Wednesday proved a rough day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). It fell 0.96% to close at a four-week low of 7,197.4 points.

The market’s suffering followed a surprise interest rate hike from the Reserve Bank of Australia yesterday. The official cash rate was lifted 0.25% to 3.85%.

Leading Wednesday’s tumble was the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ), which fell 2.1%.

The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) also suffered, falling 1.5%, while the S&P/ASX 200 Real Estate Index (ASX: XRE) slumped 1%.

But one sector defied the downturn. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) rose 0.3%.

Not to mention, numerous ASX 200 shares outperformed the market in today’s session. Let’s take a look at the 10 biggest gainers.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown

Gold shares took out nearly all the top spots on the ASX 200 today. The best performing among them was Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR) – its stock rose 4.7%.

The gains came on the back of a strong session for the price of gold. The precious metal’s spot value lifted 1.6% overnight to US$2,024.20 an ounce.

These shares made today’s biggest gains:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR)	$1.90	4.68%
West African Resources Ltd (ASX: WAF)	$0.975	4.28%
Silver Lake Resources Ltd (ASX: SLR)	$1.24	4.2%
Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN)	$3.61	3.74%
Regis Resources Ltd (ASX: RRL)	$2.14	2.88%
Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)	$4.20	2.44%
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST)	$13.55	2.26%
De Grey Mining Limited (ASX: DEG)	$1.595	2.24%
Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT)	$20.80	2.21%
Computershare Ltd (ASX: CPU)	$21.92	2.19%

Our top 10 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to let you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the weekday market closes to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Flight Centre, Jumbo, Pilbara Minerals, and Ramelius shares are charging higher
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Why are ASX 200 gold shares going gangbusters today?
• Investing for passive income? Here’s your dividend yield if you bought BHP shares in July

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper 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 Flight Centre Travel 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 Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price avoided the market selloff on Wednesday.

The supermarket giant’s shares rose 1% to close the day at $38.96.

This compares favourably to a 1% decline by the ASX 200 index.

Why did the Woolworths share price push higher?

Today’s gain appears to have been driven by a positive reaction to the company’s third quarter update from a number of brokers.

One of those was Goldman Sachs, which has retained its conviction buy rating with an improved price target of $42.80.

This suggests that its shares can rise 10% from current levels. Goldman commented:

2Q23 signals high quality earnings in 2H23: WOW reported better than expected 3Q23 with group sales of A$16.34B in-line with GSe. The key positive was the AU Foods comp sales at 6.6% (vs COL +6.5% and GSe of +3.0%), which was better than expected as recent discussions with suppliers suggested that COL was more aggressive in driving market share via discounting.

In light of this strong result, the broker has bumped its earnings estimates higher. It adds:

[W]e tweak our FY23-25e group sales by ~+1% and NPAT by 0.4%-1.1% respectively. This is due to slightly higher sales across all key business segments while our margin views remain intact. Our updated forecasts imply FY22-25e ~3.4% sales CAGR and ~9.6% CAGR for EBIT/NPAT respectively.

Who else is bullish?

Another broker that responded positively was Citi, which retained its buy rating and $42.20 price target.

It notes that “consumer caution [is] not hurting sales.” The broker adds:

Woolworths reported Australian Food 3Q23 LFL sales growth of 6.6% (Citi: 5.1%). This was a strong result and in line with Coles (6.5%). NZ Food and BIG W were also ahead of our expectations with LFL sales growth of 6.8% and 5.5% respectively. Looking into FY24e, we continue to believe there is upside to consensus LFL sales growth for Australian Food of 3.5% (Citi: 5%) with our industry feedback suggesting inflation around mid-single digits and population growth of ~2%. We make minor earnings revisions to our above consensus forecasts. Our target price is $42.20 and we retain our Buy rating.

