Category: Stock Market

Listed below are two ASX dividend shares that have been tipped to provide attractive yields for investors in the coming years.

Here’s why analysts think these dividend shares are in the buy zone:

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

The first ASX dividend share to look at is Accent. It is the retailer behind a growing network of footwear focused brands.

Thanks to the popularity of these brands and its exclusive licensing agreements, Accent has been growing its earnings and dividends at a consistently solid rate for many years. Pleasingly, the company looks well-placed to continue this positive trend over the 2020s. Particularly given its expansion opportunities.

Bell Potter is a big fan of Accent. It currently has a buy rating and $3.05 price target on its shares.

The broker is also forecasting fully franked dividends per share of 9.1 cents in FY 2022 and then 13.5 cents in FY 2023. Based on the latest Accent share price of $2.38, this represents yields of 3.8% and 5.6%, respectively.

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

Another ASX dividend share to look at is this mining giant. It could be a top option for income investors due to its attractive valuation and strong free cash flow generation.

The latter is being underpinned by its exposure to a number of in-demand commodities such as aluminium. Furthermore, South32 has recently announced the addition of copper to its portfolio via a key earnings accretive acquisition in Chile.

All in all, the team at Goldman Sachs believe this will allow South32’s shares to provide investors with big fully franked dividend yields in the coming years. In fact, based on the latest South32 share price of $4.01, Goldman expects yields greater than 10% per annum for the next five years.

Goldman has a conviction buy rating and $4.40 price target on its shares.

The post 2 quality ASX dividend shares to buy 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 recommended Accent Group. 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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There are a large number of ASX shares to choose from on the Australian share market.

Three that come highly rated are listed below. Here’s why these ASX shares are being tipped as buys:

Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS)

The first ASX share to look at is Healius. It is one of Australia’s largest pathology and diagnostic imaging providers. This makes it extremely well-placed to benefit greatly from increasingly strong demand for COVID-19 testing. This certainly was the case in the first quarter when Healius reported a 43.7% increase in quarterly revenue over the prior corresponding period to $689.9 million. More of the same is expected over the remainder of FY 2022.

Earlier this week, Morgans upgraded the company’s shares to an add rating with a $5.79 price target.

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

Another share to look at is Life360. Through its eponymous Life360 app, the company operates in the digital consumer subscription services market. It has a focus on products and services for digitally native families, where all members of the household are connected by smartphones. At the last count, the company had a massive 33.8 million monthly active users are using its app. This is supporting stellar recurring revenue growth and provides it with countless opportunities to monetise its user base further in the future.

Bell Potter is bullish on Life360. It currently has a buy rating and $16.25 price target on its shares.

SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK)

A final ASX share to consider is this job listings company. While SEEK was hit hard by the pandemic, it bounced back very strongly in FY 2021. It reported a 1% increase in revenue to $1,591 million and a 58% jump in net profit after tax (excluding significant items) to $141 million. The good news is that more of the same is expected in the coming years as the Australian economy recovers from COVID-19.

Credit Suisse is a fan of SEEK and has an outperform rating and $39.50 price target on its shares.

The post 3 fantastic ASX shares to buy for Christmas appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns Life360, Inc. and SEEK Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Life360, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended SEEK 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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The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price has spent this Christmas Eve enjoying a pretty solid day of trading on the ASX.

Zip shares closed the day at $4.39 each, up 0.23% for the day. (The ASX closed early at 2pm today for Christmas.)

But zooming out and the picture isn’t quite as… zippy (apologies). Zip shares are down a nasty 21% year to date. And wait for this one… they’re also down 70% from their all-time high of $14.53 that we saw back in February.

But now that 2021 is almost behind us, what does 2022 hold in store for this buy now, pay later (BNPL) heavyweight?

What to watch for Zip shares in 2022

Well, we of course can’t be certain, although my Fool colleague Tristan recently went through what some expert ASX investors think might happen with the Zip share price in 2022.

But let’s look at some important dates that Zip shareholders might want to proverbially note in their 2022 diaries.

First up, Zip’s annual general meeting (AGM) is scheduled to be held on 3 November. So circle that in the old calendar.

