all-time low of $5.10 on 16 November before bargain hunters swooped in. It’s up 68% since that time.

AGL is one of Australia’s oldest energy providers and is valued at $5.7 billion.

The company currently offers a healthy dividend yield of 5.83%.

The post Guess how much AGL has paid in dividends over the past 5 years? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• AGL share price down amid Fortescue Future Industries hydrogen hub news
• Why was the AGL share price undercooked in July?
• ‘Massive untapped demand’: The $3 trillion opportunity ASX 200 energy shares could be missing
• Can the AGL dividend bounce back this earnings season?
• What’s been impacting the AGL share price this week?

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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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