ASX shares paid out a whopping $97.7 billion of dividends in 2022 – a new record in Australian dollar terms. And a single stock was behind much of that figure.

In fact, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) mining giant has been crowned the world’s biggest dividend payer for the second year running.

That’s according to new data from Janus Henderson Group (ASX: JHG)’s latest Global Dividend Index, considering the top 1,200 global stocks.

Let’s take a closer look at Australia’s record year of dividends and the mining stock behind much of the growth.

Aussie giant crowned world’s biggest dividend payer 

Take a stab at which ASX 200 miner you think might have been behind the world’s largest full-year dividend in 2022. If you guessed BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), you’d be right.

The aptly nicknamed ‘Big Australian’ provided investors with US$3.25 of passive income per share in 2022 – an 8% year-on-year jump.

That was largely thanks to soaring coal prices and despite the iron ore giant having merged its petroleum assets with Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) during the year.

That’s not to say BHP paid the most dividends per share last year, or that it offered the biggest dividend yield. Rather, the total dividends it paid surpassed that of any other share.

BHP was behind a grand total of around US$16.4 billion in ordinary dividends last year. But it was its franking credits that pushed it into the top spot.

Without considering BHP’s franking credits, Brazil’s Petrobras was the world’s biggest payer. It handed investors US$21.7 billion in 2022 – a 138% year-on-year improvement.

ASX 200 shares competing on the global stage

The ASX saw 9.8% of underlying dividend growth last year. However, its headline rate came to a 4.9% drop after exchange rates and fewer special dividends from mining stocks were factored in.

Speaking of falls, Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO)’s total 2022 dividends came in as the world’s seventh largest – down from the third spot in 2021.

Meanwhile, Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) tumbled out of the globe’s top 20 dividend payers entirely. It scraped into the top 10 in 2021.  

Rio Tinto and Fortescue slashed their full-year dividends by 18% and 42% respectively year-on-year in 2022.  

Looking more broadly at the ASX, banking shares and mining stocks made up more than 75% of Australia’s dividends last year, with Aussie banks growing their dividends by 5.9%.

The post ASX shares declared a record $98b of dividends last year. Do you own the market’s biggest payer? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why BHP, Dicker Data, South32, and Winsome Resources are pushing higher
• Should I buy BHP shares at $46?
• Why did the BHP share price tumble 9% in February?
• Own BHP shares? Here’s how the ASX 200 miner is cutting emissions
• Why are ASX 200 mining shares ending the week in the red?

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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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has given back the majority of its intraday gains and is fighting to stay in positive territory. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.1% to 7,256.8 points.

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

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

The BHP share price is up 3.5% to $47.85. Investors have been buying this mining giant’s shares after commodity prices rose overnight. The driver of this was the release of very strong economic data out of China, which has sparked hopes that demand could increase majorly.

Dicker Data Ltd (ASX: DDR)

The Dicker Data share price is up 1.5% to $8.44. Earlier this week, the computer software and hardware distributor revealed that three of its directors have been loading up on shares through on-market trades. With Dicker Data’s shares falling to a 52-week low on Monday, these directors appear to have seen a buying opportunity.

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

The South32 share price is up 5% to $4.69. As with BHP, this is likely to have been driven by a strong night of trade for base metals. As covered here, the copper futures price rose 1.7% and the aluminium futures price climbed 2.3% after data from China showed that manufacturing activity rose at the fastest pace in more than a decade in February.

Winsome Resources Ltd (ASX: WR1)

The Winsome Resources share price is jumping 15% to $2.37. This is despite there being no news out of the lithium explorer. However, investors appear excited by Winesome Resources’ 100%-owned Adina project in Quebec, Canada. It recently released drilling results that “confirm the high-grade nature of the lithium mineralisation at the Adina Main Zone.”

The post Why BHP, Dicker Data, South32, and Winsome Resources are pushing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is the South32 share price surging 5% on Thursday?
• Should I buy BHP shares at $46?
• Why did the BHP share price tumble 9% in February?
• Dicker Data share price falls on FY22 earnings and dividend decline
• Want an income boost? Buy these ASX dividend shares: experts

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 Dicker Data. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Dicker Data. 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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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a small gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.1% to 7,259.4 points.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping:

Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN)

The Brainchip share price is down 3% to 51.5 cents. Investors have continued to sell this semiconductor company’s shares after it reported just US$250k of revenue during the second half of FY 2022. Brainchip remains one of the most shorted shares on the Australian share market. It appears that the smart money believes this the company is all hype and no substance.

