Category: Stock Market

The Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) share price is one to watch closely on Thursday morning.

This follows the Australian gold miner’s announcement after market close yesterday of a change in senior management.

What did Newcrest announce?

In a statement to the ASX, Newcrest advised that its finance director and chief financial officer Gerard Bond will retire.

The departure of Mr Bond will take effect on 3 January 2022, making his a 10-year tenure in the role. Newcrest stated that it will begin looking for a replacement, with both internal and external candidates considered for the position.

Mr Bond underscored the company’s transformation strategy and noted it was now well placed to fund organic growth opportunities.

Newcrest managing director and CEO, Sandeep Biswas recognised Mr Bond’s leadership and service, saying:

Gerard is the longest serving member of the Newcrest executive committee and board and has materially contributed to Newcrest’s success. Gerard has been instrumental in orchestrating the turnaround of Newcrest, across all measures, over his tenure here.

Newcrest chair Peter Hay went on to add:

Gerard is highly respected by his fellow directors for his strong and insightful contribution as a director across the spectrum of matters considered by the board, and we are grateful that the length of notice he has given us of his retirement will facilitate a smooth transition.

While the decision to step away from the company was not given, Mr Bond’s exit could move Newcrest shares today.

Newcrest share price performance

Since August 2020, the Newcrest share price has been on a gradual decline, posting a loss of almost 30%. Year-to-date, however, its shares are relatively flat, sitting around a 2% gain for investors.

As Australia’s largest gold miner, Newcrest commands a market capitalisation of roughly $21.5 billion, with approximately 817 million shares outstanding.

Newcrest shares were swapping hands for $26.39 at the market close yesterday.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Struggling ASX gold shares just got upgraded by a top broker
• How the gold price is impacting these ASX gold shares
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Shares have average week but a great month
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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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Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) is often cited as the poster child for the irrational exuberance of retail investors.

Notwithstanding the COVID-19 market crash, the stock for the electric car maker has increased 660% times since the start of 2020.

That dizzying ascent has made many people rich. This includes chief executive Elon Musk, who in January briefly overtook Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos as the planet’s wealthiest person.

Tesla is now worth more than the 8 biggest traditional car makers combined, even though it produces a fraction of the vehicles they do.

Critics say this is the worst example of an overvalued growth stock. Foolhardy retail investors are pumping money into speculative businesses that are just bleeding cash, they say.

The local version of Tesla is Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), which jumped 5-fold in price from the start of 2020 to February this year.

So is the criticism of these businesses valid?

Tesla’s had positive earnings for 3 years

Frazis Capital portfolio manager Michael Frazis pointed out a tidbit that the Tesla critics seem to have missed.

“In the industry, it seems nobody really knows this or really wants to engage with the fact this company’s been profitable for a long time,” he told clients in a video briefing.

When Frazis says “profitable”, he refers to the EBITDA, which has been in the black for the last 3 financial years.

The 2020 financial year saw Tesla generate US$4.3 billion in EBITDA, up 93% on the year before. The car maker even made its first net profit of US$690 million.

Back in 2019, before the massive share price surge, Tesla was an absolute bargain.

“A couple of years ago, this was trading 15 times [enterprise value to] EBITDA. It was basically a value stock!”

The same situation applied to Afterpay when Frazis’ fund bought into it back in 2016.

“It was profitable then. A huge cash draw, but it was profitable.”

What should growth companies do with all that EBITDA

The growth stocks Frazis favours will put all that positive EBITDA back into the business.

“What we want to see is these companies investing all that profit.”

He cited the examples of fintechs Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) and Square Inc (NYSE: SQ) as other businesses where investment back into the business saw their revenues take off.

“In Q1 2015, [Square] spent US$32 million and got US$172 million back in gross profit,” said Frazis.

“This is the dynamic we look for. I wouldn’t get lost in ‘do we care about profitability’ – of course we do, but it’s beside the point.”

Hyperion Asset Management lead portfolio manager Jason Orthman said much the same last month in support of Tesla and Square.

They are actually his fund’s largest current holdings.

“Even though those share prices have re-rated upwards as we were buying them over the last 12 months or so, we still believe that they’re fundamentally misunderstood and there’s a large shift in consumer behaviour going on,” Orthman told The Motley Fool.

“So it’s still really day one for both Tesla and Square.”

