Category: Stock Market

Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) shares are catching some headwinds today.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) airline stock closed yesterday trading for $5.12. In early afternoon trade on Wednesday, shares are changing hands for $5.045 apiece, down 1.5%.

For some context the ASX 200 is down 0.17% at this same time.

This follows a court ruling finding Qantas guilty of illegally standing down a ground services worker during the early months of the global pandemic.

ASX 200 airline guilty of ‘shameful’ conduct

Qantas shares could face more brand damage after New South Wales District Court Judge David Russell fined the company’s subsidiary, Qantas Ground Services (QGS), $250,000 for illegally standing down lift truck driver Theo Seremetidis in early 2020.

Seremetidis, an elected health and safety representative, was working out of Sydney International Airport at the time.

As ABC News reported, Qantas took action against Seremetidis after he expressed his worries that personnel cleaning planes arriving from China could be at risk of being infected by COVID-19.

Last year, the court ruled that the airline had engaged in discriminatory conduct in unfairly cutting Seremetidis off from staff who sought out his help. Last week, Qantas agreed to pay him $21,000 for economic and non-economic losses.

The $250,000 conviction today (of which the prosecutor will receive half) came after Russell determined the actions by QGS were deliberate rather than inadvertent.

According to Russell (quoted by ABC News):

The conduct against Mr Seremetidis was quite shameful. Even when he was stood down and under investigation, QGS attempted to manufacture additional reasons for its actions.

He added that “The effect of the conduct of QGS upon Mr Seremetidis personally was traumatic and long-lasting.”

Responding to the ruling that could be pressuring Qantas shares today, a spokesperson for the ASX 200 airline said, “We agreed to compensation for Theo Seremetidis and the court has today made orders for that compensation to be paid.”

They added that Qantas “acknowledged in court the impact that this incident had on Mr Seremetidis and apologised to him”.

How have Qantas shares been tracking longer-term?

Qantas shares have struggled over the past year, down 23%.

Despite that retrace, the ASX 200 airline’s shares have more than doubled since the depths of the pandemic-driven sell-off in early 2020.

The post Qantas shares hit turbulence amid $250,000 fine for ‘shameful’ conduct appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• If I invest $10,000 in Qantas shares, how much passive income will I receive in 2024?
• Analysts think these ASX 200 shares are dirt cheap buys
• These ASX shares could rise 30% to 50% in 12 months
• Qantas descends, Treasurer’s RBA dilemma and Twiggy’s payday: Scott Phillips on Nine’s Late News
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a poor session on Wednesday. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is down 0.25% to 7,705.2 points.

Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here’s why they are rising:

DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO)

The DroneShield share price is up 3.5% to 71 cents. Investors have been buying the counter drone technology company’s shares this week after Bell Potter upgraded them to a buy rating with a 90 cents price target. It made the move on valuation grounds following a sharp pullback this month.

Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)

The Magellan share price is up 8.5% to $9.26. This follows the release of the fund manager’s latest funds under management (FUM) update. Magellan reported a 2.5% month on month increase in FUM to $37.2 billion. This was despite recording net outflows of $200 million for the period.

Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX: PTM)

The Platinum share price is up 2% to $1.20. This may have been driven by a broker note out of Bell Potter this morning. According to the note, the broker has taken its sell rating off its shares and upgraded them to a hold with an improved price target of $1.13 (from 84 cents). Bell Potter was pleased with an update from the fund manager’s new CEO, which addressed many of its concerns.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP)

The Zip share price is up 7% to $1.20. This is despite there being no news out of the payments company today. However, it is worth noting that its shares have been on fire recently thanks to a much-improved operational performance. So much so, the Zip share price is up almost 300% in the space of six months.

The post Why DroneShield, Magellan, Platinum, and Zip shares are rising today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 2 ASX shares with attractive ‘risk-reward’ balance to buy right now
• Why DroneShield, Healius, Newmont, and Paragon Care shares are pushing higher
• Why this leading broker just upgraded DroneShield shares
• Will I be buying Zip shares now the company has turned a profit?
• Why this ASX 300 share is leaping 14% despite being branded a ‘sell’

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 DroneShield and Zip Co. 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 Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price has been out of form so far in 2024.