The post Here’s what brokers are saying about the Woolworths share price post-Q3 update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Volatility got you down? 3 steps to building a robust income from ASX 200 dividend shares
• Woolworths or Coles shares: Which ASX grocery giant would I buy right now?
• Woolworths share price slips as sales leap 8%
• This ASX 200 stock is ‘one of the cheapest defensives’ to buy right now

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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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has followed Wall Street’s lead and dropped deep into the red on Wednesday. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is down 1.25% to 7,176.3 points.

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

Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT)

The Flight Centre share price is up over 1.5% to $20.68. This follows the release of an update from the travel agent giant this morning. Flight Centre revealed that its strong recovery from COVID continued during the third quarter. This culminated in the company delivering monthly total transaction value (TTV) of over $1 billion for the first time in March.

Jumbo Interactive Ltd (ASX: JIN)

The Jumbo share price is up 7% to $13.61. Investors have been buying this lottery ticket seller’s shares following the release of a trading update at an investor conference. Jumbo revealed that trading conditions have been kind and have resulted in lower than expected marketing costs as a percentage of sales.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

The Pilbara Minerals share price is up 3% to $4.22. This may be related to the release of the lithium miner’s corporate presentation after the market close on Tuesday. That presentation outlined the company’s plan to grow its production capacity to 1Mt per annum by 2025 to “capture value and increase revenue.”

Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS)

The Ramelius share price is up 4.5% to $1.33. As well as getting a boost from a rising gold price, investors have been buying this gold miner’s shares after it announced that it has gained control of Breaker Resources NL (ASX: BRB). The company now owns over 50.1% of Breaker’s issued shares.

The post Why Flight Centre, Jumbo, Pilbara Minerals, and Ramelius shares are charging higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• Flight Centre share price lifts following record, $1 billion month
• What’s the forecast for the lithium price in May?
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Tuesday
• Top broker upgrades Flight Centre share price

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 Jumbo Interactive. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group and Jumbo Interactive. 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 a number of strong ASX blue-chip shares for Aussies to choose from. Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) shares and Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) could be two of the leading candidates, but which of these two is the better option?

Coles is one of the leading supermarket businesses in Australia. It also operates some of the leading liquor retail chains in the country, including Coles Liquor, First Choice, Liquorland and Vintage Cellars. It also owns half of the Flybuys loyalty program.

Transurban is a toll road builder and operator. It has assets in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and North America.

Inflation is boosting the revenue of both businesses

A lot of businesses are hurting from higher costs relating to inflation. However, both of these ASX blue-chip shares are seeing increased revenue thanks to the inflationary environment.

In Transurban’s recent presentation to the market, it noted “resilient freight and orbital travel has provided relative traffic stability and growth over recent years, with airport and CBD traffic now recovering well.” It revealed that FY23 third-quarter traffic showed an “uplift across all trip categories.”

Transurban noted that the benefit of short-term higher inflation compounds over the life of CPI-linked toll prices, while interest rates are expected to reduce in the coming years.

In the recent Coles FY23 third quarter update, it said that its continuing operations sales revenue grew by 6.6% to $9.4 billion. The supermarkets saw price inflation of 6.2%. Coles also reminded investors that it’s on track to deliver cumulative ‘smarter selling’ benefits of $1 billion across the four-year program by the end of FY23.

Higher revenue is not guaranteed to turn into higher profit, costs can grow even faster which hurts profitability.

But, profit is going well for both ASX blue-chip shares.  

I think it’s no surprise that the share prices of Coles and Transurban have risen around 10% since the start of the year.

Stronger profits to lead to bigger dividends?

Operating conditions are going so well for Transurban that it recently upgraded its distribution guidance by another 1 cent per security for FY23 to 58 cents per security. This would represent a growth of 41.5% compared to FY22.

However, at the current Transurban share price, it only represents a yield of 4%.

Estimates on Commsec suggest that Coles is going to pay an annual dividend per share of 65.5 cents. This would put the forward grossed-up dividend yield at 5.2%.