More reading

• This ASX tech ETF might be in the buy zone today. Here’s why
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price tumbles despite investor presentation
• Tesla boss: ASX lithium shares set to boom
• Why Afterpay, ANZ, Domino’s, & Flight Centre shares are tumbling lower
• FAANG stocks crushed earnings; here’s another great reason to buy them

Tony Yoo owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO, Square, and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Square and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. 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 National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price will be on watch today.

This follows the release of the banking giant’s half year results this morning.

How did NAB perform in the first half?

As with the other banks that recently reported, NAB’s performance improved significantly during the first half of FY 2021.

According to the release, NAB reported cash earnings of $3,343 million for the six months ended 31 March. This was up 94.8% on the prior corresponding period. It is also a 35.1% increase if you exclude large notable items.

This was driven by earnings growth across its Personal Banking, Corporate & Institutional Banking, and New Zealand Banking businesses, which offset weakness in its Business & Private Banking segment.

Personal Banking reported cash earnings of $859 million, up 14.1% on the prior corresponding period. The segment benefitted from reduced credit impairment charges, home loan repricing, lower funding costs, and lower operating expenses.

The Corporate & Institutional Banking segment delivered a 15.7% increase in cash earnings to $782 million. This reflects improved outcomes across most key drivers and increased margins from risk and pricing discipline.

New Zealand Banking achieved a 9.6% increase in cash earnings to NZ$616 million. This was due to growth in lending and improved margins, combined with lower credit impairment charges.

Finally, the Business & Private Banking reported a 10.3% decline in cash earnings to $1,216 million. This reflects lower revenue due to low interest rates and higher operating expenses.

Asset quality improves

A key driver of its result was the writeback of a credit impairment charge of $128 million. This compares to a charge of $1,161 million in the prior corresponding period.

Management advised that this improvement reflects the partial release and non-repeat of forward-looking collective provisions for potential COVID-19 impacts and lower underlying charges.

Excluding forward-looking provisions, underlying charges reduced $447 million due to lower level of individual impairments and reduced charges for Australian retail exposures.

Dividend

Pleasingly for investors that see the NAB share price as an income option, the banking giant has increased its dividend.

The bank’s board has declared a fully franked interim dividend of 60 cents per share. This is double last year’s interim dividend.

The NAB share price will trade ex-dividend for this on 13 May.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• How did the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price move today after landmark loan?
• Why the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price is at a 52-week high
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Shares have average week but a great month
• What to expect from the NAB (ASX:NAB) half year result

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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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Two fund managers have both declared Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART) is a great business, but one explained why she bought into it and the other put up a case for not investing.

Airtasker is an online marketplace that matches customers that need chores done to “taskers” who bid to execute it for a fee.

The company listed on the ASX in March after an initial public offering price of 65 cents per share. The stock was going for $1.20 on Wednesday afternoon.

The Firetrail Small Companies Fund bought into the Australian business during a pre-IPO round.

Firetrail equity analyst Eleanor Swanson said that Airtasker’s competitive advantage was that it wasn’t prescriptive about what service was offered to end users.

“Users create their own unique tasks and communicate the requirements directly to taskers,” she posted on Livewire.

“The flexibility is valued by both customers and taskers, reflected by the fact that a new task is posted on Airtasker every 17 seconds. In addition, the company is now the number 1 employer of platform workers in Australia, ahead of even Uber!”

Airtasker’s 3 paths for growth

Swanson laid out three different opportunities that Airtasker could leverage for future growth:

1. Marketing to accelerate new customer sign-ups and spending frequency
2. New products such as Tasker Superstore
3. Overseas expansion

Airtasker has seen consistent growth in new customer numbers, according to Swanson. This was especially impressive last year when marketing spend was cut by 90% after the COVID-19 pandemic arrived.

“We estimate 8% of Australian households have used Airtasker with current levels of brand recognition sitting at about 50%,” she said.

“The company aims to reach over 80% brand awareness within the next 2 years. Heightened brand awareness will drive increased market penetration and growth in total transaction value on the marketplace.”

Swanson called for the platform to invest in “call-to-action marketing” to get more out of existing customers.

“Currently, customers transact on Airtasker 2 times per annum, on average. An increase to 3 times per annum would immediately deliver 50% revenue growth [even with] customer numbers flat.”

Airtasker also has an opportunity to replicate the Australian model into the UK, New Zealand, Singapore and US markets.

“New markets increase Airtasker’s total addressable market 12 times to $643 billion.”

