Category: Stock Market

The Strike Energy Ltd (ASX: STX) share price is rising today after the company advised results from its gas exploration projects in Western Australia have been “above expectations”. 

At the time of writing, the Strike Energy share price has lifted 4.5%, trading at 34.5 cents per share.

Strike Energy is principally engaged in the exploration and development of oil and gas resources in Australia. It primarily focuses on the Southern Cooper Basin Gas Project, Perth Basin, and West Erregulla, where the company’s announcement regards today.

The West Erregulla gas field is one of Australia’s most prominent and has been consistently explored since 1990. Its located in the northern-Perth basin, which makes extraction and transportation relatively lucrative.

What Strike Energy’s results say

Strike is reporting on its WE4 well, which is its fourth gas exploratory well. It runs this well as part of a joint venture with Warrego Energy (ASX: WGO) in the West Erregulla territory. 

WE4 has reached a final depth of 5,069 metres measured depth (MD) with wireline logging ongoing. Measured depth refers to the distance along the borehole, as opposed to total vertical distance. Wireline logging refers to the electrical instrumentation used to measure the borehole’s formation accurately.

Overall results are above Strike Energy’s expectations, with initial wireline logs and petrophysics across the primary targets indicating porosities of up to 19% and reservoir pressures at 4,898 metres MD of 6,821 pounds-per-square-inch. Porosities generally refer to the amount of potential gas-containing holes, otherwise known as porosity, of the area that’s being drilled.

Strike Energy’s report also revealed that no gas water contact had been encountered, which deepens and extends the field’s areal extent. 

What this means for investors

Strike Energy is currently drilling through Kingia sandstone in the area, looking for gas deposits. Over the past two years, it has encountered strong results.

Its report states that the Kingia material it’s drilling through comprises several large units of clean sand, with thick, blocky porosity development and bands of high-quality reservoir.

The Kingia has high gas saturation throughout and is interpreted to have net pay (high production depth) of 28 metres, with an average porosity of 11% across this section and up to 19%.

Strike Energy concluded its report by outlining what it believes the current results mean:

The combination of measured gas at high pressure and excellent reservoir characteristics in the Kingia supports the potential for high flow rates when production tested.

Strike Energy share price snapshot

The Strike Energy share price is close to its highest level in the past 12 months, after rising from 11 cents per share a year ago to more than 34 cents today.

Strike has been a consistent climber and increased steadily to 35 cents in January this year. It has since remained above 29 cents.

Overall, the Strike Energy share price is up 165% over the past 12 months, beating the energy sector by 138%. 

More reading

• Why the Strike Energy (ASX:STX) share price powered up today
• Why the Strike Energy (ASX:STX) share price opened 3% higher today
• Warrego Energy (ASX:WGO) share price rises despite losses increasing

Motley Fool contributor Lucas Radbourne-Pugh 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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Because of the way exchange traded funds (ETFs) give investors easy access to a large and diverse range of shares, they can be a great way to balance out your portfolio.

They can also provide you with very strong returns, if you choose wisely.

Two ETFs that have done exactly that are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK)

The BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF aims to track the performance of an index that provides investors with access to the leaders in the growing global cybersecurity sector.

Over the last five years, the index it is tracking has generated a return of 21% per annum for investors. That would have turned a $10,000 investment into approximately $26,000 today.

Positively, with demand for these types of services increasing due to the growing threat of cyberattacks on governments and businesses, the future looks very bright for this ETF.

Among the 40 companies that you’ll be investing in with this ETF are the likes of Accenture, Cisco, Cloudflare, Crowdstrike, Okta.

BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

Another ETF to consider from BetaShares is the BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF. This fund provides investors with exposure to 100 of the largest non-financial companies on the famous Nasdaq index.

As with the HACK ETF, this ETF has been a strong performer over the last five years. During this time, the ETF has generated a return of 23.7% per annum. This would have turned a $10,000 investment into almost $29,000 over the five years.

Once again, due to the quality of the companies in the ETF and their positive long term outlooks, this ETF has a strong chance of outperforming again over the next five years.