Are Coles shares or Transurban shares better?

I think the outlook for both businesses is promising. Transurban’s earnings could be boosted in the future by the WestConnex project, though that does come with execution risks.

For me, I think Coles is the better ASX blue-chip share choice for resilience. Everyone needs to eat food, but not everyone needs to go on a toll road, particularly if people’s budgets are tighter because of the current economic environment. While I’m not expecting another pandemic, I think COVID showed how resilient Coles’ earnings can be in a crisis.

Population growth can help both businesses grow earnings, so I’d be happy to own either of them.

But, I like the stronger passive income potential from Coles, as well as the company’s ongoing focus on improving its operations (‘smarter selling’), combined with a better offering for customers (such as its large own-brand selection of products).

The post Better ASX blue-chip share to buy for resilient returns: Coles vs Transurban appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Volatility got you down? 3 steps to building a robust income from ASX 200 dividend shares
• My 5-step plan to achieving $500 in monthly passive income
• Woolworths or Coles shares: Which ASX grocery giant would I buy right now?
• Is the Coles share price good value after the supermarket giant’s Q3 update?
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 positions in and has recommended Coles 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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It’s fair to say that BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN) shares have had a truly terrible month. Around four weeks ago, the BrainChip share price was sitting at 47 cents. But today, it’s going for just 40 cents, after touching a new 52-week low of 35 cents a share just last week. 

Not much seems to have gone right for BrainChip of late. But the quarterly cash flow activities report that this ASX 200 artificial intelligence share released last week certainly didn’t help. As we went through at the time, BrainChip reported that it received just US$40,000 in revenue over the three months to 31 March 2023. 

BrainChip shares are now down 47.33% in 2023 alone, and by 58% over the past 12 months:

With losses like that under the belt, it might be a good time to check out who actually owns BrainChip shares or at least the largest owners of this company. Luckily, BrainChip has recently released a list of its top 20 shareholders. Let’s take a look.

A look at the top holders of BrainChip shares

According to the company, BrainChip’s top 20 shareholders are as follows:

1. Citicorp, with 9.15% of all outstanding shares
2. Mr Peter Adrien van der Made, with 8.87%
3. Merrill Lynch, with 4.88%
4. BNP Paribas, with 4,75%
5. HSBC, with 4.44%
6. JPMorgan, with 2.82%
7. BNP Paribas (DRP), with 2.53%
8. HSBC (customer accounts), with 1.17%
9. National Nominees, with 0.67%
10. LDA Capital, with 0.52%
11. BNP Paribas (Retail Clients), with 0.47%
12. Mrs Rebecca Ossieran-Moisson, with 0.45%
13. Crossfield Intech (Liebskind Family), with 0.4%
14. Certane CT Pty Ltd (BrainChip’s unallocated long-term incentive plan), with 0.4%
15. Mr Paul Glendon Hunter, with 0.35%
16. Certane CT Pty Ltd ((BrainChip’s allocated long-term incentive plan), with 0.35%
17. Mr Louis Dinardo, with 0.34%
18. Mr Jeffrey Brian Wilton, with 0.31%
19. Mr David James Evans, with 0.31%
20. Superhero Securities (Client Accounts), with 0.3%

So an interesting list to be sure.

Merrill Lynch, HSBC, Citicorp and BNP Paribas are all institutional investors that probably hold BrainChip shares on behalf of their clients. But Peter van der Made, Rebecca Ossieran-Moisson, Paul Hunter, Louis Dinardo, Jeffrey Wilton and David Evans are certainly worth a deeper dive.

Who’s who of BrainChip

It’s no surprise to see van der Made at the top of the shareholders’ list. He is both the founder and current chief technology officer at BrainChip, so it makes sense that he is still one of the largest shareholders of the company.

But the other top individual shareholders are not members of BrainChip’s management or board.

Rebecca Ossieran-Moisson appears to be a Western Australia-based academic.

