Category: Stock Market

The Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price may be retreating from its record high, but it might be only a matter of time before it resets new records, according to a top broker.

Shares in the investment bank fell 1.8% to $194.14 in morning trade as ASX bank shares tumbled. The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price crashed 6.3% to $24.07 after it released disappointing results and that has dragged on sentiment towards the sector.

The Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) share price and National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) share price are also trading in the red.

In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) is trading 0.4% higher at the time of writing.

Buy the Macquarie share price on dips

But the weakness in the Macquarie share price may not last. Citigroup reckons its shares are good value as it upgraded the ASX shares to “buy” from “neutral”.

The broker’s bullish change of heart comes on the back of Macquarie’s results last week. The bank’s first half net profit of just over $2 billion was about 6% ahead of consensus.

Citi noted that this is the fourth consecutive quarter where management has posted an average of at least $1 billion in net profit.

Strong earnings track record and potential upgrades

“Prior to COVID, Macquarie has only achieved this level once throughout its 50-year history,” said the broker.

“The unprecedented market conditions for asset sellers, combined with most serious energy crisis since the 1991 Gulf war, should enable Macquarie to continue this streak for at least the next two quarters.”

This means further consensus upgrades could be on the cards for the Macquarie share price.

Don’t fret about rising rates

Expectations that interest rates will rise sooner than expected will be a headwind for bank earnings. But this negative is expected to be more than offset by volatile commodity prices.

“The upgrade to guidance since the recent AGM suggests that MQG is well placed to be a material beneficiary of an evolving energy crisis,” added Citi.

“Business capital deployed into CGM is supportive of increased trading activity and a more sustainable revenue platform, of which commodities is a key driver that we expect will peak at $2.8bn in FY22 but roll off to a higher base.”

Further, the increase in equity investments also bodes well for the Macquarie share price. This is because that is tipped to boost its earnings over the medium term.

What is the Macquarie share price worth?

“We have upgraded our earnings forecasts by ~17% in FY22E and an average ~10% in FY23-24E,” said Citi.

“CGM and MacCap make up the majority of our revisions, with best divisions set to benefit from increased activity levels.”

Citi increased its 12-month price target on the Macquarie share price to $226 from $200 a share.

The post Can the Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price break new highs over $200? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Westpac sinks, Macquarie raises $1.5bn
• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price sinks 6% despite doubling cash earnings
• Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price falls after completing $1.5bn capital raising
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares in October
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Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Limited, Macquarie Group Limited, National Australia Bank Limited, and Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and 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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The Webjet Ltd (ASX: WEB) share price moved in circles for most of last month. Indeed, it was a disappointing finish considering its shares touched a 52-week high of $6.89 on 4 October.

Investors appear to have mixed feelings when it comes to deciding the value of Webjet shares in the current climate. This is despite Australia opening its international borders to a number of countries today. The federal government suspended all non-essential travel from March 2020 when COVID-19 took the world by storm.

At the time of writing, the online travel agent’s shares are up 2.85% to $6.50.

What’s weighing down Webjet shares lately?

A catalyst for Webjet shares tracking lower last month could be the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Australia.

As the super-infectious delta variant spreads through communities, state borders continued to be closed. Before COVID-19, the Sydney to Melbourne route was considered as the third busiest route in the entire world.

While some international routes have restarted, Webjet will be hoping for a speedy recovery.

No doubt, this will have a positive effect on the company which has been in hibernation mode since early last year. Although, Webjet still has substantial cash reserves to survive the ongoing crisis that has put the travel industry in a tailspin.

In its FY21 results released on 19 May, the company had a strong capital position at hand. Pro forma cash stood at $431 million with an average cash burn rate of around $5.5 million per month. This gives Webjet the ability to weather the unpredictable nature of COVID-19 for the next 6.5 years without having to raise additional capital.

However, a trading update released in late August revealed that Webjet will become cash flow positive for the first-half of FY22. This excludes investing and debt repayments.

In addition, the company highlighted that its WebBeds business has been profitable since July 2021. It’s a positive sign that recovery is not far off, particularly given Australia’s accelerated vaccination program.

All eyes will be on Webjet’s H1 FY22 results which will be released on 25 November 2021.

Webjet share price summary

In the last 12 months, Webjet shares have gained more than 86% since hitting near COVID-19 lows in October 2020. The company has gradually been moving on an upward trend but its share price is still a long way off pre-pandemic levels.

On valuation grounds, Webjet has a market capitalisation of around $2.47 billion with approximately 379 million shares on issue.

