Category: Stock Market

On Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had a fantastic session. The benchmark index rose 1% to 7,782 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Friday and end the week on a high? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 poised to fall

The Australian share market looks set to end the week in the red despite a good night on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open 14 points or 0.2% lower this morning. In late trade on Wall Street, the Dow Jones is up 0.8%, the S&P 500 is up 0.45%, and the NASDAQ is up 0.35%.

Oil prices soften

ASX 200 energy shares Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Karoon Energy Ltd (ASX: KAR) could have a subdued finish to the week after oil prices softened overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 0.3% to US$81.01 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 0.3% to US$85.71 a barrel. Weaker than expected gasoline demand in the US put pressure on prices.

Brickworks downgraded

The Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW) share price could be fully valued now according to analysts at Bell Potter. In response to the building products company’s half-year results, the broker has downgraded its shares to a hold rating with a $29.00 price target. Bell Potter said: “We remain attracted to BKW’s significant property development pipeline and ~50% short-WALE book in a supply constrained Western Sydney market. That said, with SOL’s premium to NTA having widened to ~8% (BPe) we mark BKW at close to fair value at this time.”

Gold price storms higher

ASX 200 gold shares including Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could have a poor session after the gold price dropped overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 1.1% to US$2,185.1 an ounce. Rate cut optimism boosted the precious metal.

Virgin Money UK takeover deal

Virgin Money UK (ASX: VUK) shares will be on watch on Friday after the UK-based bank released an update on its takeover approach by Nationwide Building Society. According to the release, the two parties have agreed the terms of a recommended cash acquisition of Virgin Money by Nationwide. Under the terms of the acquisition, each Virgin Money shareholder will be entitled to receive 220 pence (~A$4.29) in cash per share.

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why Australian Strategic Metals, Evolution, Sigma, and Webjet shares are storming higher
• Why AGL, Brickworks, IGO, and New Hope shares are dropping today
• 2 ASX 200 large-cap shares upgraded by brokers
• Why are ASX 200 gold stocks surging again on Thursday?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Brickworks and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Brickworks and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Are S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) board members paid too much?

It’s a debate that never stops.

On one hand, directorships are only part-time positions. You meet a few times a year, make some high-level decisions, have a glass of brandy, then go home.

Board members are usually not involved in the day-to-day running of the company, which is the job of the chief executive.

And many directors are on the boards of multiple ASX companies, collecting fees like they’re going out of fashion.

The opposite argument is that these (mostly) men make decisions that affect the welfare of thousands of employees and investors.

If your judgments affect so many livelihoods, you need to attract the smartest people as directors. Therefore, you need to pay a premium.

So, who are the ASX 200 directors with the largest pay packets?

Top 5 highest paid ASX 200 board members

The Australian Financial Review, using data from OpenDirector and YellowFolder, this week revealed the highest paid ASX 200 board members.

Here are the top five:

Director	Remuneration	Companies
John Mullen	$2.1 million	Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) Brambles Ltd (ASX: BXB) Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN)*
Steven Gregg	$1.9 million	Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) Ampol Ltd (ASX: ALD) Lottery Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLC)**
Scott Perkins	$1.8 million	Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) Brambles Ltd  Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW)
Richard Goyder	$1.8 million	Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) Qantas**
Dominic Barton	$1.5 million	Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO)

The remuneration is calculated just from the base fee for serving on the board, excluding any performance-related options and shares.

Despite some progress in installing women onto ASX boards, there are still no female directors earning above the $1 million mark.

The only woman director in the top 20 highest paid ladder is Dr Nora Scheinkestel, who is on the board of Westpac, Origin Energy and Brambles.

Paid a lot of money to do a job

On Thursday, Australian Securities and Investments Commission chair Joe Longo responded to complaints from some company directors that the regulatory burden was becoming too much to bear.

According to The Australian, he acknowledged the “challenges” involved in carrying out board member duties — but told directors that it’s not meant to be an easy job.

“If it were [easy], anyone could do it,” he said at a AICD event in Melbourne.

“Good directors run successful, profitable businesses. That’s not going to happen unless every director takes an active stance of curiosity and starts asking the right questions – to understand their business, and how that business makes money.”

The post $2.1 million! Who are the highest paid ASX 200 directors? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 4 ‘overheated’ ASX 200 shares to stay away from
• How has this ASX 200 energy stock just hit another new record high?
• Here’s the Woodside dividend forecast through to 2026
• 2 ASX 200 large-cap shares upgraded by brokers
• 2 things I’m waiting for before buying Coles shares

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Lottery. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Treasury Wine Estates. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL) shares could be a great option for investors right now.