Another event investors should watch out for is the completion of Zip’s Twisto acquisition. Zip told ASX investors that it is buying the Europe-based Twisto payments company last month. It will be shelling out $115.8 million for it.

The company is hoping this acquisition will help Zip crack the lucrative European market. But Zip says the transaction will only be finalised in “the second quarter” of the company’s 2022 financial year.

Finally, unlike some ASX companies, Zip hasn’t yet given us its reporting dates for 2022.

So, that’s about all we know that’s set in stone for Zip announcements next year.

Zip CEO Larry Diamond recently said that Zip is entering 2022 “with strong momentum, in a solid financial position, with a continued focus on execution, unit economics and global synergies”. So that’s a pretty good start if all goes well.

At the current Zip share price, this BNPL share has a market capitalisation of $2.6 billion.

The post Own Zip (ASX:Z1P) shares? Here are some key dates to watch in 2022 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 ZIPCOLTD FPO. 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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The Lithium Australia NL (ASX: LIT) share price finished in the green this week.

The lithium company’s shares were swapping hands for 11.5 cents apiece at Friday’s close, up 4.55% on the day. That means its shares have gained 9.5% from last Friday’s closing price of 10.5 cents.

Let’s take a look at what’s been happening at the company lately.

What’s going on with Lithium Australia?

The Lithium Australia share price is climbing despite no price-sensitive news being released to the market. However, the company has made several announcements this week.

The lithium market is also gaining significant global interest and is seen by investors as a booming industry

Early this afternoon, the company issued 1.5 million shares to the market at 5.5 cents each. This raised $82,500 to exercise options held by Lind Global Macro Fund. This may explain the share price drop in the afternoon — it fell from a high of 12 cents — since issuing more shares to the market dilutes the value of each individual share.

On Tuesday, the company advised it is advancing its lithium extraction technology towards commercialisation.

The company is working with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation to develop technology known as LieNA. This process can refine low-grade spodumene, which is used to produce high-purity lithium phosphate. Lithium Australia is working towards a patent on this technology.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Lithium Australia advised its battery recycling division has expanded to a bigger site in Laverton, Victoria. The company’s subsidiary has been granted a permit from the local council.

Lithium Australian managing director Adrian Griffin said:

Capturing larger volumes of spent lithium-ion batteries in particular helps the company create a secure battery supply chain, further underpinning the investment of Lithium Australia shareholders.

Lithium Australia share price recap

The Lithium Australia share price has charged ahead this year, up around 70% since the start of 2021.

Despite this, the company’s shares have shed 10% in the past month but are up 2% this week.

The company has a market capitalisation of nearly $116 million based on the current share price.

The post Here’s whats happening to the Lithium Australia share price this week (ASX:LIT) appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Early Christmas: Ark Mines (ASX:AHK) share price makes a comeback
• Why is the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price underperforming QBE in 2021?
• Tesserent (ASX:TNT) share price pops by 6% amid acquisitions update

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Today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) decided to deliver a mini ‘Santa Claus rally’ with a fourth straight day of gains. At the end of the session, the benchmark index finished 0.44% higher to 7,420.3 points.

Although it was a shorter trading session today, the market didn’t hold back from offering a big pre-Christmas finish. Every ASX sector finished higher, giving investors something to smile about as we enter the holiday season. The real estate sector ended up being the best performing, gaining 0.72%. Meanwhile, consumer staples were the slouch of the market, inching ahead 0.15%.

However, the question is: which shares delivered the biggest returns to investors on the ASX today? Here are the top ten stocks that came through for investors:

Top 10 ASX shares countdown today

Looking at the top 200 listed companies, AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) was the biggest gainer today. Shares in the financial services company surged 6.38% after announcing the divestment of its private markets business, PrivateMarketsCo. Find out more about AMP here.

The next biggest gaining ASX share today was Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS). The lithium producer rallied 5.34% despite there being no new announcements from the company. However, investors have been showing a likening to Pilbara Minerals following a positive broker note for the lithium sector. Uncover the latest Pilbara Minerals details here.