Since the start of the year, the telco giant’s shares have lost approximately 4% of their value.

This has left Telstra’s shares trading within sight of its 52-week low of $3.75.

Is the Telstra share price good value?

While investors haven’t been giving Telstra’s shares much love this year, the broker community remains enamoured with the company.

A large number of analysts currently have the equivalent of buy ratings on its shares with price targets offering double-digit returns over the next 12 months.

For example, Morgan Stanley has an overweight rating and $4.75 price target. This implies potential upside of 25% for the Telstra share price from current levels.

Elsewhere, the team at Macquarie has an outperform rating and $4.40 price target on its shares. This suggests that a return of almost 16% is possible between now and this time next year.

And over at Goldman Sachs, its analysts have a buy rating and $4.55 price target. This offers a potential gain of almost 20% for investors.

In addition, all three brokers are forecasting fully franked dividends per share of 18 cents in FY 2024. This is the equivalent of a 4.7% dividend yield at current prices.

Commenting on the company, last month Goldman Sachs said:

We believe the low risk earnings (and dividend) growth that Telstra is delivering across FY22-25, underpinned through its mobile business, is attractive. We also believe that Telstra has a meaningful medium term opportunity to crystallise value through commencing the process to monetize its InfraCo Fixed assets – which we estimate could be worth between A$22-33bn.

The post The Telstra share price is near a 52-week low: should you buy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 2 classic ASX 200 shares you can buy for cheap now to hold for years
• Got $5,000? Buy and hold these ASX value stocks for years
• Seeking retirement income from ASX bank shares at 52-week highs? What I’d buy instead
• Buy Telstra and these ASX dividend shares next week
• 5 ASX 200 shares that boosted their dividends this earnings season

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 and Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group and 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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A little-known ASX pharmaceutical stock is setting the bar high today.

Very high.

Shares in the medical device company closed yesterday trading for 2.7 cents. In morning trade on Wednesday, the ASX pharmaceutical stock leapt to 6.0 cents per share, up a whopping 122%.

After some likely profit-taking, at the time of writing shares are trading for 4.4 cents apiece, up a very healthy 63.0%.

For some context, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 0.3% at this same time.

Any guesses?

If you said Atomo Diagnostics Ltd (ASX: AT1), give yourself a virtual gold star.

Here’s what’s piquing investor interest in the microcap stock today.

What’s sending the ASX pharmaceutical stock soaring?

The Atomo Diagnostics share price is rocketing higher after the company announced it had secured purchase orders from Viatris Healthcare for around $970,000 worth of HIV Self-Tests.

The test kits, manufactured by the ASX pharmaceutical stock under the Mylan brand, will be used to supply a number of low and middle income countries (LMICs).

The orders are for manufacture during the second half of FY 2024.

“We have seen growing demand during FY24 for the Atomo HIV Self-Test here in Australia as well as across branded versions supplied to international markets,” Atomo CEO John Kelly said.

“Following significant increases in sales to Europe and in Australia, it is good to now see emergent demand across LMIC markets from our global health partner for HIV testing, Viatris,” Kelly added.

The ASX pharmaceutical stock has commercialised a number of products across international markets. It has existing supply agreements for testing applications targeting infectious diseases including COVID-19, HIV, viral versus bacterial differentiation and female health.

The post Guess which ASX pharmaceutical stock just rocketed 122%! appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is the Core Lithium share price down 14% in two days?
• Is it too late to join the booming ASX gold rush?
• Why is the Cettire share price crashing 27% on Wednesday?
• Why is this ASX 200 tech stock crashing 11% today?
• Why is the Graincorp share price having such a bumper week?

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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 Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price is under pressure on Wednesday.

At the time of writing, the lithium miner’s shares are down 8% to 22 cents.

This means that its shares are now down approximately 14% since this time on Monday.

What’s going on with the Core Lithium share price?

