Category: Stock Market

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.

Just as Tesla‘s (NASDAQ: TSLA) blowout fourth-quarter vehicle deliveries are grabbing headlines, Morgan Stanley‘s Adam Jonas is focusing on 2022. The company’s staggering momentum, he says, now makes two million deliveries this year possible.

If Tesla were to achieve this, the company’s growth rate would accelerate compared to its already-impressive growth in 2021 and deliveries would more than double.

Let’s take a look at why Jonas thinks two million deliveries are now within the realm of reason.

The path to 2 million deliveries

At this point we’d still describe [two million deliveries in 2022] a stretch target but one that looks far more realistic following [Tesla’s fourth-quarter] deliveries,” said the Morgan Stanley analyst in a note to investors on Monday. 

Jonas’ belief that this stretch target is possible is based on two main ideas.

First, of course, is Tesla’s incredible momentum in Q4. The company grew deliveries 71% year over year to 308,600, blowing past analysts’ estimates. Even on a sequential basis, the growth was very strong. Deliveries increased 28% between the company’s previous quarterly record of 241,391 just three months earlier. And that figure was up from 201,304 three months before that. Growing like this during a period of some of the worst automobile supply constraints in history speaks volumes about Tesla’s momentum.

The second reason Jonas is so optimistic about Tesla’s potential in 2022 is the company’s new factories. After spending essentially all of 2021 building a new factory in Berlin, Germany, and another in Austin, Texas, these two new factories are just now coming online. Jonas believes that once these factories are ramped up to full production capacity, Tesla will have a global installed production capacity of nearly three million units annually, up from a capacity of just over one million units annually at the end of the company’s third quarter. Of course, it’s going to take a while for these two new factories to get to full capacity.

Don’t expect guidance like this from Tesla

After years of regularly missing its production and delivery targets, electric-car maker Tesla has recently become conservative when it comes to its annual delivery guidance. Last year, for instance, management simply said it expected deliveries to grow more than 50% in 2021. This would imply about 750,000 or more deliveries, up from just under 500,000 in 2020. But actual deliveries soared 87% year over year to more than 936,000 — and this occurred during a challenging supply and logistics environment.

Tesla may provide conservative guidance again for 2022. Indeed, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the company once again guide for deliveries to grow 50% or more. While this would be a far cry from Jonas’ bull case for as many as two million deliveries, it speaks to Tesla’s strengths that we’re calling a forecast for 50% growth conservative — especially when you consider that that growth would be on top of 87% growth in the prior year. 

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

The post Could Tesla deliveries double this year? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• The ASX share market coverage that captivated readers in 2021

Daniel Sparks has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and recommends 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 Bruce Jackson.

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

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It was a year to forget for the Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price in 2021.

The artificial intelligence (AI) data services company’s shares were among the worst performers on the ASX 200 during the 12 months.

Over the period, the Appen share price lost a massive 55% of its value. This means its shares are now trading approximately 73% below the record high they reached in 2020.

Why did the Appen share price crash in 2021?

Investors were selling down Appen’s shares in 2021 amid concerns over its performance and outlook.

In respect to the former, Appen’s half year results in August revealed a 2% decline in revenue to US$196.6 million and a 55.1% reduction in net profit after tax to US$6.7 million.

Given the lofty multiples that the company’s shares traded on, this didn’t go down well with investors. They were were quick to hit the sell button despite management promising a stronger second half.

What about the future?

Also weighing heavily on the Appen share price was a broker note out of Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG). This note sparked concerns over the company’s outlook.

In November, the broker downgraded Appen’s shares to an underperform rating and cut the price target on them to $9.50. This implies potential downside of 14% for its shares from current levels.

Macquarie revealed that it has been speaking to industry participants and notes that there is an emerging trend which has seen some big tech companies look to bypass Appen and directly crowdsource for data annotation services.

It believes this is being driven by tighter privacy and data retention standards, which has resulted in companies revising their strategies and developing their own crowd-sourcing solutions. Macquarie fears this could reduce demand for Appen’s services and downgraded its sales and earnings estimates to reflect this.