Today’s top 10 biggest gains were made in these ASX shares:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP)	$1.00	6.38%
Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)	$2.96	5.34%
Virgin Money UK PLC (ASX: NIC)	$3.40	3.66%
Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD)	$22.28	3.58%
Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX)	$8.61	3.49%
Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN)	$54.99	3.38%
Seek Ltd (ASX: SEK)	$33.75	3.31%
EBOS Group Ltd (ASX: EBO)	$39.00	3.18%
Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA)	$5.43	3.04%
Adbri Ltd (ASX: ABC)	$2.87	2.87%

Happy holidays to all of our readers!

Our top 10 ASX shares today countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to ensure you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check-in at Fool.com.au after the market has closed during weekdays to see which stocks make the countdown.

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

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Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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 Corporate Travel Management Limited and SEEK 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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Shares in Ark Mines Ltd (ASX: AHK) have made a comeback on the ASX after completing its re-compliance with Chapters 1 and 2 of the ASX listing rules.

There’s a fairly hefty backlog of history to work through here, so let’s just get straight into it.

What’s the situation here?

To understand what’s going on here, it’s important to understand the background information to what’s led us to this point.

On 30 July 2019, Ark Mines announced that it had agreed “in-principle” to the terms of a joint venture (JV) with Trendsheer Holdings Pty Ltd and ICA Mining Services Pty Ltd.

The agreement was to mine and produce gold ore from its NT tenements and gold rights, for treatment in an environmentally friendly gold processing hub to be established by the JV.

At the time, Trednsheer had already sorted various mining and exploration licenses alongside associated infrastructure in the area whilst ICA had secured the NT rights to the Thiosulphate gold extraction process from the CSIRO. ICA was “well advanced in raising the necessary capital for this purpose”.

Regarding the “in-principle” terms of the JV, this contemplated the establishment of a JV in the NT that would have had exclusive access to explore, mine and process the ore mined and sell the gold produced.

Ark would have had board representation on the JV company and exclusive roles would have been entitled to up to 30% of JV distributors, Ark says.

Once the gold processing plant was completed, Ark expected to mine and process up to 150,000 tonnes of Glencore ore in the first 12 months of operations, then mine up to 500,000 tonnes of Mr Porter ore in the first year-and-a-half of operations.

A few years prior to the formation of this JV however, back in 2016, the company had entered into a “gold loan facility” with Hong Kong based Chan Investments Ltd to fund its Mr Porter gold mining prospect, plus any surrounding exploration.

The facility was made in 3 tranches and totalled US$6 million after each waterfall was completed. Curiously, the liability was actually counted as a derivative instrument. This came as it was repayable by an agreed amount of gold bullion but also allowed for a cash payment to settle the last 2 tranches, thus providing an embedded option into the liability.

Ark says that the repayment of the Chan loan facility was expected to be made from the proceeds of gold sales completed by the JV.

However, on 25 September 2019, voluntary administrators from KordaMentha were appointed to the company by Chan. The move came after Ark’s board had prepared financial statements that cast a shadow of doubt on its ability to continue as a going concern.

In other words, Chan wanted to ensure it got its money back and didn’t want to let Ark off the hook in doing so.

After administrators were appointed, Ark’s board had its powers suspended and the administrators then assumed control of the company’s affairs and assets. Ark’s share price quotation was also suspended as a result and has been in limbo right up until today.

A reconvened creditors meeting was held on 6 January 2020, whereby the administrators announced they had come to negotiated terms to sell off some of Ark’s assets, with proceeds going towards repayment of Chan’s secured debt.

As such the company was then recapitalised under a deed of company arrangement (DOCA) to which the creditors voted in favour to accept the DOCA.

As of July 2021, the administrators informed that they had in effect completed the DOCA the month prior and that managerial control had been transferred back to the board of directors.

Where are we at now?

Since regaining managerial control back in July, the company’s board has been taking the necessary steps to remove the suspension of trading on Ark’s shares on the ASX.

Ark released a new prospectus in September just prior to the re-listing of its equity and the offering of its shares in its equity to the public once more.

Within the prospectus was noted several share allotments to various parties, including those DOCA contributors and other creditors.

Yesterday, the ASX noted AHK raised $4.7 million pursuant to the offer under its prospectus dated 27 September 2021 as varied by supplementary prospectuses dated 11 November 2021 and 9 December 2021.