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)

The Coles share price is down over 3% to $17.40. The catalyst for this has been the supermarket giant’s shares trading ex-dividend this morning for its upcoming interim dividend. Eligible shareholders can now look forward to receiving this fully franked 36 cents per share dividend at the end of the month on 30 March.

Karoon Energy Ltd (ASX: KAR)

The Karoon Energy share price is down 5% to $2.12. This has been driven by news that the energy producer has been hit with a new tax in Brazil. It revealed that the Brazilian government is putting a 9.2% tax on oil exports for the next four months. Karoon Energy estimates that it will result in a potential payment of US$22 million to US$35 million.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

The Pilbara Minerals share price is down 4% to $4.04. As with Coles, this has been caused by the lithium miner’s shares going ex-dividend. Last month, Pilbara Minerals declared its maiden 11 cents per share fully franked interim dividend. This will be paid to eligible shareholders later this month on 24 March.

The post Why Brainchip, Coles, Karoon Energy, and Pilbara Minerals shares are tumbling appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Someone in China has just sold $600 million of Pilbara Minerals shares. Here’s what we know
• Why is the Pilbara Minerals share price falling in a hole Thursday morning?
• Why is the Coles share price sinking today?
• 4 ASX 200 lithium shares to buy now: broker
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 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 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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Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) shares have gained 4% so far this week.

Shares in the ASX lithium stock are currently trading for $1.40 apiece, which gives it a market cap of $3.1 billion. 

But Stuart Howe, an analyst at Bell Potter, believes Liontown shares could have much further to run.

The broker has a speculative buy rating on the stock, with a price target of $2.81 per share.

That’s 101% above the current Liontown share price.

What’s happening with the ASX lithium stock?

Liontown is currently developing its Kathleen Valley Lithium Project, located in Western Australia.

Lithium mineralisation at the project is hosted within spodumene-bearing pegmatite dykes.

The miner expects first production at the project in mid-2024 with a capacity between three to four million tonnes per year.

In the company’s quarterly results, released 31 January, Liontown did note that it was facing industry-wide cost escalations. However, its balance sheet was strong, with a cash balance of $384 million as at 31 December and an undrawn $300 million debt facility with Ford Motor Company.

Liontown shares closed down 5.7% on the day it reported.

Commenting on the company’s progress towards production, managing director Tony Ottaviano said:

The December quarter marked a significant period of progress for Liontown with construction activity stepping up on-site at Kathleen Valley, key contracts awarded and new personnel joining us as we continued to build our high calibre team.

Ottaviano added, “The rapid and efficient achievement of so many early critical path construction milestones set us up for the successful delivery of the project.”

While first production is still likely more than a year away, Liontown shares could benefit in the meantime from an alternate source of revenue. The company is progressing with a Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) opportunity. This will enable it to sell material that wasn’t originally expected to be processed.

How have Liontown shares been performing?

As you can see on the chart below, Liontown shares are down 7% over the past 12 months.

Longer-term, the ASX lithium stock has gained a whopping 3,400% over five years.

The post Buy Liontown shares for 100% upside: broker appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 4 ASX 200 lithium shares to buy now: broker
• Roar! Broker initiates coverage on Liontown shares with buy rating
• Here are the 10 most shorted ASX shares this week
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why are ASX 200 lithium shares having such a stellar run 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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There’s been plenty of insider buying among S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares this week, with one director snapping up a whopping $198,000 stake in their company.

Let’s take a closer look at all the action going down among market favourites.

6 ASX 200 directors buying their own companies’ shares

The spotlight might be on ASX 200 lithium share Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) this week after the company’s chair Peter Coleman snapped up a sizeable chunk of its securities.

He bought 17,054 Allkem shares between Friday and Tuesday, paying an average of around $11.61 apiece to more than double his holding. That equals a total spend of nearly $198,000.