Among its holdings you will find tech behemoths Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, Tesla, and Google parent, Alphabet. It also includes non-tech stocks such as Costco and Starbucks. 

More reading

• 2 quality tech ETFs delivering strong returns
• 2 top ETFs to buy in April 2021
• ASX banks are facing millions of cyber attacks each day
• Could this ASX ETF be in a perfect storm in 2021 and beyond?
• 3 stellar ETFs for ASX investors to buy

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 BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of BETA CYBER ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. 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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Today, the Province Resources Ltd (ASX: PRL) share price is up 12.59% to 15cents at the time of writing. This movement is likely to be driven by its landholding announcement from Wednesday. 

Let’s take a closer look at the announcement and what it means for the Province share price.

What’s driving the Province Resources share price? 

On Wednesday, Province announced that it had recently applied for a further 864km² in the Gascoyne coastal region. The reason behind this move is to add to its existing industrial minerals Gascoyne Project. In addition to its HyEnergy Zero Carbon Hydrogen Project. The current project area for its two projects covers 1,408km².

Management commentary

Province managing director, David Frances, commented on the benefits of the additional landholding. 

The identification of the additional 864km² of tenure complements both the Gascoyne industrial minerals project and HyEnergy green hydrogen project and importantly, gives us greater critical mass in the region. As we continue our desktop studies and progress the tenements to grant, I look forward to further outlining the Company’s initial exploration work programmes.

What does this mean for Province’s projects? 

There’s been a significant amount of hype around renewable energy and in particular, green hydrogen. Province’s acquisition of the HyEnergy project was the catalyst that drove its share price up more than 450% from 2.5 cents to 14.5 cents on 17 February. 

The company plans to produce hydrogen using clean energy produced from solar and wind farms. It is currently collecting wind and solar data to conduct feasibility studies for renewable power generation in the region. An increase to its existing landholding could have positive implications for the commercial scale of its wind and/or solar farm. 

The increased landholding also covers the Pleistocene formation. This is marked as “Significant Basic Raw Material areas of interest” by the Geological Survey of Western Australia. As mentioned by its managing director, the company will continue desktop studies before announcing and committing to its initial exploration programs. 

More reading

• Province Resources (ASX:PRL) share price slides despite hitting next project milestone
• Hydrogen far from ‘fool cells’: EV trends and the major ASX players

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun 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 Deep Yellow Limited (ASX: DYL) share price is back where it started today after the company’s latest presentation to investors.

At the time of writing, shares in the uranium miner are trading at 68 cents each, the same price at yesterday’s close of trade. By comparison, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is 0.93% higher.

Let’s take a closer look.

‘Well-positioned for growth’

In today’s presentation to investors, Deep Yellow outlined some of the reasons why it believes it is on a strong path to growth. They include:

• A dual-pillar growth strategy consisting of organic and inorganic growth;
• A “standout” uranium team, and;
• Key achievements over the last 12 months.

Organic and inorganic growth

To put us all on the same page, a company achieves organic growth by increasing sales and operations. Inorganic growth comes through strategic mergers and acquisitions.

On the organic growth front, Deep Yellow is forecasting a squeeze in the supply of uranium in 2023/24. A decrease in supply will increase the price of its product, as per the laws of supply and demand. 

Regarding inorganic growth, the uranium explorer has identified “2 or 3” projects it wishes to acquire. It believes doing so will lead to tangible benefits from 2024 and beyond.

Team spirit

Deep Yellow also believes it has the management and technical teams to identify better opportunities for purchase than its competitors.

The company says its team is better than others because it has “experience across all disciplines”, a “proven track record”, vision and leadership, growth strategy, and funding support.

Key projects

Deep Yellow currently has two major projects, the Premier Uranium Mining site and Tumas Mining site in Namibia. The Premier site contains at least 1.5 billion pounds of uranium with the potential for another 350,000 pounds. Deep Yellow says 6% of all the world’s uranium comes from this one site.