The post Why has October been such a lousy month for the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price? 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 owns shares of and 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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Shares in Australian biotechnology giant CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) are on the move today amid a heating battle between the company and the US Border Patrol.

At the time of writing, CSL shares are changing hands at $304.61 apiece, which is just under a 2% gain from the open.

CSL has filed an injunction against the US Customs and Border Protection agency after the latter instated new rules governing the mobility of Mexican citizens into the US to donate plasma earlier in the year.

Here we cover the central points of the debate between the two parties.

What has led us to this point?

In June, the US Customers and Border Protection agency declared that certain visa holders are ineligible to donate plasma if they receive payment for doing so.

The agency claims that donating plasma in this fashion is akin to ‘labour for hire’ and is therefore prohibited for individuals on B-1 and/or B-2 visas – the particular category in question.

CSL has since fired back, teaming up with Spanish pharmaceuticals manufacturer Grifols SA (BME: GRF) in filing an injunction against the agency, effectively for interrupting the biotech’s ongoing business.

From its annual earnings report, plasma collection and separation accounted for roughly 85% of CSL’s earnings in FY21, well ahead of its vaccines and antivenom segments.

Furthermore, the industry is reliant on Mexican nationals entering the US to make plasma donations, with some estimates stating this accounts for 5–10% of all global plasma collections.

It, therefore, stands to reason that any impact to this flow of blood plasma collection could pose a material threat to CSL’s earnings potential, as it also relies heavily on plasma as a raw ingredient to construct its unique formulations.

In its defence, the US agency responded by stating there has never been a policy in situ that governs the mobility of Mexican citizens into and out of the US to donate plasma.

And even though CSL argues that receiving payment after donating plasma signifies ‘international business activity’ rather than the performance of labour, the US agency thinks otherwise.

It reckons that because the transactions take place only in the US, they cannot be considered an international business activity, which is a defining feature of the visas in question.

Nonetheless, CSL is of the firm belief that an ongoing shutdown to its plasma collection in this route could be detrimental to its business, hence why it has filed the lawsuit alongside Grifols.

The biotech’s CEO Paul Perreault was quoted as saying that “It is a bold move, but you know I don’t mind putting my neck out when patients are waiting” in the company’s annual report last month.

As the injunction was heard only last week or so, investors are still awaiting the outcome of any decision from US authorities regarding the matter.

CSL share price snapshot

It’s been a difficult year for CSL and its share price this year, having posted a gain of just 7.5% since January 1.

Over the past 12 months, it has climbed around 6%, a step in behind the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO)’s return of around 25% in that time.

The post CSL (ASX:CSL) share price lifts 2% amid US Border Patrol battle appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Own CSL shares? Here’s how the company actually makes money
• Top ASX shares to buy in November 2021
• CSL (ASX:CSL) share price history: The major highlights (and low points)
• What Goldman Sachs is saying about the CSL (ASX:CSL) share price after its R&D update
• The CSL (ASX:CSL) share price is up just 3% so far in 2021. Here’s why

The author Zach Bristow has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended CSL Ltd. 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 started the week on a positive note.

At the time of writing, the telco giant’s shares are up 1.5% to $3.88.

This latest gain means Telstra’s shares are now up approximately 29% in 2021.

Can the Telstra share price keep rising?

The good news for investors is that it may not be too late to buy the telco’s shares.

This is because one leading broker still sees plenty of upside for the Telstra share price over the next 12 months.

A recent note out of Morgans reveals that its analysts have retained their add rating and lifted their price target on the company’s shares to $4.55.

Based on the current Telstra share price, this implies potential upside of 17% for investors before dividends. This increases to just over 21% if you include the 16 cents per share dividend Morgans is forecasting in FY 2022.

Four reasons Telstra could be a buy

Morgans is positive on the Telstra share price for four key reasons.

The first, it explained, is: “Industry dynamics have turned positive (NBN and mobile prices are increasing after 5 years of decline; TLS’s targets imply they continue to rise).”

“The SOTP [sum of the parts] for TLS is worth more than the current share price (and steps to release this value are underway; albeit timing is unclear),” Morgans reveals as another reason.

The broker is also positive on the recent deal with the Federal Government to acquire the Digicel Pacific business.

It commented: “While PNG is not without risk, this deal shows management’s ability to sensibly manage risk, and it could create further upside, all going to plan.”

The final reason Morgans is bullish on the Telstra share price is its growth outlook. After years of earnings declines, the broker notes that Telstra is well-placed for growth in the coming years.

“Underlying earnings returned to growth in 2H21 and should continue growing out to FY25,” it concluded.