That’s the view of analysts at Goldman Sachs, which believe the ASX retail giant is undervalued at current levels.

What is the broker saying about Super Retail shares?

Last month, Goldman reiterated its buy rating and $17.80 price target on the company’s shares.

So, with Super Retail shares currently changing hands for $15.69, this implies potential upside of 13.5% for investors over the next 12 months.

But the returns won’t stop there. Goldman is forecasting fully franked dividends per share of 67 cents in FY 2024 and then 73 cents in FY 2025.

This represents dividend yields of 4.3% and 4.65%, respectively, which boosts the total potential 12-month return to approximately 18%.

Why is the broker bullish?

Goldman’s bullish view is largely built on its belief that Super Retail is better placed than most in the current environment thanks to the loyalty of its customers.

In addition, the broker highlights that Super Retail shares are changing hands on multiples that are lower than long-term averages. It explains:

SUL is an Australian domestic retailer with 4 divisions – Super cheap Auto, Rebel Sport, BCF, and Macpac. We believe SUL will display resilience in a softer economic environment that is built upon its competitive advantage of high loyalty (~11.0m active members accounting for >75% of sales) and this will be further bolstered as the company launches the Rebel loyalty program and continues to build personalisation capabilities. Hence, we are Buy-rated on SUL. SUL is trading below its long run PE valuation average.

All in all, this could make Super Retail worth considering if you’re looking for exposure to the retail sector for your portfolio or want some new additions for an income portfolio.

The post Why Goldman Sachs expects market-beating returns from Super Retail shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Are these ASX dividend stocks quality buys this week?
• How about buying these ASX dividend shares?
• Guess which ASX 200 retail stock is tipped to deliver 19% upside and a 6.5% yield in 2024
• Why does Morgans rate these ASX dividend stocks as buys?
• Buy Coles and these ASX dividend shares next week

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Super Retail Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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With the market optimistic about the economy and interest rates, there are plenty of excellent buys at the moment on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

However, there are four specific stocks that one expert is warning investors to cross the street to avoid.

“The recent bank stock rally looks overdone,” Wilsons equity strategist Rob Crookston said in a memo to clients.

“Valuation multiples have risen significantly, and are now stretched relative to historical norms.”

Let’s explore the reasons why these ASX 200 shares seem so expensive now.

‘Valuations are disconnected from fundamentals’

Crookston said that the stock prices for the major banks are now out of sync with their business outlook.

“Current valuations are disconnected from fundamentals, given the tepid (+2%) earnings growth expected over the next 2 years.”

All four stocks have rocketed over the past six months:

• Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price up 26%
• National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) up 20%
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) up 17%
• ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) up 15%

Crookston noted that the market seemed to be bidding these upwards because of an expectation that earnings will grow over the next 12 to 24 months.

But to him, that thesis just does not hold.

“Our analysis of historical trends and current consensus estimates suggests limited upside to forward earnings, even with the possibility of a soft landing and interest rate cuts in the next 12 to 18 months.”

Industry trends aren’t optimistic

All four ASX 200 shares are now flying above where they were just before the COVID-19 crash back in February 2020.

In a competitive market, Crookston is worried about the long-term trend for the banking industry.

“Over the past two decades, the return on equity (ROE) of major banks has declined substantially, largely explaining the decrease in the price-to-book ratios.”

Australian banks also look expensive compared to comparable foreign peers.

“While CBA has a lower ROE (13.3%) relative to JP Morgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) (14.9%), it trades on a 58% premium on a price-to-book basis. 

“While the historically resilient Australian economy and the concentrated nature of the domestic banking sector deserves a premium, this is excessive.”

Crookston’s team has indeed put their money where their mouths are, recently selling their Westpac shares in order to buy into BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP).

“The recent pullback in the iron ore miners presents a good opportunity to lighten our sector underweight by adding to BHP.”

The post 4 ‘overheated’ ASX 200 shares to stay away from appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• If I’d put $5,000 in ANZ shares at the start of 2024, here’s what I’d have now
• ASX 200 shares vs term deposits: What $5,000 invested a year ago is worth now
• I wouldn’t touch CBA shares with a 10-foot bargepole!
• How I’d invest $20k to target $1,400 a year from ASX dividend shares
• 2 top ASX 200 shares to buy now for $1,000 a month in passive income

JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended 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 Scott Phillips.

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Koda Capital financial advisor Sebastian Ferrando owns three real estate investments in Australia, but wishes he’d put the money into US shares instead.