All eyes will be on the company’s full year results in February. A big improvement in its performance and proof that its outlook is not bleak could bring the Appen share price back to life.

The post Why the Appen (ASX:APX) share price crashed 55% lower in 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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. owns and has recommended Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Is the Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price a big opportunity considering it’s targeting a 14% global market share?

The ASX travel share already has a good presence in Australia. But the company has its sights on the global market with its business to business division called WebBeds.

Big plans for WebBeds

COVID-19 has been a difficult period for the global travel industry. However, Webjet’s management believe that the world has changed and its opportunity has increased.

Competition has reportedly decreased as financial pressures impact the industry.

WebBeds is taking advantage of opportunities to deliver significant revenue growth across a number of areas.

It has expanded its domestic offering in all regions. WebBeds has increased its penetration into the large North American business to business market. The company has increased and optimised its API (application programming interface) connections for key business to consumer (B2C) clients. Webjet says its financial strength makes it a trusted partner for hotel suppliers. Finally, it has retained its global footprint, hotel supply relationships and global customer network, so it’s ready for the global travel market to reopen.

In FY19 the B2B total transaction value (TTV) was worth a total of $70 billion. Webjet reportedly had a 4% share of this.

It’s now targeting a 14% global market share and the global TTV opportunity is now supposedly worth more than $70 billion. WebBeds is targeting $10 billion of TTV. This could be quite beneficial for the Webjet share price if it achieves that goal.

How does this translate to profitability?

In FY19, Webjet’s overall reported financial numbers reported were: $3.8 billion of TTV, $124.6 million of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and $62.3 million of net profit after tax (NPAT).

WebBeds is now hoping to be 20% more cost efficient when it’s at scale. The aim is for this to translate to revenue being 8% of TTV, expenses being 3% of TTV and EBITDA being 5% of TTV. In other words, the EBITDA margin could be 62.5% of revenue.

There are a few things that the company is working on to improve things. It’s streamlining its technology, enhancing Rezchain (blockchain) efficiencies, leveraging data analytics and simplifying processes across the business.

Is the Webjet share price a buy?

Webjet said that its WebBeds division has/had been profitable since July, driven by domestic sales in North America and Europe. November TTV was 63% of pre-COVID levels, yet many larger markets were yet to open.

The company is looking to win new clients, win existing clients booking to new destinations and win new direct contracts for the domestic market.

Before Omicron took hold globally, Webjet said that based on its current trajectory and outperformance of the market with its WebBeds and Webjet online travel agency business, it believed it would be back to pre-COVID booking volumes by the second half of FY23 (being October 2022 to March 2023).

There are a few brokers that rate Webjet as a buy, including UBS, Ord Minnett and Morgans. Each of them have price targets that are at least 20% higher than where Webjet is today. However, the next broker notes released will probably include the impacts of Omicron on travel in the shorter-term.

Ord Minnett’s numbers put the Webjet share price at 23x FY23’s estimated earnings.

The post Is the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price an opportunity with a 14% global market share goal? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why is the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price underperforming Helloworld in December?
• How are ASX 200 travel shares faring over the holiday season?
• ASX travel shares in focus on global flight cancellations

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Last year was a massive one for Fortescue Metals Group Limited‘s (ASX: FMG) Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest, who made major investments in some notable ASX shares.

Aside from founding and chairing Fortescue Metals, its green energy leg Fortescue Future Industries (FFI), and philanthropic organisation Minderoo Foundation, the billionaire continued to invest through private vehicle Tattarang.

That’s where Twiggy works on his most exciting and, perhaps, boggling investments. Let’s look at what ASX shares the second richest person in Australia spends their money on.

Here are the ASX shares Twiggy bought up in 2021

Twiggy turned to the ASX to find strong investments in 2021, looking beyond resource companies to do so.

The investment vehicle bought a 7.3% stake in the cannabis-focused drug development company Emyria Ltd (ASX: EMD) for $5 million.