The company’s shares have come under pressure this week amid broad weakness in the lithium industry.

This appears to have been driven by concerns that a recent lithium price rebound could be short-lived.

Investors were scrambling to buy ASX lithium shares last week after prices in China suddenly rebounded.

But since then, an update out of Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) seems to have taken the wind out of lithium’s sails.

As we covered here, Tesla shipped 60,365 vehicles from its Shanghai-based factory in February. That’s down almost 16% from January and is its the lowest number of shipments in more than two years. This doesn’t bode well for short-term demand for lithium.

Goldman remains bearish

In addition, this week the team at Goldman Sachs reiterated its bearish view on lithium prices.

As you can read here, its analysts continue to believe that lithium prices will remain around current levels for a long time to come.

This could be particularly bad news for the Core Lithium share price, as the company is currently in the process of deciding what to do with its Finniss Operation, which has been suspended to conserve cash.

Last week, it came to an agreement with its mining contractor, Lucas Total Contract Solutions, to terminate the Finniss mining services agreement.

Management advised that it will now look to identify alternative mining solutions for the open pit “should it restart in the future.”

The post Why is the Core Lithium share price down 14% in two days? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why are ASX lithium shares like Pilbara Minerals crashing on Tuesday?
• Why the 2024 outlook for these rebounding ASX 200 lithium shares looks ‘better than market expectations’
• Guess which 4 shares are being dumped from the ASX 200 index
• Here’s the latest lithium price forecast through to 2027
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares

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 Tesla. 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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Have you been keeping an eye on the resurgent ASX gold rush?

Or perhaps you’ve already joined in.

If you did catch the fast-spreading gold fever and bought S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold shares five days ago, you should be sitting on some very satisfying gains today.

Here’s what I mean.

Over the past five days, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) – which also contains some smaller gold miners outside of the ASX 200 – has gained a whopping 11.9%.

For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.8% over that same period.

With the gold rush moving at full speed ahead, here’s how these leading ASX 200 gold stocks have performed over the past five days:

• Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) shares are up 11.5%
• Newmont Corp (ASX: NEM) shares are up 12.5%
• De Grey Mining Ltd (ASX: DEG) shares are up 8.8%
• Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS) shares are up 17.0%
• Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR) shares are up 12.0%
• Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) shares are up 13.0%
• Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL) shares are up 7.6%

Boom!

Investors have been piling into the Aussie gold producers as the price of the yellow metal has rocketed to new all-time highs (in US dollar terms).

Bullion hit a new peak of US$2,141.79 per ounce. That saw the gold price up almost 18% from the recent lows of US$1,820 per ounce on 5 October.

At the time of writing, gold is trading for US$2,127.51 per ounce.

Does the ASX gold rush have further to run?

Those are some impressive one-week gains for the big gold miners, to be sure.

The question now is, is it too late to join the booming ASX gold rush?

The answer is, very likely not.

The record gold price has been achieved in part from gold’s haven status in these times of economic and geopolitical uncertainty.

Bullion has also been supported by near-record levels of purchases from central banks.

And then there’s the growing confidence that most of the world’s top economies, including the US and Australia, will begin cutting interest rates later this year as inflation returns to their target levels. Gold, which pays no yield, tends to perform better in a falling interest rate environment.

In good news for ASX gold shares, Ewa Manthey, commodities strategist at ING Groep, believes the newly minted record-high gold price will soon be surpassed.

According to Manthey (quoted by Bloomberg):

Speculation over a Fed rates pivot and continued geopolitical tensions keep gold shining. We expect gold prices to trade higher this year as safe-haven demand continues to be supportive amid geopolitical uncertainty with ongoing wars and the upcoming US election.

Three Australian gold miners tipped for more big gains

If the gold rush continues apace, as many analysts expect, it should benefit all of the Aussie gold producers.

Macquarie last month came out with a bullish assessment for three leading ASX 200 gold stocks.

The broker has an outperform rating on Evolution Mining shares with a $3.80 price target. That represents a 19% potential upside from current levels.