As reported in the Australian Financial Review (AFR), the finance professional thinks the cost of buying, holding and selling residential real estate makes buying investment property a wealth trap.

Ferrando laments the growing disparity between the net returns on Australian investment property vs. US shares.

For example, in 2023, the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) rose by 24.2%.

By comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and Australian property vastly underperformed the US stock benchmark, delivering just 8.1% in capital growth.

Why is real estate investment a wealth trap?

Ferrando doesn’t mince words, commenting:

The truth is you can leverage the crap out of residential real estate and that’s a massive advantage.

But to buy, hold, maintain, and sell real estate involves large costs.

If you take the costs out of real estate transactions, the returns [for apartments] are sub 4 per cent a year as costs like maintenance, agent fees, rates, insurance, repairs, stamp duty, and strata are hidden, high, and constant.

Ferrando estimates that typical property investors in Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane buying a $1 million investment property will contribute a 35% deposit and get an investment property loan covering 65%.

They rent the property out and benefit from negative gearing at tax time.

Over time, they profit from the leverage as they make investment earnings from rent and capital growth on a $1 million asset after spending only $350,000 of their own money.

Ferrando reckons leverage is one of the biggest appeals of property investment.

And that all sounds well and good, but it’s the costs of real estate investment that bother him.

The typical costs of Sydney real estate investment

Just to give you an example, here’s a typical scenario for a Sydney investor buying a two bedroom apartment at today’s median price of $837,253.

• $32,413 in stamp duty on the purchase
• $500 for a building and pest report
• $2,000 on the purchase conveyance
• $10,000 to replace a few major things over the long term, such as carpet, blinds, hot water tank
• $7,000 to $10,000 per year on strata levies, council and water rates, insurance, and property management fees
• $15,000 for re-painting, styling and marketing when it’s time to sell
• $20,000 selling agent fee (2% on a sale price of $1 million)
• Another $2,000 on the sale conveyance

While this is a lot of money, Sydney has an outstanding history of long-term capital growth, so you may well still come out on top if you buy and hold through at least two major market cycle upswings.

But as you can imagine, it’s not just the ongoing costs that property investors need to consider. There’s a lot of work involved in researching, finding, buying, holding, and selling a real estate investment.

The alternative is buying ASX or international shares online from the comfort of your own home for a brokerage fee as low as $5.

And this is Ferrando’s main point.

What should you do instead of property investment?

Ferrando points out that investors can use leverage on shares investing too, using a margin facility.

On shares vs. property, he sums it up:

I say, buy real estate if you want to enjoy it every day, but don’t buy it with your investment dollars.

Ferrando was primarily comparing the performance of Australian real estate investment vs. US shares.

We recently looked at how ASX shares performed compared to Australian real estate over 10 years.

And if you’re curious about which ASX shares and Australian property markets are delivering the best passive income for investors today, via the highest dividend and rental yields, click here.

The post Financial advisor who owns 3 homes says stocks beat real estate investment for wealth generation appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 3 ASX stocks boasting better margins than Nvidia
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Bell Potter names 2 exciting ASX tech shares to buy now
• Analysts say these beaten down ASX lithium shares are strong buys
• Here are the next distribution dates for your Vanguard ETFs

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The green graphics card giant is making a motza. But did you know some ASX companies have even bigger profit margins than Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA)?

Masterfully riding the AI wave, Nvidia looks like the Kelly Slater of computer hardware. The insatiable hunger for AI-enabling chips is fattening the technology company’s profits. For 12 months ended January 2024, this A$3.4 trillion business pulled a 48.8% net margin.

For every dollar of revenue, Nvidia kept 49 cents — that’s after tax!

Unsurprisingly, the share price is up 245% over the past year. Except, what if you wanted a slice of such profitability a little closer to home? I’m talking margin monsters like Nvidia on our local ASX bourse.

Nvidia-beating margins on the ASX

It’s completely possible! There are 43 ASX-listed stocks with superior margins to Nvidia. However, I wouldn’t count some of these due to quirky accounting practices. Still, if thick profit margins are your jam, plenty of options exist.

Here are a few Aussie companies that pass the high bar.

49% net margin: Not quite beating, but just as good as Nvidia is an ASX healthcare company named Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME). Its superb profits come from selling software to medical groups that allow large files to be viewed on any device.

In the 12 months ended 31 December 2023, Pro Medicus raked in $142.1 million in revenue and profits of $69.7 million. The company’s margins have increased over the years due to the low additional cost of providing its software to more customers.