Tattarang believes a lack of clinical data is slowing the commercialisation of cannabis. Twiggy presumably thinks Emyria’s patient-centric and data-driven approach is helping to address the gap.

Twiggy also recently took a multi-million dollar bite out of Bega Cheese Ltd (ASX: BGA). He walked away with a 6.61% slice in the company.

Additionally, he upped his stake in formerly ASX-listed Huon Aquaculture Group in an unsuccessful attempt to block a takeover bid.

Finally, one of Twiggy’s major investment themes of 2021 was nickel mining.

His Wyloo Metals business signed an option and joint venture agreement that could see it purchasing 80% of a Canadian nickel project for $27.18 million (C$25 million).

Additionally, in late 2020, Twiggy’s Wyloo Metals snapped up an approximate 22.65% holding in Canadian-listed Noront Resources Ltd.

The billionaire recently won a bidding battle against S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) iron ore giant BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) for the remaining outstanding shares in the Canadian company. Though, Twiggy’s takeover hasn’t been finalised.

Tattarang also committed to a proposed ‘Future Metals Hub’ last year. The hub could see a new battery material supply chain born in Ontario.

The post Would you like cheese with that? A look at some of Twiggy’s highest profile ASX investments of 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Bruce Jackson.

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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.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) kicked off the New Year with flair, becoming the first publicly traded company to top $3 trillion in market capitalization on Monday. It’s a big feat, and a big round number. What can the world’s most valuable company do for an encore later in 2022?

Will the first company to hit $3 trillion become the first one to surpass $4 trillion? It’s a logical choice, and inertia is certainly in its favor. However, it’s just as easy to see Apple fall to $2 trillion — especially if the market corrects after a year that was more than kind for the titans of tech while neglecting most of the smaller growth stocks. 

The battlefield is set. Will Apple fall to $2 trillion? Will it keep climbing to $4 trillion? The math is easy with Apple at $3 trillion, as it basically boils down to whether it will lose a third of its value or rise by a third of its value. Let’s check with both camps.

The case for $2 trillion

The consumer tech tastemaker has been a wealth-altering investment over the years, but that doesn’t mean that it only moves up. Apple has shed more than a third of its value five times over the past 16 years, averaging a major drawdown every three years. The last pullback was naturally two years ago, when the market initially tanked as a result of the COVID-19 crisis hitting the U.S., but Apple fared better than most growth stocks with a mere 35% decline at that point. The stock has more than tripled from the last drawdown 22 months ago, so one might even suggest that Apple is due for a swift correction. 

Right now it’s easy to be bullish on Apple. As big as the class act of Cupertino may be, it still managed to grow its net sales by 33% in fiscal 2021. However, just as the stock averages a drawdown every three years, it has seen a spike in sales once every three years when there’s a major iPhone upgrade. Apple’s top line saw double-digit growth in fiscal 2012, 2015, 2018, and 2021. The years between those pops all saw single-digit or sometimes even negative top-line growth. History looks set to repeat, as analysts see net sales climbing just 4% this year and 5% in fiscal 2023. 

Another thing about the iPhone — clearly the primary driver here at 52% of the $365.8 billion in sales Apple posted for all of fiscal 2021 — is that it’s not growing market share. This continues to be an Android world for the masses, and that’s not expected to change anytime soon. 

The iPhone’s market share peaked nine years ago. It’s been sliding outside of the short-lived spikes, with Android growing at the expense of Apple’s iOS. Here’s the percentage of worldwide smartphone shipments that are expected to be iPhones in the coming years, according to industry tracker IDC:  

• 2021 — 16.2%
• 2022 — 15.9%
• 2023 — 15.6%
• 2024 — 15.3%
• 2025 — 15.1%

The iPhone may have the high-end market cornered, and the new M1-powered Macs look pretty sweet. However, these are premium products. If the economy buckles — and you know that’s a very realistic scenario right now — Apple could easily give back a third of the monster gains it has garnered over the past two years. 