Macquarie also has an outperform rating on Northern Star shares with a price target of $16.00. That’s almost 14% above the current share price.

And the third ASX 200 gold stock Macquarie believes is set for more outperformance is Newmont. The broker’s $67.00 price target represents a potential upside of 30% from current levels.

The post Is it too late to join the booming ASX gold rush? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why DroneShield, Healius, Newmont, and Paragon Care shares are pushing higher
• The gold price just reached its highest level ever: Which miners are buys?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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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The Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT) share price is having a day to forget on Wednesday.

In morning trade, the ASX All Ords stock was down as much as 27% to $3.41.

It has since recovered a touch but remains down 20% at the time of writing.

What’s going on with this ASX All Ords stock?

On Monday, the company revealed that its founder and CEO, Dean Mintz, had sold $127 million worth of Cettire shares. This represented a sizeable ~7.2% of the company’s issued capital.

Commenting on the sell-down, Mintz said:

Cettire continues to perform very strongly as demonstrated in the Company’s recent H1-FY24 Results. In response to strong investor demand, undertaking this share sale provides enhanced liquidity and free float, improving the likelihood of achieving further major index inclusion over time.

It certainly was fortunate timing for Mr Mintz. At today’s low, the shares he sold had a market value of $93.8 million. That’s approximately $33 million less than he received.

But why is the Cettire share price crashing today?

Today’s decline appears to have been driven by a report from the Australian Financial Review.

It tested the company’s online luxury goods platform, spending $1,133.78 on several items.

It highlights that this figure includes shipping and taxes, but does not include the additional duties of $169.43 that were charged, bringing the total amount to $1,303.21.

However, the AFR claims that none of the duties paid as part of the order were handed over by Cettire to Australian customs officials.

The report quotes a DHL customer services officer, that said:

I can confirm that there were no DUTY/TAX charged for these AWBs and did not meet the individual threshold of $1,000.

Why?

The duties were not paid to customs because the goods were shipped individually and none of the items rose above the threshold where duties are enforced. Nevertheless, Cettire charged and banked the money.

Is that correct? The report also highlights that the Australian Border Force would consider the above purchase and delivery as a split consignment, which means that those duties are payable under section 68 of the Customs Act.

In light of the above, investors appear to be questioning how profitable the company would be if it were paying all its duties.

The company has not yet commented on the report.

The Cettire share price remains up over 120% since this time last year despite today’s decline.

The post Why is the Cettire share price crashing 27% on Wednesday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Cettire, Fletcher Building, Lake Resources, and Nick Scali shares are falling today
• The CEO of this ASX stock just sold $127m worth of shares
• If you’d put $20,000 in this ASX retail stock 19 months ago, you’d have $239,000 now
• Is buying investment property in regional areas like buying ASX small-cap shares?
• Why Bell Potter says these ASX small cap shares are buys

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 recommended Cettire. 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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Iress Ltd (ASX: IRE) shares are falling heavily on Wednesday.

In morning trade, the ASX 200 tech stock is down 11% to $8.03.

Why is this ASX 200 tech stock crashing?

Firstly, it is worth noting that the financial company’s shares jumped yesterday afternoon before being placed in a trading halt.

That was driven by speculation that the ASX 200 tech stock could be a takeover target of US private equity giant Thoma Brava.

It isn’t a stranger to acquisitions on the Australian share market. At the end of December, the private equity firm acquired aerial imagery company Nearmap.

Is Iress getting acquired?

Unfortunately for speculators, as you might have guessed from the share price decline, the ASX 200 tech stock has not received an offer from Thoma Brava.

In response to a query from the Australian stock exchange about whether it was aware of takeover discussions, the company said:

No. Iress is not aware of any such information. In relation to the News Article, Iress is not in discussions or in receipt of a proposal in relation to a potential control transaction for Iress.

Should you buy the dip?

Most brokers aren’t overly bullish on this ASX 200 tech stock.

For example, Morgans has a hold rating and $8.60 price target on its shares at present. Whereas Macquarie has an outperform rating and $8.55 price target. This implies potential upside of approximately 6% for investors.