All in all, this could make Telstra worth considering in November.

The post 4 reasons the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price could be in the buy zone 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 owns shares of 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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As a long-term investor, it is incredibly important to see companies, such as CSL Limited (ASX: CSL), and its shares, as more than flickering ticker codes with an erratic dollar value. Instead, these listed entities are collections of people with a shared mission.

Part of what makes a company valuable is its mission and what it does to work towards that goal. That being said, it can be easy to lose sight of what a company does that provides shareholders with a return. Even for a company with the stature of CSL, Australia’s second-largest listed company by market capitalisation, understanding the money-making business activity can be lost in the pile of information.

For this reason, we’ll be diving into how CSL shares actually earn their keep in the present day.

How does CSL make money?

Although CSL isn’t quite a ‘household’ name, its products have touched the lives of many people. The company’s roots stem all the way from 1916 when it was known as Commonwealth Serum Laboratories, an Australian government-owned entity involved in vaccine manufacture.

While its history is extensive and incredibly interesting, spattered with a long list of monumental breakthroughs in modern medicine, we are here to cover how the CSL we know today makes money.

The publically-listed and privatised version of CSL that Aussies invest in these days has two distinct business operations. These two businesses include CSL Behring and Seqirus.

Firstly, CSL Behring is a provider of medicines to treat people with rare and serious diseases. These treatments are across multiple areas of immunology, haematology, cardiovascular, and transplant therapeutics. In terms of how much money the Behring business ‘Beh-rings’ in, it is more than 80% of the company’s US$10.3 billion of annual revenue. This is derived through the sale of its broad range of products including tetanus shots, coagulants, etc. to more than 100 countries.

Secondly, the Seqirus side of CSL’s operations is focused on influenza vaccines. In fact, Seqirus is one of the leading providers of ‘flu shots in the world. However, investors in CSL shares mightn’t know it manufactures a unique range of products made in the national interest. These products include antivenoms and Q fever vaccines.

In FY21, Seqirus pulled in total revenue of $1.736 billion, an increase of 30% year on year. This was due to the strong demand for CSL’s influenza vaccines to reduce strain on hospitals during COVID-19.

How have CSL shares performed?

The CSL share price has been a solid performer over long time periods. For example, in the last five years, the CSL share price has gained 208%. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.28%, which far outpaces the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) CAGR of 7.22% in the last five years.

However, CSL returns have been more modest over the past 12 months. In the last year, the CSL share price has climbed 6.18% higher, significantly lower than its historical performance.

The post Own CSL shares? Here’s how the company actually makes money 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. owns shares of and has recommended CSL Ltd. 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 Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price has come under significant pressure on Monday.

In morning trade, the banking giant’s shares are down over 6% to $24.10.

Why is the Westpac share price sinking?

Investors have been selling down the Westpac share price today after its full year results fell short of expectations.

In case you missed it, Australia’s oldest bank reported a 138% increase in statutory net profit to $5,458 million and a 105% jump in cash earnings to $5,352 million. This allowed Westpac to declare a fully franked final dividend of 60 cents per share and announce a $3.5 billion off-market share buyback.

However, despite its cash earnings doubling in FY 2021, it was still short of the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion.

What else?

Also falling short of expectations and weighing on the Westpac share price was its off-market share buyback. While Westpac announced a significant $3.5 billion buyback, it was lower than the market was forecasting.

The team at Morgans, for example, were expecting Westpac to announce a buyback of $5 billion with its results, whereas Goldman Sachs was forecasting a $4 billion share buyback.

Goldman also notes that the bank’s expenses and net interest margin (NIM) were disappointing.

It commented: “WBC’s 2H21 NIM was down 10 bp hoh to 1.99% (1.98% ex notables) and was lower than our expectations (GSe, -6 bp to 2.03%).”

“On outlook, WBC notes that FY22 Margins are expected to be lower and highlighted exit margin ex. treasury & markets at 1.80% (1.87% Sep-21 half average),” the broker added.

As for expenses, Goldman said: “WBC 2H21 reported expenses were up 22% hoh, 5% higher than GSe. Excluding notable items, 2H21 expenses were up 9% hoh. WBC attributes most of the increase to higher staff expenses (+18%, +14% ex notables) due to the additional 1,396 FTE over the half on higher resourcing needs to improve risk management and compliance and to support customers impacted by hardship.”

All in all, a disappointing result from the banking giant.

One positive, though, is that the Westpac share price is still up 23% in 2021 despite today’s weakness.