The case for $4 trillion

Apple stock isn’t exactly cheap, and at 33 times trailing earnings it’s a rich price for a stock that musters double-digit growth just once every three years. However, there’s something to be said about essentially cornering the market for people willing to pay a premium for phones, tablets, and computers. 

Apple’s ability to command a healthy mark-up on its products makes it special, and that’s before we consider the high-margin power of its services segment, which now accounts for nearly a fifth of its revenue. Apple may be at $3 trillion for the time being, but the company itself has never been as potent as it is right now. 

What if this isn’t the peak? What if the mobile 5G revolution extends the upgrade cycle? Apple has routinely defined markets — for everything from tablets to smartphones to smartwatches — where others have fallen short. Do you really think an Apple car wouldn’t sell briskly if it ever came out? Apple is unique in that it succeeds far more than it fails when it thinks outside the box. It’s true that the stock’s valuation isn’t for the timid, and it’s not as if its 0.5% yield is wooing income investors. However, Apple finds a way to make magic happen. Hitting $4 trillion would be just the next trick for tech’s ultimate magician that can always read your mind. It’s a gift that you don’t want to be against. 

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

The post Is Apple stock’s next stop $2 Trillion or $4 trillion? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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Rick Munarriz owns Apple. 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 Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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

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It certainly was a stunning 12 months for the Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price in 2021.

The lithium producer’s shares were the best performers on the ASX 200 index by some distance.

Over the period, the Pilbara Minerals share price climbed a whopping 268%.

Why did the Pilbara Minerals share price rocket higher?

Investors were scrambling to buy the company’s shares last year amid an ever-increasingly bullish outlook for lithium. This led to many lithium shares generating outsized returns for investors over the 12 months.

Demand for lithium has been increasing due to the rise of electric vehicles and the decarbonisation theme. In fact, demand is so strong that it has been tipped to materially outstrip supply over the coming years.

As we saw with iron ore last year, when this happens with a commodity, its scarcity drives prices higher and higher. And that is exactly what is happening with the battery making ingredient.

You only need to look at Pilbara Minerals’ Battery Material Exchange (BMX) auctions. The company’s BMX was established in July to sell spodumene concentrate that was not already contracted.

The first auction saw the company command a price of US$1,250 per dry metric tonne (FOB Port Hedland). This shocked the market as it was notably higher than spot prices at the time. Since then, the company received prices of US$2,240 per dry metric tonne in September and then US$2,350 per dry metric tonne in October.

Given that during the first quarter of FY 2022 the company’s unit operating cost stood at US$445 per dry metric tonne, this bodes very well for the future and goes someway to explaining the sharp rise in the Pilbara Minerals share price.

Where next for its shares?

Incredibly, on the first day of trade in 2022 the Pilbara Minerals share price continued its meteoric rise and jumped 10% to $3.52.

One broker that still sees scope for its shares to rise a little further is Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG). Its analysts currently have an outperform rating and $3.70 price target on its shares.

Though, as we saw a number of times in 2021, Macquarie is not afraid of lifting its price target if trading conditions continue to bloom.

This will make it well worth keeping a close eye on the Pilbara Minerals share price again in 2022.

The post How the Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price surged 268% higher in 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Bruce Jackson.

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ASX hydrogen shares were the talk of the town in 2021 as many entities turned towards the element for low-emissions power.

However, not all companies involved in hydrogen saw their share price boom last year. In fact, some of the highest profile stocks leaning into the energy commodity saw their value tumble.

Here are 2021’s biggest losers of the hydrogen space.

2021’s worst performing ASX shares involved in hydrogen

For clarity, this list includes companies involved in hydrogen. Many find most of their business elsewhere.

Additionally, this list only includes companies with market capitalisations of more than $30 million and share prices of more than 5 cents.

AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL) – fell 47.2%

While AGL has its roots in coal-fired power, the company has been exploring hydrogen energy for a number of years.

It is a leader of the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain Project, which aims to see hydrogen produced using coal from AGL’s Loy Yang Mine delivered to Japan.