67% net margin: Any business that collects a royalty on something usually operates on high margins. There are minimal costs to eat away at the revenue gathered from sales. Deterra Royalties Ltd (ASX: DRR) is a locally-listed company relishing in this situation.

The lucrative enterprise comes from taking a royalty on iron ore sales from BHP Group Ltd‘s (ASX: BHP) Mining Area C mine. In the 12 months ended 31 December 2023, Deterra recorded $251.8 million in revenue and profits of $167.8 million.

68% net margin: Surpassing Nvidia’s profit margin by 19% is an ASX biotech biz with rocketing revenues. The profit phenom I’m referring to is Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: NEU), a drug developer that has reached commercial success with DAYBUE (trofinetide) treating Rett syndrome.

In the 12 months ended 31 December 2023, Neuren reached $231.9 million in revenue and profits of $157.1 million. It’s a remarkable difference from a year earlier when revenue and earnings were $15.4 million and $184,000, respectively.

The post 3 ASX stocks boasting better margins than Nvidia appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Analysts name 2 ASX income shares to buy with 6%+ dividend yields
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why this ASX Nvidia partner has just been placed in a trading halt
• How to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) without buying Nvidia stock
• Guess which ASX tech stock is up 120% in three sessions thanks to Nvidia

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has positions in Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Nvidia and Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nvidia and Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Investors in 23 Vanguard exchange-traded funds (ETFs) now have a few dates to mark in their diaries following the release of the next distributions calendar today.

According to the calendar, the ex-dividend date for the next round of distributions will be 2 April.

That means you’ll need to own the relevant ETFs before this date to receive the next payment.

The record date will be 3 April.

The payment date will be 17 April.

Which Vanguard ETFs are affected?

These dates are relevant to some of the most popular Vanguard products in the market.

They include the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS), which tracks the performance of the ASX 300 and is one of the biggest ETFs in Australia with a market capitalisation of $14.72 billion.

The dates are also relevant to Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (ASX: VHY), which has a track record for delivering some of the best returns of all Australian shares ETFs.

If you own the Vanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF (ASX: VDHG), which allows investors to buy 16,000 ASX and international shares in one transaction, for one brokerage fee, then these dates apply to you as well.

Another ETF covered by this distribution calendar is Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS), which hit a new 52-week high of $124.13 in earlier trading today.

The post Here are the next distribution dates for your Vanguard ETFs appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 4 top ASX exchange-traded funds smashing record highs on Wednesday
• Give your portfolio a big boost with these high-quality ASX ETFs
• If you own the Vanguard Australian Shares ETF (VAS), make sure you’re doing this
• 5 ASX ETFs to buy and hold for 10 years
• How much could a $300,000 ASX share portfolio pay in dividends?

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF and Vanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF and Vanguard Msci Index International Shares ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has followed Wall Street’s lead and is charging higher. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up 1% to 7,775.9 points.

Four ASX shares that are rising more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are climbing:

Australian Strategic Materials Ltd (ASX: ASM)

The Australian Strategic Materials share price is up 23% to $1.46. Investors have been buying the rare earths and critical metals company’s shares after it received a non-binding and conditional letter of interest (LOI) from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM). This is the official export credit agency of the United States federal government. The LOI is for the provision of a debt funding package of up to US$600 million (A$923 million) for the construction and execution phase of the Dubbo rare earths and critical minerals project.

Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN)

The Evolution Mining share price is up 6% to $3.51. Investors have been buying Evolution and other gold miners today after the price of the precious metal stormed higher overnight on rate cut optimism. In addition, this morning, Morgan Stanley upgraded the miner’s shares to an overweight rating with a $3.95 price target. The broker believes that Evolution Mining has the greatest leverage to spot gold prices due to its very low hedging.

Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG)

The Sigma Healthcare share price is up 3% to $1.25. This has been driven by the release of the pharmacy chain operator and distributor’s FY 2024 results. Sigma reported a 9.2% decline in net revenue to $3.3 billion but a 149% jump in net profit after tax to $4.5 million. The latter also includes merger transaction costs. Excluding these costs, its net profit after tax would have been $12.7 million. Sigma also spoke positively about its proposed merger with Chemist Warehouse and revealed that the ACCC commenced a public consultation process into the deal on 8 March.

Webjet Ltd (ASX: WEB)

The Webjet share price is up 8% to $8.58. This follows the release of the travel agent’s WebBeds strategy day investor presentation. Management advised that the WebBeds business is on track to achieve total transaction value (TTV) of $4 billion in FY 2024 and then $5 billion in FY 2025. After which, it is targeting TTV of $10 billion in FY 2030 with a 50% EBITDA margin.

