Category: Stock Market

Some ASX shares are seeing much higher levels of growth because of the impacts of COVID-19.

With international travel still being restricted, lots of people are re-directing their household spending to other areas, which is boosting many ASX retail shares. There are also some healthcare businesses that are involved directly in the fight against the pandemic.

These two ASX shares could be ones to watch:

Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SHL)

The Sonic share price is only up 11.5% from where it was on 14 March 2020, yet the company is reporting much higher levels of revenue and profit because of COVID-19 testing. It’s possible that COVID-19 testing could go on for years.

When releasing the half-year result for FY21, Sonic Healthcare said that it generated significant revenue and earnings thanks to the testing because it leveraged existing infrastructure. In the middle of February 2021, the company said it had performed more than 18 million COVID-19 PCR tests.

Half-year revenue was up 33% to $4.4 billion, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 89% to $1.3 billion and net profit after tax (NPAT) increased 166% to $678 million.

Global base revenue for the ASX share, which excludes COVID-19 testing, was only down 1% – this has been significantly less impacted than in the first few months of the pandemic. The imaging division experienced revenue growth of 14%, much higher than the long-term industry average – Sonic called this an amazing outcome which included taking market share.

Sonic expects COVID-19 testing to continue into the foreseeable future with growing demand for COVID-19 immunity testing. It’s also looking for acquisition opportunities.

The Sonic share price is valued at 24x FY22’s estimated earnings.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

Wesfarmers is one of the businesses that has seen significant growth of demand for some of its retail businesses.

People have invested in home projects and renovations, which has benefited the Bunnings business. In the half-year result, Bunnings experienced revenue growth of 24.4% to $9 billion and underlying earnings growth of 39%.

Wesfarmers managing director Rob Scott said:

The strength of the sales and earnings results reflects Bunnings’ solid execution of the strategic agenda and the ability of the operating model to successfully adapt to changing customer behaviour and operating environments.

Bunnings continued to invest in the customer experience through its commitment to lowest prices, expansion of online product ranges and upgrades to in-store product displays across kitchen and garage organisation ranges. Travel restrictions and customers spending more time undertaking projects at home continued to support sales growth.

Another key area that the ASX share has benefited from was Officeworks which saw revenue growth of 23.7% and earnings rose 22% to $100 million. The company continues to see demand for technology and home office products as customers spend more time learning and working from home.

Kmart Group, which includes Kmart, Target and Catch, is seeing a resurgence of performance with an improvement of profitability at each business. Whilst revenue only increased by 9%, and underlying earnings went up 38.4%.

Wesfarmers is looking to diversify its earnings and it recently gave the go ahead for the lithium Mt Holland project.

According to Commsec, the Wesfarmers share price is valued at 25x FY21’s estimated earnings.

More reading

• Why the Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price is up today
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• 4 ASX shares with director buys this month
• Why an AGL Energy (ASX:AGL) demerger might be a problem
• BlueScope (ASX: BSL) share price could get cut of Biden’s US$3tn boost

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers Limited. 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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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was on form during the first quarter of 2021. Over the three months, the benchmark index climbed 3.1%.

While there were a good number of shares climbing higher with the market, some stood out with particularly strong gains. Here’s why these were the best performers on the ASX 200 during the first quarter:

Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC)

The Lynas share price was the best performer on the ASX 200 during the quarter with a 55% gain. This rare earths producer’s shares were in demand with investors thanks to a very strong half year result and news out of China. In respect to the latter, reports that China is looking to curb the exports of rare earth minerals that are crucial to defence industry gave the Lynas share price a big boost. These materials are used to manufacture sophisticated weaponry such as fighter jets. As Lynas is the largest rare earths producer outside China, this could bode well for its future growth.