The post Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price sinks 6% despite doubling cash earnings appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has 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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Ausnet Services Ltd (ASX: AST) share price has jumped in early trade as the company agrees to terms set out in an offer from Brookfield Asset Management to acquire all of its outstanding shares.

Ausnet confirmed the offer values its shares at $2.65 each, a step up from Brookfield’s previous offer of $2.50 around a month ago.

At the time of writing, Ausnet shares are trading for $2.57 apiece, up 4.05% on their opening price.

What did Ausnet announce today?

Ausnet’s announcement notes that it agreed to the terms set out in Brookfield’s proposal and has subsequently entered into a scheme implementation deed.

Brookfield is representing a consortium of investors including Sunsuper Superannuation Fund, Alberta Investment Management Corporation, and two large institutional investors from Ontario, Canada.

Back in September, Brookfield first made its proposal when it offered $2.50 per Ausnet share to acquire the company. At the time, this represented a 26% premium to Ausnet’s share price of $1.98.

The revised offer now puts Brookfield at an enterprise value of $17.8 billion, equating to $2.65 per share for its available equity.

As such, the offer is roughly a 7% premium to Ausnet’s closing price on Friday and a 34% bump on when it first received the offer on 20 September.

As an additional sweetener, if the scheme is implemented after March next year, Ausnet shareholders will get “an additional consideration from Brookfield of $0.000260274 per share for each day after 31 March 2022” that it is not implemented.

One large Ausnet shareholder, Singapore Power – which owns 32.74% of Ausnet’s shares – is in support of the proposal and intends to vote in favour, according to the announcement.

Curiously, one caveat in Brookfield’s offer is that Ausnet must cease all discussions with all other competing parties.

Consequently, it has terminated its due diligence process with APA Group (ASX: APA) after APA had offered a cash and scrip deal on a valuation of $2.60 per Ausnet share in a competing bid last month.

Although, Ausnet did state that “if APA wishes to make a further proposal, (it is) free to do so, as is any other party”.

The company needs to tread carefully, however, as it will be “required to pay Brookfield a break fee of $101,674,267 (or 1% of its equity value) if the Ausnet board ultimately recommends a competing, superior proposal”.

Speaking on the announcement, Ausnet chair Peter Mason said:

For the last several weeks the Board has been extremely focused on ensuring a competitive process. This has resulted in a binding proposal from Brookfield at a price that provides full value to all AusNet shareholders. The binding proposal, secured at a significant premium to where the share price was trading prior to the first of the six proposals being received, deserves to be put before our shareholders for their consideration.

What’s next for the Ausnet share price?

Shareholders can expect to receive the scheme booklet before the end of March 2022 when they will vote on the scheme.

Given that Singapore Power and its board have already pushed to approve, many are curious to see the outcome from the company’s remaining shareholders.

It’s been a year of outsized returns for Ausnet after the onset of this acquisition saga. The Ausnet share price has gained 41% since January 1, extending its return in the last 12 months to 23.5%.

The post Ausnet (ASX:AST) share price jumps as Brookfield offers $2.65/share appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The author Zach Bristow 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 IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) share price is on the move on Monday morning.

At the time of writing, the battery materials focused mining company’s shares are up 4% to $10.03.

Why is the IGO share price storming higher?

Investors have been bidding the IGO share price higher this morning following the release of its first quarter update.

For the three months ended 30 September, IGO’s Nova production was within guidance, with nickel, copper, and cobalt production of 6,889 tonnes, 3,023 tonnes, and 253 tonnes, respectively. In addition, Nova’s cash costs of $1.99 per payable pound was better than guided to.

In respect to its financials, IGO’s sales revenue was 29% lower quarter on quarter to $189.2 million. This was driven by the divestment of the Tropicana Gold Operation on 31 May 2021.

It was a similar story on the bottom line, with IGO’s net profit after tax falling 90% quarter on quarter to $46 million. This was due to the previous quarter including a post-tax gain on the sale of the Tropicana Operation of $385 million.

At the end of the period, IGO’s total cash stood at $552 million. This is an increase of $24 million since the end of June and does not include its undrawn debt facilities of $450 million.

Management commentary

IGO’s Managing Director and CEO, Peter Bradford, commented: “We are pleased to have commenced FY22 strongly with a solid quarter of safe performance from Nova. In parallel, good progress was achieved within the lithium joint venture, with key growth projects being advanced during the first reporting period following the successful completion of IGO’s investment in the lithium joint venture with Tianqi Lithium Corporation.”