The company acquired the latter site in 2017. It believes Tumas is “highly prospective” and is similar to the Heinrich mine located at the Premier Uranium site. Only 50% of the 125km area has been tested so far. Deep Yellow also says it can extract uranium at a cost of only 11.5 cents per pound.

Uranium commodity price

The price of uranium has been on an upswing since August last year when Joe Biden announced a plan for green infrastructure if he were to become the US president.

At the time of writing, uranium is trading for US$31.05 per pound. It’s up 12.1% over the last month and 1.14% in the year-to-date. Yet, the element’s price has fallen since hitting a 5-year high of around US$34 a pound in May last year, due to oversupply and underwhelming demand.

Deep Yellow share price snapshot

The Deep Yellow share price has increased 159.62% over the last 12 months. However, since hitting a 5-year record in February this year, shares in the miner have fallen 23.73%.

Deep Yellow has a market capitalisation of $217.9 million.

More reading

• Deep Yellow (ASX:DYL) share price wobbles as demand burgeons

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The iCollege Ltd (ASX: ICT) share price is entering the stratosphere today following the release of its quarterly update. At the time of writing, the education and training solutions company’s shares are fetching for 15 cents, up 15.3%.

How did iCollege perform for Q3?

Investors are driving iCollege shares higher after the company delivered a robust result for the period.

According to its release, iCollege reported a record quarterly revenue of $4.55 million, reflecting a 52% increase on the prior corresponding period (pcp). The outstanding result primarily came from its domestic student business which saw growth for existing qualifications and early interest in new course offerings. Health and community services courses, in particular, saw significant increases in student numbers.

International student enrolments continued to contribute over $1.5 million in enrolment value for the quarter. iCollege is hoping to welcome back overseas students in the midterm as international border restrictions are relaxed.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) jumped to $3.02 million for Q3. This brings the total year-to-date EBITDA for the 3 quarters to $13.37 million.

The company highlighted that its state-of-the-art Perth Bayswater Campus has been completed. The facility can accommodate up to 760 international students and is expected to create additional revenue streams.

Furthermore, iCollege noted sound progress in the Aegis and Pharmacy Guild contracts, training staff on the infection control nationally accredited skillset. iCollege believes that marketing spend and partnership expansion in aged care, hospitality, building and construction will lead to sustained growth.

iCollege closed the quarter with $5.17 million in cash, with minimal debt obligations.

Management commentary

iCollege managing director, Ashish Katta touched on the company’s record performance, saying:

Q3 2021 has been another successful quarter for iCollege and our record financial results reflect this. The domestic training operations continue to perform well and are growing favourably. Obviously, with international borders remaining closed, our international student business is limited to onshore international recruitment activities which remain stable month-on-month.

We expect the final quarter of FY 2021 to provide a strong finish to the year. Through the efforts of the Company’s leadership team and all of our staff across the country, iCollege is thriving through this challenging time and I am very proud to be at the helm of the Company given our numerous exciting growth prospects.

About the iCollege share price

The iCollege share price has accelerated over 300% in the past 12 months and is up 50% this year alone. The company’s shares are within sights of its multi-year high of 17 cents reached in February 2021.

On valuation grounds, iCollege has a market capitalisation of roughly $87.2 million, with about 581.5 million shares on issue.

More reading

• How the property boom is affecting the Garda (ASX:GDF) share price
• Why the EML (ASX:EML) share price keeps getting more attractive
• US bank boss Dimon says economy will boom until 2023
• Leading broker names 3 of its best ASX share ideas for April
• The Aristocrat (ASX:ALL) share price is back near all-time highs

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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The Garda Diversified Property Fund (ASX: GDF) share price is rising today after the company released its third-quarter FY21 market update.

The Garda share price is up 1.35% to $1.13 per share at the time of writing.

Garda is a property group headquartered in Brisbane that invests in, owns, manages and develops commercial and industrial real estate. 

What Garda’s update said

The Garda share price is responding positively to news that it sold 3 assets, all above book value, for a total of $30.6 million.