Why Airtasker wasn’t a buy for this fundie

Frazis Capital portfolio manager Michael Frazis also thought Airtasker was “a great company”.

“I think it will generate positive returns over time, probably better than most stocks,” he told clients in a video update.

But he had a simple reason why he didn’t invest in it.

“We passed on it because growth isn’t high enough,” he said.

“That’s not to say it’s not going to accelerate and it’s not going to do really well… But when we looked at it, the growth rate wasn’t high enough for us.”

Frazis explained that the average revenue growth rate within his fund was now about 110% per annum.

“We’re really looking at companies in that category,” he said.

“They’re rare, they’re hard to find, but they can really move when they get going.”

More reading

• Seven West (ASX:SWM) share price wobbles on market update
• Why Airtasker, Ecofibre, Nuix, & Woolworths shares are sinking
• ASX 200 rises, Kogan jumps, gold miners sold off
• Why Airtasker, Appen, Downer, & Kogan shares are charging higher
• The Freelancer (ASX:FLN) share price is soaring 8% today

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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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More reading

• These ASX dividend shares keep giving investors a payrise
• 2 buy-rated ASX dividend shares for income investors
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• ASX 200 rises, ANZ drops, Nearmap jumps
• 2 fantastic blue chip ASX 200 shares rated as buys

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Kate O’Brien owns shares of Apple and Rio Tinto Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), and Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), and Apple. 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 handful of ASX dividend shares that have a record of giving shareholders an income payrise for many years in a row.

It has been difficult to find consistent growth of income in recent years because of slow growth and low inflation.

But these two ASX dividend shares have kept increasing the dividend payout:

Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SHL)

Sonic is one of the largest pathology healthcare businesses in the world.

It has operations in Australia, Europe and North America.

Over the last 20 years, Sonic has increased its dividend in nearly every year. In the latest result (the FY21 half-year result) the Sonic board decided to increase the interim dividend by another 6%.

Healthcare spending has been increasing for a long period of time thanks to an ageing population, better technology and a stronger focus on health outcomes.

Sonic has been one of the most important businesses involved in the fight against COVID-19 as it has been conducting millions of COVID-19 tests.

Whilst COVID-19 is moderately impacting Sonic’s core business, the testing is more than making up for it. This can be seen in the HY21 result where revenue rose 33% and net profit jumped 166%. Sonic has been able to utilise existing infrastructure. 

The ASX dividend share is looking to invest some of its elevated profit cash into acquisitions and other opportunities.

At the current Sonic share price, it has a partially franked dividend yield of 2.5%.

Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW)

Brickworks is another ASX dividend share that has been growing its dividend for several years.

But its dividend has been one of the most reliable on the ASX. It hasn’t cut its dividend for over four decades, largely thanks to the growing dividend from its substantial holding of Washington H Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX: SOL) shares, an investment conglomerate.

Soul Patts gives Brickworks a lot of underlying diversification with its investments in telecommunications, property, resources, agriculture and so on.

This cross-holding relationship has served them both well for a number of decades.

Brickworks also funds its dividend from its partnership with Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) where they jointly own an industrial property trust that builds quality buildings on excess Brickworks land.

The latest projects are two huge warehouses for Amazon and Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL). The completion of these facilities is expected to significantly increase the rental profit as well the capital value of the trust.

There’s even more land that the ASX dividend share has available for building on over the coming years. This will fund higher dividends for years to come.

At the current Brickworks share price, it has a fully franked dividend yield of 2.8%. That’s after a 5% increase to the interim dividend in the HY21 result.

More reading

• Why these 5 ASX construction shares went strong today
• ASX healthcare shares could be next to be hit by the digital disruption
• ASX stock of the day: Brickworks (ASX:BKW) shares top the ASX 200
• Morgans just added these ASX shares to its “best ideas” buy list
• 2 ASX dividend shares to buy in May 2021

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Brickworks and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of COLESGROUP DEF SET. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Sonic Healthcare 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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Fortunately for income investors, there are a good number of dividend shares offering attractive yields at present.

Two ASX dividend shares that are highly rated are listed below. Here’s why they could be top options:

Aventus Group (ASX: AVN)

The first ASX dividend share to look at is Aventus. It is Australia’s largest fully integrated owner, manager, and developer of large format retail centres.

Aventus has been a solid performer over the last 12 months. This has been underpinned by the quality of its tenancies and its exposure to everyday needs and national retailers.