The buying spree saw the boss bolstering his stake for a bargain price if Goldman Sachs is to be believed. The top broker tipped the Allkem share price to soar to $15.40 earlier this week, as my Fool colleague James reports.

Also the subject of insider buying this week is Charter Hall Retail REIT (ASX: CQR). The real estate investment trust’s (REIT’s) chair Roger Davis bought 38,669 units for around $3.98 apiece on Monday.

Over at banking giant Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), director Anne Templeman-Jones was buying. She snapped up 300 shares for an average price of $101.10 apiece.

Meanwhile, Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP) saw not one, but two board members buying up its shares this week.

Chair Margaret Anne Haseltine bought 7,515 shares for $6.65 apiece while director Brad Soller bought 7,500 for the slightly higher price of $6.66 apiece.

Gold miner Regis Resources Ltd (ASX: RRL) has also seen insider buying this week. Director Paul Arndt bought into the company on Tuesday, acquiring 9,273 shares for a total of around $15,857, or approximately $1.71 apiece.

And finally, Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS) chair Jenny McDonald bolstered her stake in the pathology giant, buying 37,500 shares for $2.751 apiece – a total spend of around $103,000.

The post 6 ASX 200 directors buying up their companies’ shares this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• An insider just loaded up on Allkem shares: Should you buy into this lithium giant?
• 4 ASX 200 lithium shares to buy now: broker
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Watch out CBA: This ASX 200 bank share is rapidly growing
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

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 positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Bapcor. 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 fairly decent day of trading so far this Thursday. At present, the ASX 200 has put on a healthy 0.17%, which lifts the Index to back over 7,260 points. But one ASX 200 share isn’t joining in the fun. That would be Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) shares. 

ASX 200 lithium stock Pilbara has decisively gone the other way today. At the time of writing, the lithium leader has shed a nasty 1.71% and is down to $4.03 a share. It was even worse earlier this morning too, with Piblara dipping as low as $3.96. That’s the lowest this company has been for over a month.

As my Fool colleague Bernd covered this morning, this share price fall is probably the result of Pilbara trading ex-dividend for its first-ever dividend payment to shareholders. But there are also some interesting rumours swirling around about a major investor possibly selling a massive parcel of shares.

As we discussed on Tuesday, rumours have surfaced that China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology (Hong Kong) Limited (CATL) has just sold off a major tranche of Pilbara shares.

CATL has been a Pilbara shareholder since 2019 when it was able to pick up a massive stake in Pilbara at 30 cents per share. CATL reportedly threw $55 million into Pilbara shares back then, worth around 8.5% of Pilbara’s entire market capitalisation at the time.

At today’s share price of $4.03, CATL would have made a return of over 1,240% based on its 30 cents per share entry point. Not bad for just four years of waiting.

Did a whale just sell $600 million of Pilbara shares?

But according to reporting in The Australian today, we can now put a figure on these CATL sale rumours. CATL reportedly might have sold up to $601 million worth of Pilbara shares. The article stated that “the block sale of Chinese battery giant [CATL]’s shareholders was undertaken by brokers, according to reports”.

This could indicate that CATL has sold the majority of its Pilbara stake. The report found that CATL held 207.5 million Pilbara shares on its books as of 14 September 2022. So if CATL has indeed offloaded $600 million worth of shares, it has cashed out around three-quarters of its entire Pilbara stake.

So with so many shares possibly up for sale, it’s perhaps no wonder that the PIlbaa share price has fallen by more than 10% over the past week or so:

The post Someone in China has just sold $600 million of Pilbara Minerals shares. Here’s what we know appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is the Pilbara Minerals share price falling in a hole Thursday morning?
• 4 ASX 200 lithium shares to buy now: broker
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Investing in ASX 200 lithium stocks? Here’s why this 6% decline in China matters
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday

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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The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) share price tumbled 26.1% in February. 

Shares in the buy now, pay later (BNPL) company ended January trading for 69 cents apiece.

By the time the closing bell rang on 28 February, those same shares were changing hands for 51 cents.

So, why did the Zip share price come under so much selling pressure in February?

What headwinds did the ASX BNPL stock face?