Additionally, the company announced a deal with Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) last month. The pair are looking into converting AGL’s Liddell and Bayswater power stations into a facility capable of producing green hydrogen.

However, the recent agreement wasn’t enough to boost AGL back into the green. The AGL share price tumbled over 2021, ending the year trading at $6.14.

SRJ Technologies Group PLC (ASX: SRJ) – tumbled 15.6%

SRJ Technologies is a specialised engineering company. In September, it partnered with Curtin University to produce hydrogen-compatible pipe technology.

The company might also find itself able to patent the resulting technology.

Over the course of 2021, the SRJ Technologies share price tumbled 15.6% to end the year at 43 cents.

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) – down 15.3%

We’ve already mentioned FFI, and now its parent company has made the list of 2021’s worst performing ASX hydrogen shares.

Fortescue Metals is an iron ore producer. However, it also owns a renewable energy leg, FFI.

FFI has been making headways with hydrogen energy in 2021, but that hasn’t been enough to boost the Fortescue Metals share price into the green.

The company’s stock ended the year 15.3% lower, trading at $19.21.

TNG Limited (ASX: TNG) – fell 7.7%

TNG is a resource and mineral processing company and, last year, it branched into hydrogen.

It entered an agreement with Malaysian-based green energy company, AGV Energy & Technology to work to integrate vanadium redox flow batteries with AGV Energy’s green hydrogen production technology.

The two companies entered a project development agreement to jointly build Australian hydrogen projects in September.

The TNG share price ended 2021 trading at 8 cents, 7.7% lower than it ended 2020.

Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) – up 11.5%

Finally, making the list of the worst performing ASX hydrogen shares of 2021 by the skin of its teeth, is Origin Energy.

The company is involved in hydrogen through a feasibility study it’s conducting in Tasmania. There, it’s evaluating the potential to produce green hydrogen which will then be turned into green ammonia and exported.

Last year, the Origin share price gained 11.5% to close at $5.24 on New Year’s Eve.

The post These were the 5 worst performing ASX hydrogen shares of 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• These were the 5 worst performing ASX 200 shares in 2021
• Here’s why the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price has leapt 12% in December
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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 Bruce Jackson.

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If you’re looking to diversify your portfolio with a little bit of exposure to the mining sector, then you may want to look at the mining shares listed below.

Here’s what analysts are saying about them:

Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE)

The first ASX 200 mining share that could be a good option in January is Allkem. It is the result of the merger of two leading lithium miners – Galaxy Resources and Orocobre.

This merger made the company a top five global lithium miner with a collection of world class operations. These include Olaroz, the Cauchari Lithium Project Joint Venture, Mt Cattlin, the Sal de Vida brine project, and the James Bay spodumene project.

Combined, this puts Allkem in a great position to benefit from the increased demand and strong prices for battery making ingredients thanks to electric vehicle adoption and decarbonisation.

Citi is positive on Allkem and currently has a buy rating and $12.00 price target on its shares.

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

Another ASX 200 mining share that analysts rate as a buy is South32. It is a diversified mining and metals company that looks well-placed to benefit from favourable commodity prices in the coming years.

Particularly given its recent acquisition of a major stake in the Sierra Gorda copper mine in Chile. This complements its exposure to aluminium and nickel. Of which, the former is believed to be in the early stages of a multi-year bull market due to strong demand and supply constraints. This bodes well for South32’s free cash flows in the near term.

Macquarie is bullish on South32 and has an outperform rating and $5.20 price target on its shares. The broker is also forecasting generous dividend yields over the next couple of financial years, making the total return on offer even more attractive for investors.

The post 2 ASX 200 mining shares to buy in January appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns Allkem 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 Bruce Jackson.

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Prior to the Christmas break, Bell Potter named a number of its top picks for 2022.

Listed below are two ASX shares that it believes investors should be buying this year. Here’s what the broker is saying:

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

The first ASX share for investors to look at is Accent. It is a leading retail and distribution company with a focus on performance and lifestyle footwear, apparel, and accessories.