It provided 2 construction updates on tenant-committed properties in Brisbane, one in Wacol that is due for completion in May and another in Acacia Ridge that has just commenced construction.

Its property group at Berrinba is now 100% committed, while further leasing at property Botanicca 9 has increased the gross avenue of the Botannica property to 47%. Approximately two-thirds of Garda’s portfolio is now to be independently valued.

Across its property portfolio, Garda’s occupancy rates are now 89%.

Garda has benefited immensely from the nationwide property price boom due in part to record-low interest rates. It’s selling a further 3 high-value properties and has now set its prices unconditionally.

Its Archerfield property is now unconditional for $7.0 million, representing a 12.9% premium to its independent valuation. It is due to settle in mid-April. 

Lytton is under contract for $11.0 million, representing a 26.1% premium to its independent valuation and is subject to Garda completing certain works. Lytton is expected to settle at the end of May.

Finally, Varsity Lakes is now also unconditional for $12.6 million, representing a 5% premium to its independent valuation. Settlement is expected to occur not later than 11 May 2021.

Where Garda’s boom prices will be reinvested

Investors looking for increases in Garda share price will be hoping that the company reinvests its current earnings in an enhanced construction pipeline.

Garda admitted that it would direct most of the current cash flow towards decreasing debt. However, it has its eyes on ultimate industrial development.

The company says eventually, some funding will be directed to completing the pre-mentioned property assets at Wacol and Acacia Ridge.

Garda share price snapshot

The Garda share price rose from 89 cents to $1.27 between April and November 2020 and has remained within a five-cent window for most of 2021. It’s down in 2021 by 8.8% so far. 

It’s managed a 12-month return of 32%, which has beaten the real estate sector by 1% but lost to the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) by 1.66%. 

More reading

• Why the EML (ASX:EML) share price keeps getting more attractive
• US bank boss Dimon says economy will boom until 2023
• Leading broker names 3 of its best ASX share ideas for April
• The Aristocrat (ASX:ALL) share price is back near all-time highs
• Why the REA (ASX:REA) share price is surging in April

Motley Fool contributor Lucas Radbourne-Pugh 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 EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) share price is up again today after investors had further time to react to the company’s Sentenial acquisition.

What is the Sentenial acquisition?

Yesterday, EML announced it was buying Sentenial Limited and its wholly owned subsidiaries including the open banking product, Nuapay, for an upfront enterprise value of €70 million, plus an earn-out of up to €40 million.

The company explained that the acquisition broadens its offerings to include alternative (non-card, non-scheme) payment products to the platform to address customer demand, complementing its card scheme based payments.

Sentenial has, and continues to develop, a technology platform to be a leading provider of account to account payments across the UK and Europe. Major banking customers include Barclays, Lloyds and Citibank with a bank-grade platform as well as other offerings.

The majority of the business is the provision of direct debt, credit transfers and real-time payments for major European banks with annual volumes of more than €45 billion in the 2020 calendar year. Sentenial provides the offering as a software as a service (SaaS) revenue model with fixed recurring charges for access to the platform, and as such the yield is between 1 to 2 basis points.

Why investors might like the deal

EML has explained a number of reasons why the acquisition makes sense.

After the acquisition has been completed, EML will be a leading global player and one of the largest independent fintech enablers in open banking and prepaid anywhere in the world. The combined group is expected to process more than $90 billion of gross debit volume (GDV) in FY22.

Nuapay is one of only a few open banking products in the marketplace, which provides merchants and payment service providers with a sophisticated solution, including advanced money movement capabilities, reconciliation and batch settlement of transactions.

EML said Sentenial has a highly scalable platform that has had continual investment to future proof the business and allows for agile developments and rapid growth. EML believes it’s well positioned to export the technology globally.

Management highlighted that it’s going to expand Sentenial to other regions in the next 12 to 18 months.

On top of that, Sentenial founder and CEO Sean Fitzgerald said:

Nuapay’s mission is to be the best way to pay and get paid. The revolution in payments caused by open banking and real-time payments is rapidly building momentum globally, and we are hugely excited by this opportunity to move to a global scale as part of EML.