Paul Hunter is an independent insurance business owner.

Louis Dinardo is actually a former CEO of BrainChip who was abruptly terminated from his role as CEO back in 2021.

Jeffrey Wilson is a former academic and current director of research and economics at the Australian Industry Group.

Finally, David Evans is a partner at an architecture firm, as well as an investor.

So there you have it, BrainChip’s top 20 shareholders. Notably absent is current BrainChip CEO Sean Hehir.

These investors will certainly be feeling the pain from the recent BrainChip share price performance. No doubt all are hoping the worst is over.

The post Who owns BrainChip shares right now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 3 ASX 200 stocks I’ll be watching like a hawk in May
• Why Aeris, Brainchip, Pointsbet, and Syrah shares are falling today
• Why did the BrainChip share price crash 16% today?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• BrainChip share price sinks to multi-year low. What now?

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 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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If you’ve invested in the stock market, or any other asset class, you’ve likely experienced some volatility. Ups and downs are generally an unavoidable part of investing, and they can be particularly irritating to those aiming to realise passive income from S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) dividend stocks.

Fortunately, if the market’s turbulence has you feeling queasy, you can take measures to stabilise both your portfolio and your dividends.

3 steps I’d take to protect my dividend income from volatility

Diversification

One of the simplest and most effective ways to protect a portfolio from volatility is to diversify.

For those seeking stable dividend income from ASX 200 shares, that likely means buying a large handful of stocks operating in various sectors.

That way, your income stream can be protected if a single company or those across a single sector were to lower their dividends. It also means you might be positioned to make the most of an isolated upwards tick.  

Defensive dividends

On top of diversification, one can help guard against volatility by seeking out ASX 200 shares with defensive qualities.

Defensive companies typically offer a product or service that their customers can’t easily do without.

That means they likely won’t see their earnings markedly tumble in tough times. Of course, robust earnings are good news for those seeking dividend income.

Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) and Transurban Group Ltd (ASX: TCL) are examples of defensive ASX 200 shares. Australians likely won’t stop shopping at supermarkets or driving on toll roads no matter the economic environment. Not to mention, both companies boast a degree of pricing power.

Delve deep

Finally, considering the ins and outs of a company’s finances might help an investor identify more secure sources of dividend income. That means delving into the balance sheets of potential investments.

ASX 200 dividends usually represent a portion of a company’s free cash flow – that which it doesn’t need. Thus, if a company has a multitude of debt to service or its earnings are sporadic, its dividends might be a risk.

Those are just two examples of red flags a potential investor might find on a company’s balance sheet. But what about green flags?

I think a consistent earnings stream and manageable debt levels can represent a green flag for investors looking for dividend income.

I also like to consider a company’s dividend history. If it’s historically grown its offering, it’s probably a good sign that management prioritises shareholder payouts. Though, past performance isn’t an indication of future performance.

The post Volatility got you down? 3 steps to building a robust income from ASX 200 dividend shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Woolworths or Coles shares: Which ASX grocery giant would I buy right now?
• Woolworths share price slips as sales leap 8%
• Dalio says US and China ‘on brink of war’. Which ASX shares could be impacted?
• Transurban share price jumps on dividend boost
• This ASX 200 stock is ‘one of the cheapest defensives’ to buy right now

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper 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 helped boost investors’ fortunes in April.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) lithium stock closed at 86 cents apiece on 31 March. By the closing bell on 28 April those same shares were swapping hands for 98 cents apiece.

That’s a one-month gain of 14%.

For some context, the ASX 200 gained 1.8% in April.

Here’s what went right for the Core Lithium share price in April.

What piqued ASX 200 investor interest in April?

April kicked off well for shareholders in the ASX 200 lithium stock.

On 5 April the company reported it was ready to export a maiden 3,500 tonne shipment of spodumene concentrate (5.6% lithium oxide) to Yahua in China from its Finniss Lithium Operation in the Northern Territory.