However, there is one broker that sees material upside potential.

Ord Minnett currently has a buy rating and $9.60 price target on its shares. This implies potential upside of 19.5% for investors over the next 12 months.

The post Why is this ASX 200 tech stock crashing 11% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why Corporate Travel Management, Iress, Rio Tinto, and Woolworths shares are crashing
• 2 ASX 300 tech shares making huge moves on earnings updates

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 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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The Graincorp Ltd (ASX: GNC) share price is having a solid week.

In morning trade, the grain exporter’s shares are up 1% to $7.83.

This means that its shares are now up 4% over the last two sessions.

What’s going on with the Graincorp share price?

Investors have been buying the company’s shares this week following the release of the March ABARES crop report.

That report revealed that conditions have been favourable and has seen the 2023-24 east coast winter crop forecast increase from 21.7mt to 23.2mt.

Bell Potter has been running the rule over the report and believes it could have positive implications for the grain exporter. It commented:

The March ABARE crop report highlighted an uplift in the 2023-24 winter and summer crop forecast, having implications for both CPC (crop protection contract) payments and likely receival outcomes.

We have raised our FY24e crop receipt and export assumptions towards the upper end of GNC’s guidance range (10.0-11.0mt and 4.5-5.5mt, respectively), while also lifting CPC payments. EBITDA changes are -3% in FY24e and +1% in FY25e, resulting in NPAT changes of -7% in FY24e and +1% in FY25e.

Should you invest?

Bell Potter has responded to the report by retaining its buy rating and $9.30 on the company’s shares.

Based on the current Graincorp share price, this implies potential upside of 19% for investors.

In addition, the broker is forecasting a 22 cents per share dividend in FY 2024. This equates to a 2.8% dividend yield, boosting the potential return beyond 20%.

The broker concludes:

Valuation remains undemanding, with GNC trading at 5.6-6.3x through the cycle PBTDA. We continue to view the GNC share price as not reflecting the underlying improvement in through the cycle earnings (FY24e opening EBITDA guidance is 15% higher than opening FY21 EBITDA guidance, despite a forecast ~30% lower throughput level) and stronger balance sheet position.

The post Why is the Graincorp share price having such a bumper week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Why Fletcher Building, Graincorp, GUD, and Seek shares are sinking today
• Why are these 3 ASX 200 shares tumbling 6% to 15% 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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ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) shares are on the move on Wednesday.

In morning trade, the banking giant’s shares are up 1% to $28.95.

ANZ shares higher on asset sale

Investors have been buying the bank’s shares on Wednesday after it announced the sell down of an Southeast Asian asset.

According to the release, the bank has agreed to sell 16.5% of the issued capital in AMMB Holdings Bhd (AmBank) via a block trade at a price of MYR3.85 per share (A$1.25 per share).

AmBank is a leading financial services group with over 40 years of expertise in supporting the economic development of Malaysia. It has over three million customers and employs over 9,000 people.

This sale will reduce the bank’s shareholding in AmBank from 21.7% to 5.2%. Management notes that this transaction is in line with its strategy of simplifying the bank.

Following the sale, ANZ will still have one nominated director on the AmBank Board.

What now?

The release notes that the sale proceeds will increase ANZ’s CET1 ratio by approximately 16bps and is not expected to have a material impact on its profit. Settlement is anticipated to occur on 8 March 2024.

The good news for shareholders is that the sale could have implications for future dividend payments.

The bank has advised that ANZ’s capital management considerations will include the capital release from this sale, subject to regulatory approvals.

This could mean an even bigger dividend yield than expected over the next 12 months. Not that it isn’t already among the most generous on the market.

At present, Goldman Sachs is forecasting fully franked dividends per share of $1.62 in FY 2024 (as well as FY 2025 and FY 2026). This equates to a dividend yield of approximately 5.6% for income investors based on current prices.

The post ANZ shares push higher amid asset sale and dividend bump hopes appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs Group. 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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