Bell Potter is bullish on the company due to its positive outlook, undemanding valuation, and attractive dividend yield. It also sees a lot of potential in the Stylerunner business and expects it to be a key driver of growth in the future.

It commented: “The company’s recent AGM update indicated strong forward momentum, including a material upgrade in expected store openings in FY22, a turnaround in Glue Store, continued sales traction in Stylerunner which we believe offers material growth prospects, and the signing of a new exclusive distribution agreement for Reebok. AX1’s valuation is undemanding with FY23 PE of ~14x, and the dividend yield is an attractive ~5%.”

Bell Potter has a buy rating and $3.05 price target on its shares.

Infomedia Limited (ASX: IFM)

Another ASX share that Bell Potter is positive on its Infomedia. It is a leading provider of software solutions to the parts and service sectors of the global automotive industry.

While the company was hit hard by COVID-19, Bell Potter notes that its performance improved greatly during the second half of FY 2021. Pleasingly, the broker expects this positive form to continue in FY 2022 despite the recent departure of its CEO.

Bell Potter explained: “We expect this good organic growth to continue into FY22 and this is consistent with the guidance which is for around 20% revenue growth (split roughly evenly between organic growth and an acquisition). The recent issue has been the sudden departure of the CEO but we don’t believe this means there is anything wrong with the company and, rather, when a new CEO is appointed we see this as a likely catalyst for the share price.”

Its analysts have a buy rating and $2.00 price target on Infomedia’s shares.

The post Bell Potter names 2 top ASX shares to buy in 2022 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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. owns and has recommended Infomedia. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Accent Group and Infomedia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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As one of the largest Listed Investment Companies (LICs) on the ASX, the WAM Capital Limited (ASX: WAM) share price is certainly a well-watched one. After all, this LIC has returned an average of 16.4% per annum since its inception in 1999 (excluding fees and taxes).

But if you own WAM Capital shares, you might be wondering how this LIC measured up to this high watermark over 2021. Well, look no further, because that’s what we’ll be checking out today.

WAM Capital is a LIC that focuses on investing in “the most compelling undervalued growth opportunities in the Australian market”. According to Wilson Asset Management (the WAM in WAM Capital), some of its current top holdings include Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL), Brickworks Ltd (ASX: BKW) and Carsales.com Ltd (ASX: CAR). It was also making waves last year by venturing into the acquisition of whole businesses. WAM Capital acquired Amaysim Australia (ASX: AYS) last year, as well as the Concentrated Leaders Fund (ASX: CLF) and Contango Income Generator Limited (ASX: CIE).

So how did WAM Capital fare on the ASX over 2021?

But let’s get down to the numbers. So in terms of WAM’s raw share price, this LI started 2021 at $2.23 a share. Last week, it finished up at… drumroll…. $2.23 a share. Yep, zero capital growth for WAM Capital shareholders in 2020. And its net tangible assets (NTA) per share didn’t move too much either. On 31 December 2020, this LIC had $1.81 in NTA per share. As of 30 November, it was at $1.86 per share.

But, as Wilson Asset Management fans would know, share price appreciation is not the be-all and end-all for WAM’s LICs. They also have a prominent reputation for hefty dividend payments. And WAM Capital is no different. This LIC paid out two dividends last year, both worth 7.75 cents per share and both fully franked. That annual 15.5 cents per share dividend was consistent with what the company has been dishing out since 2018.

Plugged into the opening (and closing) WAM share price of 2021, and we get a yield of 6.95%, or 9.93% grossed-up with full franking. And that’s pretty much the return investors enjoyed last year from their WAM Capital shares, seeing as the WAM share price itself did a whole lot of not much.

At the last WAM Capital share price, this LIC had a market capitalisation of $2.02 billion.

The post Own WAM Capital (ASX:WAM) shares? Here’s how the share price performed in 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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. owns and has recommended Brickworks. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Brickworks. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended carsales.com Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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