Virgin Money UK CDI (ASX: VUK)

The Virgin Money share price wasn’t too far behind with a gain of 45% during the first quarter. The key driver of this strong gain was the release of a stronger than expected first quarter update in February. That update revealed that the UK based bank “had a profitable and positive first quarter.” In addition to this, with its COVID bad debts comfortably within the level assumed in its provision, the worst appears to be over for Virgin Money.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

The Zip share price may have crashed lower in March but that couldn’t stop it recording a 39.5% gain over the first three months of the year. Investors were fighting to get hold of the buy now pay later (BNPL) provider’s shares for a number of reasons during the first quarter. This includes a strong second quarter update and an overall re-rating of BNPL shares following the highly successful Affirm IPO in the United States. In addition to this, speculation that Zip is considering a secondary listing in the United States went down well with investors. This would give Zip greater access to US capital markets.

Codan Limited (ASX: CDA)

The Codan share price was on fire and stormed 38.1% higher during the first quarter. This gain was driven by a very strong half year result from the technology company and the announcement of a major acquisition. In respect to its results, thanks largely to strong demand for metal detectors, Codan reported a 14% increase in half year sales to $194 million and a 36% lift in profit after tax to $41.3 million. Since the end of the half, Codan has announced the acquisition of US-based Domo Tactical Communications for $114 million. And just yesterday, Codan added to this with purchase of Zetron, Inc. for US$45 million.

More reading

• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares in the Q1 of 2021
• ASX 200 rises, Webjet sinks, Boral climbs
• Why the JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH) share price surged 19% in March
• Here’s why ASX cannabis shares are lighting up today
• Are ASX 200 value shares still good value? Why these experts are at loggerheads

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 ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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It was a positive first quarter of 2021 for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). During the three months, the benchmark index climbed a solid 3.1%.

Unfortunately, not all shares on the index climbed higher with the market. Here’s why these were the worst performers on the ASX 200 during the first quarter:

Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG)

The Resolute share price was the worst performer during the first quarter with a 44.7% decline. A softening gold price, a weak full year result, and disappointing guidance were weighing on this gold miner’s shares already prior to a bombshell announcement in the final week of the month. That announcement revealed that the Ghanaian government terminated its Bibiani Gold Mine licence. This was just weeks before the expected completion of the sale of the mine to Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining for US$105 million. There is speculation that the company may need to raise funds if the sale no longer proceeds.

Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL)

The Nuix share price was out of form and crashed 37.5% lower during the three months. The catalyst for this was a surprisingly disappointing half year result from the investigative analytics and intelligence software provider. Nuix fell short of expectations during the half, despite listing on the market just a few weeks before the end of it on 4 December. The selloff and criticism from analysts were so severe, management put out a release defending its performance. It also noted that its full year guidance has been reaffirmed despite the weak half.

Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)

The Kogan share price wasn’t far behind with a disappointing 36.9% decline over the period. This decline appears to have been driven largely by a combination of profit taking and concerns over rising bond yields. This offset a stellar half year result in February that saw Kogan deliver a 97.4% increase in gross sales to $638.2 million and a 250.2% jump in adjusted net profit after tax to $36.5 million.

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)

The Appen share price was a poor performer and sank 35.9% lower during the quarter. This artificial intelligence services company’s shares came under pressure following the release of its full year results. For the 12 months ended 31 December, Appen reported a 12% increase in revenue to $599.9 million and an 8% lift in EBITDA to $108.6 million. In FY 2021, Appen is forecasting EBITDA growth of 18% to 28%. Although this is solid growth in the current environment, it fell well short of the market’s expectations. Analysts appear concerned that increasing competition could put pressure on pricing and weigh on its growth.

More reading

• ASX 200 rises, Webjet sinks, Boral climbs
• Why the JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH) share price surged 19% in March
• Here’s why ASX cannabis shares are lighting up today
• Are ASX 200 value shares still good value? Why these experts are at loggerheads
• Why the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price rose 11% in March

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 Appen Ltd and Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Nuix Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Kogan.com ltd and Nuix Pty 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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If you’re looking for exchange traded funds (ETFs) to invest some of your funds into, then you might want to take a look at the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA).

Here’s why this good be a great option for investors:

What is the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF?

The BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF provides investors with exposure to a number of the most exciting tech shares in the Asia market (excluding Japan).

BetaShares notes that this is a high-growth sector that is under-represented in the Australian share market.

Furthermore, thanks to its younger and tech-savvy population, the fund manager points out that Asia is surpassing the West in respect to technological adoption. As a result of this, the sector is expected to remain a growth sector for a long time to come.

What shares will you be buying?

Among the 50 “technology tigers” included in the fund are the likes of Alibaba, Baidu, JD.com, Meituan Dianping, Pinduoduo, Samsung, and Tencent.

Alibaba is largely regarded as the Amazon of China. Across its Alibaba, Taobao, and Tmall brands, the company has almost 800 million active customers. To put that into context, Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) reported active customers of 1.7 million during the first half of FY 2021.

Given the size of Alibaba’s reach, the company is estimated to control over half of China’s ecommerce market. The ecommerce giant also has a presence offline with a growing network of grocery stores, hypermarkets, and department stores.

Another share you’ll be buying a slice of is Pinduoduo. It is another ecommerce company with a significant reach. Pinduoduo’s platform offers a wide range of products from daily groceries to home appliances.

But rather than selling products like Kogan does, it connects distributors with consumers directly through an interactive shopping experience. This allows shoppers to team up to buy items at lower prices. At the end of September, it was serving 731 million active buyers.

How has it been performing?

The BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF has been a strong performer in recent years and during the pandemic.

According to BetaShares, the ETF has delivered an average return of 36.5% per annum since its inception in September 2018. Whereas the index it is tracking has returned an average of 29% per annum over the last five years.

More reading

• Morgan Stanley says that Chinese shares are an opportunity right now
• 3 stellar ETFs for ASX investors to buy
• 2 tech ETFs delivering strong long-term returns
• How to counter the ASX 200’s Achilles heel
• 3 top 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 Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Kogan.com 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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The Recce Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: RCE) share price has spent today in the red despite the company releasing positive data from anti-infective drug trials against bacterial sinusitis in mice.

It seems shareholders weren’t excited by the results, with the Recce share price dropping from its opening price of 98 cents to close at 97 cents.

Recce is a drug discovery and development business that produces synthetic antibiotics to address the global health challenge of antibiotic-resistant superbugs. 

Recce report shows positive sinusitis fight

Recce’s data is from a large trial involving a total of 12 groups of 10 mice each. The study was performed to reveal the efficacy of a new anti-infective formulation, called RECCE 111 (R111), against Streptococcus pneumoniae bacterial sinusitis.

Streptococcus pneumoniae, a gram-positive bacterium (a type of bacterium cell wall), is a leading cause of bacterial pneumonia and meningitis in the United States and a common cause of bloodstream infections, also known as sepsis, ear and sinus infections.

Recce 111 is the title for a wholly-owned experimental compound produced by Recce Pharmaceuticals in-house. The testing showed significant antibacterial capability with no abnormalities detected in any of the 12 groups of mice, with most of the groups administered the drug twice daily.

This news on its own wasn’t enough to send the Recce share price flying today.

Three groups were treated with varying intranasal doses twice daily. These groups showed a significant dose-dependent antibacterial effect when compared to early infection. However, the average efficacy of these doses may be why shareholders appeared uninterested in the company today.

Three groups of mice were treated with varying intravenous doses of up to 1,000 milligrams per kilogram of weight. In contrast, the remaining group of three were treated with intravenous doses up to 250 milligrams per kilogram of weight. Both of these studies revealed relatively similar results.

Azithromycin was the positive control in the study given twice daily at 200 mg/kg and showed a bactericidal effect.

What Recce management said

Recce CEO James Graham said the results were strong for a range of Recce research targets.

We’re continually excited by the potential of Recce’s anti-infective compounds and are encouraged by these positive indications. Moreover, this further enhances the breadth of Recce’s synthetic polymer platform.