This growth can be added to the rest of the EML’s business growth which is generating double digit increases in operating profit.

Broker upgrade

According to reporting by the Australian Financial Review, Wilsons has increased its share price target for EML to $6.51 and still rates it as a buy after the acquisition.

The broker believes that EML is proving to be good at making acquisitions and executing them. Wilsons says there’s a chance that EML could be a globally-leading fintech with an open banking and pre-paid options.

More reading

• ASX stock of the day: EML Payments (ASX:EML) shares keep rising
• Why Creso, EML, Immutep, & Western Areas shares are storming higher
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Bullish ASX 200 shares breaking into 52-week highs 
• EML Payments (ASX:EML) and these ASX shares just hit new highs

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 and recommends EML Payments. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended EML Payments. 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 I looked at a few shares that have been declared as Morgans’ best ideas for April. You can read about them here.

Today, I’m going to look at a few other shares that make the broker’s list. Here are three:

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

Morgans has named this mining giant on its best ideas list for April. The broker is a fan of the Big Australian due to its diverse portfolio of assets and its resilient dividend profile.

The broker explained:

“We view BHP as relatively low risk given its superior diversification relative to its major global mining peers. The spread of BHP’s operations also supplies some defence against direct COVID-19 impact on earnings contributors. While there are more leveraged plays sensitive to a global recovery scenario, we see BHP as holding an attractive combination of upside sensitivity, balance sheet strength and resilient dividend profile.”

Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD)

One company that won’t be paying a dividend for a little while is Sydney Airport. Nevertheless, Morgans believes now is an opportune time to invest. This is because it sees the airport operator as a great option for investors looking for exposure to the COVID-19 recovery.

Its analysts said:

“Revenues have been badly affected by COVID-19-related government travel restrictions. For the short term SYD is no longer a yield stock (we do not expect it to pay a distribution until 2022/23). It is a capital growth play. SYD remains a premier airport asset whose earnings and thus share price we think will rebound with a recovery in pax (particularly the far more valuable international pax).”

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

Finally, this banking giant is the broker’s number one pick among the major banks. This is due largely to its current valuation and its risk profile.

Morgans commented:

“We believe WBC offers the most compelling valuation of the major banks. In terms of quality of overall risk profile, we believe WBC is a close second to CBA. On credit risk, we believe WBC is positioned relatively defensively due to its loan book being more skewed to Australian home lending.”

More reading

• Saxo reveals its Australian clients’ top 5 most popular shares
• ASX 200 up 1%: Big four banks and miners take ASX 200 above 7,000 points
• The new race between US and China is good news for these ASX shares
• How Westpac (ASX:WBC) is set to cash in on Bitcoin
• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price on watch after ASIC launches civil proceedings

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking. 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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All of us would like to know what the future holds. Unfortunately, predicting the future is not something most investors are very good at, at least in the short term. The share market is supposed to be a rational market mechanism. And it does function that way, most of the time. But, as the old saying goes, ‘markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent’. Hence why making short-term bets usually doesn’t work out that well. But there are some investors out there that are usually worth listening to when it comes to what the economy and share market have in store all the same. Warren Buffett is one, Ray Dalio is another. And Jamie Dimon is a third.

Mr Dimon is head of JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM), one of the largest banks in the United States, and the world for that matter. Mr Dimon has amassed a reputation as a stellar leader, CEO and investor over the years. And that’s why his latest letter to the shareholders of JPMorgan is well worth a read.

Dimon: US economy looks set to boom

In this letter, Mr Dimon lays out why he thinks the US economy is set for some good days ahead. Here’s some of what he had to say:

I have little doubt that with excess savings, new stimulus savings, huge deficit spending, more QE, a new potential infrastructure bill, a successful vaccine and euphoria around the end of the pandemic, the U.S. economy will likely boom. This boom could easily run into 2023 because all the spending could extend well into 2023.

A booming US economy will of course be great news for Australia and the rest of the global economy. As the largest economy in the world, what happens in the US tends to spill over into other markets.