That export came in ahead of schedule, with the first shipment originally slated for the end of April. The Core Lithium share price closed the day up 8.1%.

Less than two weeks later, on 18 April, the lithium miner released another promising update.

Core Lithium revealed that following its 2022 exploratory drilling program, the mineral resource estimate at the Finnish Lithium Operation had increased by 62%.  The mineral resource estimate was increased to 30.6 million tonnes at 1.31% lithium oxide.

Commenting on the day, Core Lithium CEO Gareth Manderson called it â€œa fantastic outcome for Core and our shareholders”.

He added that increased mineral resource estimate highlighted “the strong potential for life of mine extensions at the Finniss Lithium Operation”.

The Core Lithium share price closed up 6.5% on 18 April.

What else lifted the Core Lithium share price in April?

Core Lithium released its third-quarter activities and cash flow report on 26 April.

The company’s balance sheet was solid, with the miner holding $98 million in cash and cash equivalents as at 31 March.

Core Lithium also reported it has started a $25 million drilling program for 2023. As it tests the potential for life of mine extensions and expansions, that’s nearly twice what the miner spent on its drill campaign in 2022.

“Core is rapidly moving to lithium concentrate producer status,” Manderson said.

The Core Lithium price finished 2.1% higher on the day.

The post The Core Lithium share price surged 14% in April. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• What’s the forecast for the lithium price in May?
• 7 reasons why Core Lithium says you should buy its shares
• Short sellers reveal 4 ways to spot dud ASX shares
• Here are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

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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It’s been a fairly vicious day for ASX 200 investors and the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) so far this Wednesday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has tanked by a nasty 1.04%, pulling the index down to just over 7,190 points. But something else entirely is happening with ASX 200 gold shares.  

Take the ASX 200’s largest gold share, Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM). The Newcrest share price is currently up a rosy 2.31% at $29.26 a share:

Its peer Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) has gained an even more impressive 3.32% to $13.69 a share.

But it’s not just the big dogs. Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) shares have shot up 3.88% to $3.62, while De Grey Mining Limited (ASX: DEG) has rocketed 5.13% to $1.64. Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR) is performing similarly, climbing a happy 5.8% to $1.92 a share.

So what on earth is going on with these ASX 200 gold shares today that have this corner of the market bucking the Index so comprehensively?

Why are ASX 200 gold shares going to the moon today?

Well, we don’t have to look too far to find an answer.

The gold price itself has seen a significant bump over the past 24 hours or so. As my Fool colleague flagged this morning, gold shot back up over the US$2,000 per ounce price point. The precious metal climbed 1.6% overnight alone and is now asking just over US$2,020 an ounce.

It was only a few days ago that gold was going for around US$1,980 for that same ounce, so this is a significant appreciation that we have seen this week so far.

As such, it’s not too surprising to see ASX 200 gold shares light up the ASX sky today. In fact, the gold sector is the only ASX sector in the green today, with all others nursing heavy losses.

Today’s moves are certainly fulfilling ASX 200 gold shares’ traditional reputation as a safe haven, considering the turmoil we are seeing in the broader market. But let’s see what the rest of the week has in store for this ASX sector.

 

The post Why are ASX 200 gold shares going gangbusters today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Dalio says US and China ‘on brink of war’. Which ASX shares could be impacted?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 2 ASX 200 gold stocks just downgraded by brokers (and one upgraded)

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Newcrest Mining. 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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BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) shares are in the red today.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) iron ore miner are down 1.01% in midday trading, currently changing hands for $43.19 apiece.

That puts the BHP share price down 9% over the past 12 months, as iron ore prices have come off the boil.

Of course, this doesn’t include the two juicy dividend payments the ASX 200 miner made over the past full year.

As you may be aware, BHP shares have attracted growing interest from passive income investors for the company’s recent, outsized, fully franked dividends.

How outsized?