Recce share price snapshot

The Recce share price has offered a one-year return of 276% but is down 3.5% this week, 8.5% this month and 9% this year to date. At its current price, Recce has a market capitalisation of $167.7 million.

More reading

• Recce Pharmaceuticals (ASX:RCE) share price tumbles despite positive update
• Here’s why the Recce (ASX:RCE) share price is racing higher today

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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Although headwinds associated with the pandemic have stifled the growth of a good number of companies, some have continued their strong form largely unabated.

Two ASX tech shares that are continuing to grow rapidly are listed below. Here’s why they could be worth a closer look:

Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (ASX: BTH)

Bigtincan is a provider of an artificial intelligence-powered sales enablement automation platform.

The company notes that its platform delivers a better customer experience, empowering sales and marketing teams to drive better business results.

A testament to the quality of its platform is its customer base. A number of the largest companies in the world are using Bigtincan Hub. This includes 7 of the top 10 companies on the Fortune 500 and Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ).

Strong demand led to the company reporting further strong growth with its half year results in February. At the end of December, its annualised recurring revenue (ARR) had reached $48.4 million. This was a 50% increase over the prior corresponding period. Driving this growth was a 42.9% increase in organic ARR and $8.4 million from acquisitions.

Morgan Stanley was happy with its update. In response to it, the broker put an overweight rating and $1.40 price target on its shares.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

Megaport is another company that has been growing rapidly despite the pandemic. The provider of elastic interconnection services across data centres reported Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) of $6.3 million at the end of the first half.

This was a 37% increase on the prior corresponding period and annualises to $75.6 million. This compares to FY 2020’s revenue of $58 million.

Management advised that this was driven by a combination of customer and ports growth and an expanding footprint. At the end of December, the company had 2,043 customers (up 11%) across 716 Enabled Data Centres (up 7%) in 130 cities.

This result went down well with Goldman Sachs. Following its release, the broker put a buy rating and $15.55 price target on its shares.

More reading

• The FINEOS (ASX:FCL) share price is now 30% off its August highs
• 3 exciting small cap ASX shares to watch
• 2 ASX tech shares growing rapidly to buy
• Bigtincan (ASX:BTH) share price continues slide despite strong underlying growth
• 2 of the best small cap ASX shares 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 and recommends BIGTINCAN FPO and MEGAPORT FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BIGTINCAN FPO and MEGAPORT 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went up by 0.6% to 6,829 points.

Company announcements were the cause of the biggest movers within the ASX 200.

These are some of the highlights from the day:

Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB)

The Webjet share price fell more than 5% after announcing a convertible note offering.

It said that it has successfully priced its AU$25 million convertible notes which are due in 2026.

The notes will have a coupon of 0.75% per annum, paid on a semi-annual basis. The notes will be convertible into fully paid ordinary shares with an initial conversion price of $6.35 per share, which represents a conversion premium of 22.5% compared to the reference share price of $5.18.

The net proceeds are expected to be approximately $246 million after the deduction of commissions, professional fees and other expenses. The net proceeds are expected to be used to repay $43 million of Webjet’s existing term debt and also fund potential acquisitions.

Webjet managing director John Guscic said:

We are taking advantage of market conditions to proactively manage our balance sheet and the existing term debt. The offering also provides flexibility to pursue leadership in all our businesses. In particular, it places Webjet in a strategically advantaged position in the context of a highly fragmented B2B wholesale bedbank industry, which we believe will change significantly as a result of the pandemic. The Webjet OTA (online travel agency) has already seen meaningful market share growth as Australian domestic travel markets start to return and the offering will provide flexibility to further capture demand as bookings continue to shift online.

It was the worst performer in the ASX 200.

Boral Limited (ASX: BLD)

The Boral share price went up 6.75% after announcing it had completed the sale of its 50% share of USG Boral and it revealed an on-market buy-back.

The USG Boral sale for A$1.33 billion will result in Boral reporting a profit after tax of approximately $450 million.