The post Why Australian Strategic Metals, Evolution, Sigma, and Webjet shares are storming higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why are ASX 200 gold stocks surging again on Thursday?
• Chemist Warehouse merger target Sigma reports 149% FY24 profit jump
• Why is the Webjet share price racing to a 52-week high today?
• Guess which ASX mining stock is rocketing 39% on $920m US govt funding news
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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It’s been a very pleasant day indeed for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and many ASX 200 shares. At present, the index has gained a comfortable 0.51%, putting it back over 7,730 points. But let’s talk about one ASX 200 energy stock that has just hit a fresh new all-time high.

That ASX 200 energy stock is none other than Ampol Ltd (ASX: ALD). Ampol shares closed at $39.64 each yesterday. But at present, the petroleum distributor, refiner and retailer has surged by a pleasing 1.59% up to $40.27. The company hit its new record high of $40.34 just after midday today. It’s the latest in a series of new highs for Ampol.

This gain puts the Ampol share price up a solid 9.91% over 2024 to date. It also means that Ampol shares have gained a massive 35.3% over the past 12 months. Check that out for yourself below:

But how did this ASX 200 energy stock get here? After all, Ampol shares didn’t do a whole lot over the entirety of 2021 to 2023.

How is this ASX 200 energy stock at another new record high?

Well, there is one primary factor that we can point to that seems to have put a rocket under this ASX 200 energy stock. It’s Ampol’s most recent full-year earnings report.

On 19 February, Ampol delivered its latest full-year earnings. The company told investors that it achieved a record sales volume of 28.4 billion litres over 2023, helped by the integration of the Z Energy business that Ampol bought in 2022. That was up a whopping 17% year on year.

This helped Ampol to report a 2% rise in earnings to $1.3 billion, which in turn helped fund a record final dividend of $1.20 per share (fully franked), up 14.3% over 2023’s final dividend of $1.05 per share.

Not only that but shareholders were also treated to a special dividend of 60 cents per share (also fully franked) on top. That takes Ampol’s total dividends over the past 12 months to another record of $2.75 per share.

Following these results, Ampol shares also got some love from ASX brokers, which may also have contributed to its recent share price success.

As my Fool colleague Bernd covered last month, analysts at Macquarie liked what they saw in this earnings report. The broker gave this ASX 200 energy stock an increased 12-month share price target of $42.50.

If this is realised, it would obviously represent yet another new record high for the Ampol share price. No doubt this came as music to investors’ ears.

Let’s see if this ASX broker is on the money over the coming 12 months.

The post How has this ASX 200 energy stock just hit another new record high? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• This soaring ASX 200 oil stock is near all-time highs. Is it too late to buy?
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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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There are plenty of ASX dividend stocks you can choose from on the Australian share market.

But two from the exclusive ASX 50 index that are highly rated by analysts at Goldman Sachs are listed below. Here’s what the broker is saying about them:

Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN)

Goldman Sachs is continues to feel positive about insurance giant Suncorp and sees it as an ASX 50 dividend stock to buy right now.

The broker believes that Suncorp is well-positioned for growth thanks “in large part the tailwinds that exist in the general insurance market.” This includes “very strong renewal premium rate increases and the benefit of higher investment yields.”

Goldman expects this to support the payment of fully franked dividends per share of 77 cents in FY 2024 and 82 cents in FY 2025. Based on the current Suncorp share price of $16.11, this will mean dividend yields of 4.8% and 5.1%, respectively.

Its analysts have a buy rating and $16.25 price target on the company’s shares.

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

The broker also thinks that telco giant Telstra could be an ASX 50 dividend stock to buy.

Goldman rates the company highly due to “the low risk earnings (and dividend) growth that Telstra is delivering across FY22-25, underpinned through its mobile business.”

It is expecting this to lead to Telstra paying fully franked dividends of 18 cents per share in FY 2024, 19 cents per share in FY 2025, and then 20 cents per share in FY 2026. Based on the current Telstra share price of $3.78, this equates to yields of 4.75%, 5%, and 5.3%, respectively.

Goldman has a buy rating and $4.55 price target on Telstra’s shares.

The post 2 ASX 50 dividend stocks to buy now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• How I’d invest $20k to target $1,400 a year from ASX dividend shares
• How are these ASX investors earning an almost 7% dividend yield on their Telstra shares?
• Where I’d invest $30,000 in ASX shares for passive income
• Buy Woodside shares and these ASX 200 dividend giants now
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Telstra Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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