Goldman Sachs is a fan of the company. It currently has a buy rating and $3.04 price target on its shares.

The broker is forecasting a ~16.6 cents per share distribution in FY 2021. Based on the current Aventus share price, this represents a 5.6% yield.

Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL)

Another highly rated ASX dividend share to consider is Super Retail. It is the retail conglomerate behind popular brands BCF, Macpac, Rebel, and Super Cheap Auto.

It has been a very strong performer in FY 2021. For example, in the first half it reported a 23% increase in half year sales to $1.78 billion and a 139% increase in underlying net profit after tax to $177.1 million.

Positively, more of the same is expected in the second half following a positive trading update. That update revealed that its growth has accelerated, with like-for-like sales up 28% over the first 44 weeks of FY 2021.

Management also revealed that its gross margin had remained steady since the end of the half.

Goldman Sachs was pleased with the update and responded by retaining its buy rating and $15.00 price target on its shares. The broker is also expecting an 84 cents per share fully franked dividend in FY 2021.

Based on the current Super Retail share price of $11.86, this represents a 7% yield.

More reading

• Top broker tips Super Retail (ASX:SUL) share price to smash the market
• ASX 200 rises, Flight Centre drops, Super Retail grows
• ASX 200 up 0.2%: SEEK hits record high, Flight Centre tumbles
• Super Retail (ASX:SUL) share price surges 5% higher on strong sales update
• Here’s why the Aventus (ASX:AVN) share price is on the rise

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Super Retail Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended AVENTUS RE UNIT. 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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On Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was on form again and recorded a solid gain. The benchmark index rose 0.4% to 7,095.8 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to rise

The Australian share market looks set to push higher again on Thursday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 10 points or 0.15% higher. This follows a mixed night on Wall Street, which has seen the Dow Jones rise 0.3%, the S&P 500 edge 0.1% higher, and the Nasdaq fall 0.4%.

NAB half year update

The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price will be on watch today when it releases its half year results. According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, it expects the banking giant to report cash earnings of $3,031 million. This will be up 77% on the prior corresponding period. On the very bottom line, the broker is forecasting earnings per share growth of 43% to 85.4 cents. This is expected to lead to the NAB board declaring a 55 cents per share fully franked interim dividend.

Oil prices lower

It could be a subdued day of trade for energy producers such as Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) after oil prices softened. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 0.6% to US$65.29 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has fallen 0.3% to US$68.67 a barrel. Oil prices softened despite inventories declining.

Gold price rises

Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) will be on watch after the gold price pushed higher overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 0.55% to US$1,785.90 an ounce. The gold price rose after the US dollar pulled back.

ANZ rated as a buy

The Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) share price could be good value according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. This morning the broker responded to its half year results by putting a buy rating and $30.20 price target on its shares. Goldman is also forecasting a 5% dividend yield in FY 2021.

More reading

• ASX 200 rises, ANZ drops, Nearmap jumps
• How this new forecast could put ASX copper shares under pressure
• ASX stock of the day: Brickworks (ASX:BKW) shares top the ASX 200
• Why Afterpay, ANZ, Domino’s, & Flight Centre shares are tumbling lower
• The ASX 200 is within an arms reach of all-time record highs

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went up 0.4% to 7,096 points.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX:

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ)

ANZ reported its HY21 result today. Compared to the second half of FY20, statutory profit after tax grew by 45% to $2.94 billion, cash profit (continuing operations) rose by 28% to $2.99 billion.

One of the key drivers was a net credit provision release of $491 million.

ANZ’s board decided to increase its dividend per share by $0.35 to $0.70. This decision was taken after a 110 point increase of the common equity tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio to 12.4%.

The CEO of ANZ, Shayne Elliott, said:

Following the trends of the first quarter, all parts of our business performed well. Costs were down 2% and we also increased investment in new digital capability that will provide ongoing productivity improvements and better customer outcomes.

Australia retail and commercial had another good half, becoming the third largest home lender in the market. Deposits performed well, with retail and small business customers behaving prudently by building solid savings and offset balances through the half.

Lower revenues in our institutional business were largely expected due to the impact of falling interest rates as well as a normalisation of markets revenue after an exceptionally strong 2020. Our disciplined focus on credit management has been a positive with our largest customers going into the pandemic from a position of strength and adapting fast to the rapidly changing environment.

New Zealand continued its recent strong performance with record lending growth combined with disciplined cost management. This is a well-run business that is an important part of our overall portfolio and is well-placed to manage increased regulatory capital demands.