Some of the money will be used to reduce the net debt position from $1.9 billion to $1.5 billion.

Boral is planning to buy back up to 10% of shares on issue over the next 12 months. The company said it believed the buy-back is the most effective method of returning the surplus capital to shareholders.

The construction business will continue to assess options to distribute any additional surplus capital.

It was the best performer in the ASX 200.

AMP Limited (ASX: AMP)

The AMP share price went up 4.75% today after it finally announced that its CEO was being replaced.

Mr Francesco De Ferrari will be replaced by the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) deputy CEO, Alexis George. She will take over in the third quarter of this year.

Ms George has been at ANZ for seven years. She led ANZ’s $4 billion wealth divestment program, including the separation and sale of its life insurance and superannuation businesses. Before that, Ms George had spent ten years at ING.

AMP Chair Debra Hazelton said:

In Alexis George, we have a great leader and strong fit for the future of our company. On any measure, she has outstanding industry experience in wealth management and banking, and is committed to continue the transformation of AMP’s business, and importantly, our organisation’s culture. Alexis will work with our executive team to complete and build on the strategic initiatives started under Francesco’s leadership and take AMP forward to its next phase of growth.

AMP was one of the best performers in the ASX 200.

More reading

• Why the JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH) share price surged 19% in March
• Here’s why ASX cannabis shares are lighting up today
• Why Computershare, Macquarie, Race Oncology, & Webjet are tumbling lower
• Are ASX 200 value shares still good value? Why these experts are at loggerheads
• Why the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price rose 11% in March

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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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March was not a good month for ASX growth shares, as it turns out. Over the month, the ASX followed the US markets’ lead in re-rating growth shares across the board in response to rising government bond yields.

But this might just have given ASX investors a chance to review some of the growth names out there as we start April. Lower prices mean cheaper shares, after all. And remember, before 2021, ASX growth shares had not had a major pullback since the coronavirus-induced market crash last year.

So here are two ASX growth shares to consider for April

A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

A2 Milk had an absolute shocker in March. As my Fool colleague reported today, the A2 Milk share price fell almost every day over the month. At the time of writing, it stands at just $7.75, which is the lowest level this company has seen since early 2018. It’s also down more than 60% from the all-time high of more than $20 a share that we saw last year.

The catalyst for this downgrade are concerns over the company’s formerly lucrative daigou suitcase-shipping channels to China. These have all but friend up in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and management is not indicating that they will return anytime soon. But perhaps this is an overreaction from investors. A2 has a long history of delivering knockout growth across multiple markets. As such, a 60% drop might be worth digging deeper into.

Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd. (ASX: DMP)

Unlike A2 Milk, Dominos actually had a decent month in March, rising roughly 6% over the month. Still, Dominos remains more than 11% off of its all-time high that it hit back in February. This company was an undisputed winner from the pandemic last year. It seems that when Aussies are locked up for weeks or months at a time, pizza consumption rises. Who would have thought!

This positive momentum appears to be continuing as well. In February, Dominos reported that for the six months ending 31 December 2020, it managed to grow revenues by a whopping 16.5% and profits by 32.8%. It’s hard to bet against the future growth prospects of pizza. As such, Dominos is another ASX growth share to check to this April. Especially at 14% off of its recent highs.

More reading

• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares in March
• The A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price was down almost every day in March
• Over 1 in 4 Australians are investing in the ASX: report
• ASX 200 dips lower, Webjet drops, REA bids for Mortgage Choice
• 2 highly-rated ASX growth shares to buy

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of A2 Milk. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended A2 Milk. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Dominos Pizza Enterprises 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 Urbanise.Com Ltd (ASX: UBN) share price soared in the first 30 minutes of opening trade, reaching 17% higher. Its meteoric rise came after the company announced a major new customer win.

During the day, however, the company’s shares have backtracked after some profit-taking by investors. At the close of trade, the cloud-based software solutions company’s shares swapped hands for 8.6 cents, up 6.17%.