It raised this sum by the issue of 23,513,500 fully paid ordinary shares at an issue price of 20 cents per share.

Now on the eve of Christmas, the ASX advised today that suspension of trading in Ark’ shares was lifted today after the company met all its re-compliance measures.

The company also advised today that it will commence its maiden drilling programs in the first quarter of 2022, focusing on its copper, nickel and mining tenements.

Some might say Christmas has come a few hours early for this mining company and its shareholders, which is now set to offer investors another route of exposure to gold mining in Australia.

The post Early Christmas: Ark Mines (ASX:AHK) share price makes a comeback appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The author has no positions 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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The Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) share price is having a rough year, but the same can’t be said for its major competitor.

While the IAG share price has slumped 9% since the start of 2021, that of QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX:QBE) has gained 32%.

That’s despite what seems to be the major catalyst of IAG’s tumble having hit both insurance giants.

At the closing bell on Friday, the IAG share price was $4.27, up 0.23%.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) increased 0.44% today and is up 11% over 2021 so far.

Let’s take a look at why IAG has been underperforming its fellow insurance provider lately.

What’s weighed on the IAG share price in 2021?

Looking back to late 2020, both IAG and QBE were caught up in the headlines when the New South Wales Court of Appeal found insurers must pay out business interruption insurance claims for losses caused by COVID-19.

Interestingly, while QBE sat quietly following the ruling, IAG halted its share price as it underwent a $750 million capital raise. The extra funds were needed to strengthen its balance sheet in the face of impending payouts.

As a result, QBE sailed out of the findings relatively unscathed. Meanwhile, IAG is now expecting to be hit with a class action regarding its disclosure of information of the case.

A law firm representing IAG shareholders expects to file the class action in the Supreme Court of Victoria in the new year. It claims IAG failed to communicate the likelihood the New South Wales Court of Appeal would find in favour of policyholders.

Fortunately (or unfortunately), IAG will be well versed in the courtroom by then. Legal action against the company was brought about by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in October.

ASIC claims the insurer increased NRMA customers’ premiums before applying loyalty and ‘no claim’ discounts. It alleges this cost at least 596,000 policyholders more than $60 million in total.

Not to mention, IAG recently downgraded its guidance for financial year 2022 after wild weather thrashed parts of Australia in October.

While all this weighed on the IAG share price in 2021, QBE’s stock continued to trend upwards.

Sadly, brokers are predicting more pain for IAG in 2022. Meanwhile, experts are bullish on the future of QBE’s shares.

The post Why is the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price underperforming QBE in 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 owns and has recommended Insurance Australia 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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The Tesserent Ltd (ASX: TNT) share price is pushing higher during late afternoon trade. This comes after the internet security services company provided an update on two recent acquisitions.

At the time of writing, the Tesserent share price is 18 cents, up 6.06%.

What did Tesserent announce?

According to its release, Tesserent advises it has completed the acquisitions of both Pearson Corporation and Claricent.

Tesserent bought both companies due to their strong position in the Federal Government marketplace. Following these two acquisitions, Tesserent’s federal government businesses now contribute a combined annual turnover of $48 million to the group’s overall results.

The additions have directly integrated into the company’s ecosystem, particularly Tesserent’s North Security business. This business manages Tesserent’s federal government team and delivers large multi-year projects.

Tesserent expects its acquisitions to provide immediate organic growth in the second half of FY22. Additional locked-in recurring revenue in the remaining fiscal 6 months has been consolidated into Tesserent’s FY22 results.

Tesserent agreed to pay $28.8 million for Pearson and $4.13 million for Claricent through a mix of cash and company shares. In total, the price tag for both acquisitions totalled $32.93 million.

Tesserent is due to pay these amounts in 2 instalments. It has already paid for around 50% of the enterprise value. It will pay the remaining 50% after the finalisation of audited accounts, expected in September 2022.

These acquisitions cement Tesserent’s position as the leading provider of cybersecurity solutions and services to the Federal Government.

When the acquisition news was first announced on 7 December the Tesserent share price leapt by 10% in a day.

The company noted that it will provide a full business update as part of the upcoming 4C in the near term.

About the Tesserent share price

Tesserent shares are down a whopping 50% year to date.