It looks like the company was facing headwinds on three fronts this past month.

First, Zip shares found themselves amongst the top ten most shorted shares on the ASX for much of February. The ASX BNPL stock had a 7.4% short interest heading into the last week of the month.

Short interest alone won’t send a company’s share price lower. But high levels of short interest can be a signal of potential problems ahead. And this, in turn, can make other investors hesitant to buy shares.

Another headwind dragging on the Zip share price in February, along with most ASX BNPL stocks, came courtesy of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

This followed ASIC’s announcement of its support for the most stringent of three new regulatory proposals facing the BNPL sector.

That proposal hasn’t been passed into law yet. But should it pass, Zip and other BNPL companies will be subject to essentially the same regulations as credit card companies.

This would include researching their customer’s financial situation before offering them interest free pay by instalment credit lines. And that could lead to fewer customers and lower revenue for the business.

Which brings us to the third headwind pressuring the Zip share price in February.

The company’s half-year earnings results.

While half-year revenue increased by 19% year on year to a record $351 million, Zip still reported a loss after tax of $243 million.

And in the new era of higher interest rates, investors are increasingly wary of investing in loss-making companies.

Zip share price snapshot

As you can see in the chart below, the Zip share price has struggled to hold onto any shorter-term gains, leaving the stock down 74% over the past 12 months.

The post Why did the Zip share price crash 26% in February? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is Choice gunning for ASX BNPL companies like Zip?
• Are Zip shares finally cheap enough to buy following last week’s 12% dive?
• Here are the 10 most shorted ASX shares this week
• Is Block one-upping Zip shares with its double-digit growth?
• Why Platinum, Qantas, Red 5, and Zip shares are dropping 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 positions in and has recommended 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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It’s looking like the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on track to post something of a recovery so far this Thursday. After a pretty rough week, the ASX 200 has gained a healthy 0.21% so far today. But let’s talk about the Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price.

Woolworths shares seemingly didn’t get an invite to this ASX 200 party. While the Index is healthily in the green today, Woolworths shares are nursing a fairly hefty loss. The supermarket giant ended yesterday at $36.77 a share.

But today, Woolies shares are trading at $36.04 at the time of writing. That’s a good 1.99% below where this blue-chip share finished up at yesterday.

So why does it look like investors are singling out Woolworths shares for punishment this Thursday?

Well, they’re not really. See, Woolworths shares are falling today because this ASX blue chip has just traded ex-dividend.

Last month, Woolworths revealed its latest earnings report to investors, covering the six months to 31 December 2022. As we covered at the time, these results were well-received by the market. Woolworths reported sales growth of 4% to $33.17 billion.

The company’s earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose by an even larger 18.4% to $1.64 billion, while net profit after tax (NPAT) was up 14% to $907 million.

This enabled Woolworths to declare a fully franked interim dividend of 46 cents per share for the half. That was a pleasing rise of 17.9% over last year’s interim dividend of 39 cents per share.

Woolworths share price falls as company trades ex-dividend

But, as we warned on Tuesday, eligibility for receiving this dividend is now closed for new investors. That’s because Woolworths has just traded ex-dividend. When a share goes ex-dividend, it cuts off new investors from receiving an upcoming dividend.

Any shareholder who owned Woolworths shares as of yesterday’s close will be receiving this latest 46 cents per share dividend. But any investors who buy Woolies today onwards will not be seeing this next paycheque from the company.

As such, we have just seen Woolworths share become nominally less valuable, reflecting this dividend getting cut off. So it’s no surprise to see the Woolworths share price retreat today, demonstrating this fall in value. This is typically what we see when an ASX share trades ex-dividend.

Eligible Woolworths investors can now look forward to receiving this latest dividend next month on 13 April.

In the meantime, the Woolworths share price right now gives this ASX 200 blue chip share a dividend yield of 2.75%.

The post Why is the Woolworths share price sliding lower today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Own Telstra shares? Here’s how the ASX 200 telco is raising $650 million
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• ASX 200 leaps higher on latest GDP and inflation news

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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Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares are a popular way to generate dividend income. But, I think there are better S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) dividend shares to consider, like Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) shares.