“At the Greenbushes Lithium Mine, Chemical Grade Plant 2 has been commissioned, Tailings Retreatment Plant construction activity was progressed with commissioning expected in early 2022, and the EPCM contract for the design and engineering for Chemical Grade Plant 3 was awarded to Lycopodium Limited.”

“At the Kwinana Refinery commissioning of Train 1 has been progressed with a key milestone achieved during August with the first lithium hydroxide produced,” he added.

Mr Bradford notes that the above developments come at a time when lithium demand is increasing strongly, driving prices higher. This could bode well for the company’s future and the IGO share price in 2022.

The IGO share price is now up 49% in 2021.

The post IGO (ASX:IGO) share price storms higher on Q1 update 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 Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price has returned from its trading halt and is dropping.

In early trade, the investment bank’s shares are down 2.5% to $193.26.

Why was the Macquarie share price halted?

The Macquarie share price was placed in a trading halt last week so it could undertake a $1.5 billion institutional placement following its half year update.

Macquarie’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Shemara Wikramanayake, explained: “Having deployed $5.5 billion of capital over 2H21 and 1H22, we continue to see a strong pipeline of opportunities. Raising new capital provides us with additional flexibility to invest in new opportunities where the expected risk-adjusted returns are attractive to our shareholders, while maintaining an appropriate capital surplus.”

This morning the Macquarie share price has returned to trade after announcing the successful completion of the placement.

According to the release, the placement was conducted by way of a bookbuild and will result in the issue of 7.7 million new fully paid ordinary shares at a price of $194.00 per new share. This represents a discount of just 1.9% to the Macquarie share price prior to its halt.

Ms Wikramanayake commented: “We are very pleased with the success of the Placement and the strong signal of support delivered from Australian and international institutional shareholders. Macquarie remains committed to investing in the growth of our businesses in a disciplined manner.”

A share purchase plan will soon follow, providing shareholders with the opportunity to apply for up to $30,000 of shares. This will be offered at the lower of the placement price (adjusted for the interim dividend) or a 2% volume weighted average price during the five days prior to the closing date of the share purchase plan.

Half year results impress

It’s not often that a capital raising is undertaken at such a small discount to a company’s current share price.

However, Macquarie was able to achieve this after impressing the market with its half year result.

For the six months ended 30 September, the investment bank reported a first half net profit of $2,043 million. This was double what it recorded in the prior corresponding period and in line with the second half of FY 2021. This allowed the Macquarie Board to declare a partially franked interim dividend of $2.72 per share.

The result went down well with the team at Citi. This morning it upgraded the investment bank’s shares to a buy rating with a $226.00 price target.

Despite today’s decline, the Macquarie share price is still up almost 40% in 2021.

The post Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price falls after completing $1.5bn capital raising 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 owns shares of and 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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Due to a disappointing finish to the month, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) recorded a small monthly decline in October and finished the period at 7,323.7 points.

While a good number of shares dropped with the market, some fell more than most. Here’s why these were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last month:

Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)

The Whitehaven Coal share price was the worst performer on the ASX 200 last month with a decline of 22.3%. Investors were selling the coal miner’s shares amid a pullback in coal prices during the month. This follows reports in China that coal producers in the country have agreed to observe a price ceiling for thermal coal ahead of the winter heating season.

EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML)

The EML Payments share price wasn’t far behind with a disappointing 21.3% decline during the month. Investors were selling the payments company’s shares following the release of an update on regulatory action by the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI). The CBI revealed that it is planning to take action against EML’s PFS Card Services (Ireland) business. While no financial details have been provided by EML, management warned that the potential directions “could materially impact the European operations of the Prepaid Financial Services (PFS) business.”

Codan Limited (ASX: CDA)

The Codan share price was out of form and sank 19.3% in October. All of this decline came in the final week of the month following the release of the technology company’s annual general meeting update. Investors appear to have been concerned with comments regarding its softer growth outlook. Management also highlighted that COVID-19 tailwinds contributed $15 million to $20 million of sales in FY 2021. These tailwinds are unlikely to be repeated in FY 2022.

Pendal Group Ltd (ASX: PDL)

The Pendal share price was a poor performer and tumbled 17.4% over the period. Investors were selling the fund manager’s shares following the release of its latest funds under management (FUM) update. For the September quarter, Pendal reported a large increase in its FUM. However, this increase was driven by a recent acquisition. Excluding this, Pendal reported net fund outflows of $2.3 billion during the three months.

The post These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares in October 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 shares of and has recommended EML Payments and Netwealth. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended EML Payments and Netwealth. 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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