Tesserent presides a market capitalisation of $209.32 million and has approximately 1.21 billion shares on its registry.

The post Tesserent (ASX:TNT) share price pops by 6% amid acquisitions update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Bruce Jackson.

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The Focus Minerals Ltd (ASX: FML) share price is ending the week on a high.

At one stage today, the gold explorer and developer’s shares were up a whopping 39% to 36.2 cents.

In afternoon trade, the Focus Minerals share price has pulled back a touch from its intraday high but remains up 17% to 30.5 cents.

Why is the Focus Minerals share price rocketing higher?

While there isn’t any real news out of the company today to explain the sensational rise in the Focus Minerals share price, there is a likely explanation for it.

That is Theta Gold Mines Ltd (ASX: TGM) and its aim of acquiring the company via a hostile takeover.

Theta Gold Mines recently offered 2 of its own shares for ever Focus share owned. At the time, this implied a value of 36 cents for each Focus share, which represented a 41.2% premium to the Focus share price of 25.5 cents on 8 December.

However, Focus wasn’t biting and told shareholders not to take action in response to the offer.

Why is Theta interest in Focus?

Theta explained the rationale for the acquisition.

It said: “The TGM [Theta Gold Mines] Offer will, if accepted, allow Focus shareholders to become members of a larger, more liquid and more geographically diverse group. Should [major shareholder] Shandong Gold accept the Offer, the resultant combined group would have a combined exploration portfolio of over 1,000km2 spread across the West Australian goldfields and South Africa. Should Shandong Gold not accept the Offer, TGM’s Offer seeks to aggregate minority holdings in Focus and (with an increased holding and substantial management experience) would allow TGM to exercise influence to encourage the prompt development of the Focus assets.”

Given the significantly higher than normal volume today, it could be a sign that Theta Gold is looking to buy shares on market to build up a position that supports its takeover proposal.

The post Why is the Focus Minerals (ASX:FML) share price rocketing 39% higher today? 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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The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price has done it again. Telstra shares are currently trading at $4.14 each, up 0.36% for the day so far this Christmas Eve.

That’s not all though, folks. Telstra hit a new high of $4.15 a share in intra-day trading shortly after lunchtime. Not only is that a new 52-week high for this ASX 200 telco, but it’s also the highest share price Telstra has traded at since mid-2017.

That puts Telstra’s year-to-date gains so far at a very pleasing 37%. Including Telstra’s dividends and full franking credits, and we’re looking at a return north of 40% for the year (touch wood). Not bad for an old blue-chip like Telstra, one could say. Especially since this is just the latest in a string of new 52-week highs we have seen Telstra clock up over 2021.

It’s hard to picture at the current pricing, but it was only back in October last year that Telstra was hitting a new all-time low of $2.63 share. Since those dog days, the company is up more than 55%.

So what could be behind today’s most recent push into record territory?

Why is the Telstra share price hitting a new 52-week high today?

Well, it’s not entirely clear. There are no pre-Christmas items of news out of the company today. But there are several factors that could be at play. The first is Telstra’s ongoing share buyback program.

Telstra is currently in the process of buying back its own shares. Just this morning, it told investors that it bought and retired just over a million shares yesterday. Share buybacks decrease the number of shares in circulation. Under the laws of supply and demand, less supply usually translates into higher pricing, so this is why these buybacks could be relevant.

We could also be seeing the effects of some ASX broker opinions on Telstra play out. For example, as we covered earlier his week, Goldman Sachs is currently very bullish on this telco. Goldman currently rates Telstra as a buy with a 12-month share price target of $4.40. Goldman particularly likes Telstra’s T22 and T25 cost-cutting strategies, which it believes will help fund a dividend increase by FY2024. Even today, Telstra’s dividends are offering a fully franked yield of 3.86%.

So perhaps it’s this combination that has resulted in the Telstra share price reaching this new 52-week high today. Whatever the reasons, it’s likely to have made more than one Telstra shareholder’s Christmas a merrier one.

At the current Telstra share price, this ASX 200 telco has a market capitalisation of $48.96 billion, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 26.5.

 

The post Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price hits yet another 52-week high. What’s going on? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns 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 Bruce Jackson.

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