Improving credit conditions resulted in a release of almost $500 million during the half. While the pandemic hasn’t resulted in large credit losses to date, we still have almost $4.3 billion in reserve if conditions deteriorate.

The ANZ share price fell over 3% today, making it one of the worst performers in the ASX 200.

Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA)

The Nearmap share price went up 14.5% today before going into a trading halt this morning.

Yesterday afternoon, Nearmap increased its FY21 annual contract value (ACV) guidance to a range of $128 million to $132 million, up from $120 million to $128 million.

After a strong first half of FY21, the company has seen momentum continue with growth across its core industry segments from both new and existing customers.

Management boasted that this reinforces the attractiveness of the company’s subscription business model, its technology and the differentiated customer offering which combine to give Nearmap a significant competitive advantage.

Nearmap continues to invest the proceeds from the FY21 capital raise into key growth initiatives, including the development of HyperCamera3 which remains on track to be rolled out in FY22. With each of the investment initiatives on track and with continued momentum in ACV growth, Nearmap now expects the net cash outflow to be less than $10 million this financial year.

In early trading, Nearmap shares went into a trading halt to respond to the potential legal proceedings. It was the best performer in the ASX 200 before the trading halt. 

Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC)

The Ramsay Health Care share price dropped over 4% today after giving a trading update yesterday. The private hospital business said that Ramsay Australia has seen volume recovery in the Australian market continues, but it has been impacted by lockdowns.

In the third quarter of FY21, it saw a 4.6% increase in total patient revenue. That was driven by surgical admissions per work-day going up 8.5% year on year and non-surgical admissions per work-day going up 4.4%.

Ramsay UK was called on by the NHS to help deal with peak surge COVID-19 cases, resulting in the company seeing 14 hospitals being utilised during certain periods. Ramsay was paid on a cost recovery basis for this. The business has continued to treat non-COVID NHS priority cases and to provide private patient services during the third quarter. Admissions were down 6.2%.

The Ramsay share price was one of the worst performers today in the ASX 200.

More reading

• How this new forecast could put ASX copper shares under pressure
• ASX healthcare shares could be next to be hit by the digital disruption
• ASX stock of the day: Brickworks (ASX:BKW) shares top the ASX 200
• Why Afterpay, ANZ, Domino’s, & Flight Centre shares are tumbling lower
• Here’s why the Nearmap (ASX:NEA) share price is in a trading halt

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nearmap Ltd. and Ramsay Health Care 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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If you’re wanting to construct a balanced portfolio, having a few blue chip ASX shares in there could be a smart move.

But which blue chip ASX 200 shares should you buy? Two that are highly rated are listed below:

ResMed Inc. (ASX: RMD)

The first blue chip ASX 200 share to look at is ResMed. It is one of the world’s leading medical device companies with a focus on sleep disorders.

ResMed appears well-placed for growth over the long term thanks to its enormous addressable market, its industry-leading technology, and its digital health ecosystem. At the end of December, this ecosystem reached over 12 million cloud connectable medical devices.

Positively, its investment in digital health also gives it an advantage over much of the competition and puts it in a strong position to benefit from the shift to home healthcare.

Morgans is positive on the company. Earlier this week the broker put an add rating and $29.14 price target on its shares.

Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW)

Another blue chip ASX 200 share to consider is retail conglomerate Woolworths.

Woolworths has been a very positive performer in FY 2021 thanks to strong performances across its BIG W, BWS, Dan Murphy’s, and Woolworths supermarkets businesses.

This led to the company reporting a 10.5% increase in first half revenue to $35.8 billion and a 15.9% increase in net profit after tax to $1,135 million.

And although its growth is now slowing as it cycles the panic buying at the height of the pandemic, Woolworths looks well-placed to resume its solid growth once trading conditions normalise. This is thanks to its strong market position, online growth, and the unlocking of value via the Endeavour demerger.

Macquarie is a fan of the company. Last late month, the broker put an outperform rating and $44.50 price target on its shares.

More reading

• Vicinity (ASX:VCX) sees improvements as it struggles back to COVID-normal
• What do brokers think of the ResMed (ASX:RMD) share price dip?
• Why Bubs, IDP Education, ResMed, & Tyro shares are dropping today
• ASX 200 up 0.25%: Westpac result impresses, PointsBet jumps
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Woolworths Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ResMed Inc. 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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