CBA is one of the best banks in Australia. However, it is not immune to the impacts of competition.

For a long time, I’ve thought that lenders essentially offer a commoditised product – there are loads of lenders for borrowers to choose from. Each of them can offer a loan. A lower interest rate on that loan could win a borrower, but it lowers profitability.

If numerous lenders are offering large cash backs or cheaper interest rates, then banks have to compete if they want to retain and win customers.

This dynamic is apparently happening in the Australian loan market right now. The CBA boss confirmed that in his comments after delivering the CBA’s half-year result.

While the short-term profits of CBA are up, I’m not sure how the next 12 months and beyond will develop. Lending margins may not go up as much as previously expected, while it seems almost inevitable to me that arrears and bad debts are going to increase from the very low-level today after all of the interest rate rises.

Hence, there are better ASX 200 share options for dividends in my opinion, such as Telstra.

Growth has returned

In the FY23 half-year result, it reported that total income went up 6.4% to $11.6 billion, underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) climbed 11.4% to $3.9 billion and earnings per share (EPS) soared 27.1% to 7.5 cents.

The profit growth enabled interim dividend growth of 6.3% to 8.5 cents per share.

While CBA also reported profit growth, I think Telstra has a much stronger market position in Australia. Telstra says that it has the largest 5G network, with its 5G population coverage reaching over 81% of the population and it’s “on track” for its FY23 target of 85%.

The ASX 200 dividend share said that it’s currently leading the majority of key mobile and fixed network surveys for coverage and speed.

I like Telstra’s future

I think this strength bodes very well for the future. For starters, Telstra has felt empowered to increase mobile prices in line with inflation. That provides a very useful organic boost to revenue.

Telstra experienced a 4.5% increase in mobile postpaid handheld average revenue per user (ARPU) in the first half of FY23.

I’m also excited about what 5G could mean in the longer term. Telstra has lost a lot of margin and earnings from the shift to the NBN. But, if Telstra is able to offer households a 5G-powered wireless home internet option that’s similar, or better, than the NBN connection then it could lead to a much higher margin on that household for Telstra.

Telstra is expecting solid EPS growth in the next few years, which could fund more dividend growth for the ASX 200 dividend share.

Commsec numbers suggest that Telstra could be paying an annual dividend per share of 19 cents by FY25. That would be a grossed-up dividend yield of 6.7%.

Telstra share price snapshot

Since the start of 2023, Telstra shares have risen 2%.

The post An ASX 200 dividend heavyweight I’d buy over CBA shares right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Own Telstra shares? Here’s how the ASX 200 telco is raising $650 million
• Looking to buy Telstra shares? Boss reveals ‘profound opportunity’ for growth
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• Why Brainchip, Cooper Energy, Link, and Telstra shares are dropping today
• Why is the Telstra share price sliding lower on Wednesday?

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 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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The South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) share price is having a very strong session.

At the time of writing, the mining giant’s shares are up over 5% to $4.72.

Why is the South32 share price charging higher?

Investors have been scrambling to buy this miner’s shares following a strong night for commodity prices.

According to CommSec, base metal prices climbed on Wednesday after data from China showed that manufacturing activity rose at the fastest pace in more than a decade in February.

Given that China is the world’s biggest metals consumer, this has sparked hopes that demand could increase materially for metals. This sent the copper futures price up 1.7% and the aluminium futures price up 2.3%.

It isn’t just the South32 share price that is rising today. The S&P/ASX 200 Resources index is up a solid 2.3% currently, with BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) contributing strongly with gains of over 3%.

Can South32 shares keep rising?

The team at Morgans believes there’s plenty of room for the South32 share price to climb from here. Last month, its analysts put an add rating and $5.60 price target on its shares.

This implies potential upside of almost 19% for investors over the next 12 months.

The post Why is the South32 share price surging 5% on Thursday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Want an income boost? Buy these ASX dividend shares: experts
• Why are ASX 200 mining shares ending the week in the red?
• Bought $1,000 of South32 shares in 2015? Here’s how much passive income you’ve made
• 2 excellent ASX 200 mining shares to buy now: experts
• Passive income watch: 3 ASX 200 shares that slashed their dividends this 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 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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