On 22 September, BHP paid a final dividend of $2.552 per share. The interim dividend of $1.364 per share will have landed in investor bank accounts on 30 March.

That rounds out to a full-year payout of $3.92 per share, 100% franked.

At the current share price of $43.19, that equates to a trailing yield of 9.1%. Or a handy $91 in annual passive income from a $1,000 investment, with potential tax benefits.

But some ASX 200 investors will be earning a significantly higher dividend yield.

Now before moving on, please note we’re discussing trailing dividend yields here. Future dividend payments will rely on numerous factors.

Dividends from BHP shares in 2023 and 2024 may be higher or lower, depending on various company-specific and macroeconomic factors.

With that said…

Did you buy BHP shares on the July dip?

Buying a company’s shares after they’ve been falling for more than a month can take a cast iron stomach.

After all, there are no guarantees the share price won’t go a lot lower.

But with quality stocks, like BHP shares, buying in after a large retrace has the potential of delivering some outsized share price gains along with a significantly higher passive income stream.

July offered one such opportunity.

Brave – or perhaps well-advised – investors could have bought BHP for $36.10 per share on 15 July.

Those investors will be sitting on a tidy 19.4% share price gain today.

But perhaps even more importantly, they’ll also be earning a 10.8% yield from those shares. Fully 1.7% more than investors who bought at current prices.

That equates to $108 in annual passive income, with franking credits, from a $1,000 investment in BHP shares.

The post Investing for passive income? Here’s your dividend yield if you bought BHP shares in July appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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It’s been a rather horrific day for the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) and most ASX All Ords shares so far this Wednesday.

It seems investors are not taking kindly to the unexpected interest rate rise that we saw yesterday from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). At the present time, the All Ords Index has lost a meaty 1.04%, putting it down to around 7,380 points.

But one ASX All Ords share is doing far worse than that. So let’s talk about the Ooh!Media Ltd (ASX: OML) share price.

Ooh!Media shares are having a shocker so far this morning. This All Ords media and advertising company closed at $1.63 a share yesterday afternoon.

But this morning, the Ooh!Media share price opened at just $1.08 a share, before getting down to the $1.06 we are seeing at present. That’s a whopping 33% slide on yesterday’s close:

So what on earth has prompted this ASX All Ords share to shed a third of its value in just a few hours?

What has caused this ASX share to crater 30%?

Well, it appears the culprit is an investor presentation the company has just released, made at the Macquarie Australia Conference. This presentation included a trading update for Ooh!Media!, which contained some sobering numbers. 

It wasn’t all bad news, with the media company reporting that first-quarter revenues grew by 3% over the corresponding period in 2022. Ooh!Media’s Road and Fly divisions also recorded year-on-year growth rates of 7% and 88% respectively.

But the company revealed that, overall, it had experienced a “softening media market at the end of Q1 and into Q2 due to a decline in the broader macroeconomic environment in Australia and New Zealand”.

Ooh!Media stated that media revenue over April was “particularly soft, pacing at -10 vs pcp [the prior corresponding period]”. Street revenue is another sore point with the company reporting that it “continues to be impacted by the launch of City of Sydney”.

Saying that, Ooh!Media also said that it is seeing a recovery in the May and June numbers, with the quarter ending 30 June 2023 “currently slightly ahead vs the pcp”.

But it’s the negative news that investors seem to be focusing on today.

Ooh!Media share price snapshot

Up until today, Ooh!Media was having a top year, having gained more than 32% year to date. But as it stands at the moment, the company has erased its entire 2023 gains. It is also now down 18.2% over the past 12 months.

At the current Ooh!Media share price, this All Ords media company has a market capitalisation of $603 million, with a dividend yield of 4.23%.

The post oOh!Media share price crashes 30% following ‘particularly soft’ month appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Bye bye OZ Minerals shares
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• Bank of Queensland share price dips following more losses for US regional banks
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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 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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