A quick take on Urbanise

Established in 2001, Urbanise leverages cloud technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) to manage infrastructure, buildings, housing estates and local government structures.

It enables building operators to streamline workflow processes as they manage properties. The various functions include community and property management, asset maintenance, mobile workforce, asset monitoring, utility reporting, and more.

Milestone win

Investors are boosting the Urbanise share price today after the company revealed a milestone customer win.

In today’s release, Urbanise advised it has secured a 3-year contract with leading Dubai-based property developer, Nakheel.

The deal will see Urbanise deliver to Nakheel a fully integrated facilities management and strata solution platform.

Urbanise’s end-to-end product will provide the developer with the ability to manage several properties across its extensive portfolio. This includes customers in the residential developments, hotels and resorts, malls and corporate office premises space.

Urbanise expects the contract to generate roughly $760,000 in annual recurring revenue (ARR).

Management said this would be reflected “across both the facilities management and strata divisions and will form part of the backlog until go-live”.

Furthermore, the company will move both systems (facilities and strata management software) into a single integrated solution.

About the Urbanise share price

The Urbanise share price has gained more than 110% in the past 12 months and is up around 13% year-to-date. The company’s shares reached a multi-year high of 12 cents in late September before stabilising thereafter.

Urbanise commands a market capitalisation of just over $70 million at the current share price, with 834.3 million shares on issue.

More reading

• 2 ASX growth shares to buy in April
• 2 ASX dividend shares to buy this April
• Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price and weekly news wrap
• Peel Mining (ASX:PEX) share price lifts on high-grade copper hits
• Why the Strike Energy (ASX:STX) share price powered up today

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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March is gone and April is here. That means autumn, jokes and Easter. But as April dawns, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is set to keep interest rates at the record low of 0.1% when it meets next Tuesday. Of course, we don’t know this for sure. But seeing as RBA governor Dr Philip Lowe has indicated rates won’t be rising until at least 2024, it’s about the surest thing we are going to get from the world of investing this month.

So with interest rates t these lows, we are once again reminded of the fact that any cash we have in the bank is not going to be making anyone wealthy. These days, you’re lucky to get an interest rate above 1% on a savings account.

Luckily, ASX dividend shares are not so held down by interest rates. So here are two high-yielding dividend shares to consider this April:

Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG)

Macquarie has perhaps the unfortunate tag of being the ASX’s ‘fifth bank’. However, unlike Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) or Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), Macquarie isn’t your typical ASX bank. It does offer loans, mortgages and bank accounts. But these form a very small portion of Macquarie’s earnings base. Instead, Macquarie’s crown jewels are its funds management business, as well as its investment banking divisions. So if you’re thinking Macquarie is ‘just another ASX bank’, you might want to think again.

In terms of dividends, Macquarie shares have a trailing dividend yield of 2.08%. That reflects the $1.80 and $1.35 per share dividends Macquarie paid out last year. However, 2019 saw this bank pay out $3.60 and $2.50 in dividends respectively. This indicates that Macquarie could increase its dividends back to these levels in 2021 and beyond as the pandemic heads into the rearview mirror.

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

Another ASX dividend share to consider today is Rural Funds Group. Rural Funds is an agriculturally focused real estate investment trust (REIT). It holds a portfolio of farmland across Australia, which includes cattle farms, vineyards, as well as macadamia and almond orchards.

Farmland is a pretty stable kind of investment, and this is reflected in Rural Funds’ dividend distributions. Last year, the company managed to pay out four distributions, two worth 2.82 cents each and two worth 2.71 cents each. That in itself was an improvement on the four distributions of 2.71 cents and 2.61 cents each the previous year.

Those distributions give Rural Funds’ units a trailing yield of 4.08% on current pricing. Being a REIT, Rural Funds; distributions, unfortunately, don’t come with franking credits though.

More reading

• Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price and weekly news wrap
• Why Computershare, Macquarie, Race Oncology, & Webjet are tumbling lower
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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited and RURALFUNDS STAPLED. 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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