Inflation and rates

But if you think a booming US economy might be good news for ASX shares, Mr Dimon threw in a caveat:

Conversely, in this boom scenario, it’s hard to justify the price of U.S. debt… the increase in inflation may not be temporary and may not be slow, forcing the Fed to raise rates sooner and faster than people expect…. Also in this case, the cost of interest on U.S. debt could go up fairly dramatically making things a little worse.

So he’s telling investors that all will go well unless the US Federal Reserve is forced to raise interest rates earlier and more rapidly than is currently expected. Not only will rising rates have the potential to derail an economic boom, but they will also almost certainly result in lower US stock prices. And if US rates rise, you can probably bet our own Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will have to follow suit.

However, Mr Dimon argues that that is not necessarily a given. Here’s his outlook for US shares:

While equity valuations are quite high (by almost all measures, except against interest rates), historically, a multi-year booming economy could justify their current price. Equity markets look ahead, and they may very well be pricing in not only a booming economy but also the technical factor that lots of the excess liquidity will find its way into stocks.

Whatever happens, it certainly looks like we ASX investors are in for an interesting couple of years ahead.

More reading

• The Aristocrat (ASX:ALL) share price is back near all-time highs
• Why the REA (ASX:REA) share price is surging in April
• Saxo reveals its Australian clients’ top 5 most popular shares
• Why Aurelia Metals, Brickworks, Greenland Minerals, & Resolute are tumbling lower
• Here’s why the QEM (ASX:QEM) share price is climbing today

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of JPMorgan Chase. 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 Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL) share price is trading near all-time highs. After getting smashed last year, shares in the poker machine business have made a miraculous recovery.

The Aristocrat share price hit a low of $14.81 last March amid the COVID-19 market rout. Since then, the company’s share price has more than doubled and is currently trading near its all-time high of $38.23.

Let’s look at what’s been happening with the Aristocrat share price.

Recovery pushes Aristocrat share price

At the company’s annual general meeting in February, Aristocrat painted an optimistic outlook for the company. Aristocrat highlighted that gaming looks to resurface from the COVID-19 pandemic in excellent shape. As a result, the company’s management predicted that the next decade for Aristocrat would be better than the prior decade.

Aristocrat added that the company’s land-based (non-digital) business has been recovering above original expectations.

More than 90% of machines were active in Australia, while 92% of venues were open in North America. In addition, Aristocrat noted that the company was placed within the top 5 mobile gaming operators in the western world.

What is the outlook for Aristocrat?

For FY21, Aristocrat plans to continue growth in gaming operations. The company’s growth is measured by the number of machines in operation and game performance. Aristocrat has grown its “floor share” in gaming venues and is tipping further digital bookings growth.

Aristocrat assured investors that the company’s foray into digital gaming would be permanent rather than temporary. To further its digital business growth, Aristocrat pledged it would spend 25% to 28% of digital revenue on user acquisition.

The company also noted that despite the impact of COVID-19, Aristocrat strengthened its liquidity and balance sheet. Aristocrat highlighted $2 billion in liquidity as of 30 September 2020. As a result, the company continues to monitor mergers and acquisitions as an option to accelerate growth.

Broker note

Recently, analysts at broker Goldman Sachs released a bullish outlook on the Aristocrat share price. Analysts noted that Aristocrat’s recovery across various regions was tracking ahead of its own internal expectations.

The broker noted that Aristocrat continued to increase its land-based business. In addition, the company’s digital business continued to improve. As a result, the broker reaffirmed its buy rating on Aristocrat with a share price target of $34.80.

At the time of writing, the Aristocrat share price has exceeded that rating, trading up nearly 2% at $35.56.

More reading

• EML Payments (ASX:EML) and these ASX shares just hit new highs
• 2 quality ASX shares to buy this week
• Leading broker names its best ASX share ideas for April
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Why Aristocrat Leisure, Opthea, PointsBet, & Spirit are storming higher:

Motley Fool contributor Nikhil Gangaram 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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