The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) traded in the green for much of Wednesday before plunging into the red at the last moment. It ended the day 0.09% lower at 7,251.6 points.

And mining shares led much of its gains, with the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) coming in as today’s top-performing sector. It rose 2.3% to regain all of its Monday losses.

The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) also outperformed today, gaining 1.6% following a strong overnight session for oil prices.

Brent crude oil rose 1.7% to US$83.89 a barrel overnight while US Nymex crude oil lifted 1.8% to trade at US$77.05 a barrel.

But not all rejoiced today. The S&P/ASX 200 Communications Index (ASX: XTJ) fell 2.3% on Wednesday as Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) shares traded ex-dividend.

So, with all that covered, which ASX 200 share posted the index’s biggest gain today? Let’s take a look.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown

Today’s top-performing ASX 200 share was none other than Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS). It gained 6.7% to close at $0.955 despite only silence from the gold miner.

These shares made today’s biggest gains:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS)	$0.955	6.7%
St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM)	$0.575	5.5%
Perseus Mining Limited (ASX: PRU)	$2.06	4.83%
Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE)	$11.87	4.58%
Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN)	$86	4.17%
Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN)	$2.83	4.04%
BlueScope Steel Limited (ASX: BSL)	$19.82	3.99%
De Grey Mining Limited (ASX: DEG)	$1.45	3.94%
Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA)	$7.66	3.93%
Regis Resources Ltd (ASX: RRL)	$1.805	3.74%

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

• Own Telstra shares? Here’s how the ASX 200 telco is raising $650 million
• Why are ASX 200 mining shares leading the market today?
• 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
• Why Allkem, Argosy Minerals, Mayne Pharma, and NextDC shares are racing higher

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 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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Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) shares closed the session on Wednesday down 2.8% to $4.04 apiece.

This is likely due to the communications sector stock going ex-dividend today.

Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) closed down 0.1% on a lacklustre day of trading.

What’s this about a bond raise?

The ASX 200 telco hasn’t announced any official news to the market today.

However, The Australian reports that Telstra intends to raise $650 million through an Australian bond raise.

This is the biggest Australian bond raise by the ASX 200 telco since 2017.

The margin is 100 basis points above the bank bill swap rate, with a coupon value of 4.93%.

The senior bond has a five-year timeframe and has reportedly attracted $1.9 billion in demand.

The article states the raise is “believed to be part of Telstra’s normal course of fundraising activities”.

As my Fool colleague Sebastian reports, Telstra shares are among the three most heavily traded ASX 200 stocks on Wednesday.

At the closing bell, more than 15.625 million Telstra shares have swapped hands today.

Should you buy Telstra shares?

As we recently reported, top broker Macquarie is bullish on Telstra shares with a 12-month price target of $4.64. It also forecasts a fully franked full-year dividend of 17 cents per share in FY23.

Macquarie likes Telstra’s higher earnings certainty, strong cash flows, and tax-effective dividend income.

Another top broker, Goldman Sachs, also has a buy rating on Telstra shares and predicts similar growth with a price target of $4.60.

Morgans is the latest broker to put a buy rating on Telstra, with a price target of $4.70.

The post Own Telstra shares? Here’s how the ASX 200 telco is raising $650 million appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• 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
• ASX 200 leaps higher on latest GDP and inflation news

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended 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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The Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price has made a good recovery since its plunges in 2018 and again in 2020. But Telstra management is now eyeing other growth opportunities.

It has gone through the transition to the NBN, which caused a big hit to year-over-year profit growth.

Telstra is now working on rolling out its 5G service to customers. This can unlock new forms of entertainment, communication, and so on. It could also mean that Telstra is able to serve and connect industries in new or different ways.

With that in mind, it has been reported today that Telstra is focused on a particular area for growth. This could also help the Telstra share price.

Can agriculture spur the next leg of earnings growth?

Talking to the Australian Financial Review, Telstra CEO Vicki Brady reportedly named growth of services to agriculture (and other non-traditional markets) as a key focus of her leadership.

These insight came about while the telco’s CEO was attending the annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

An important part of the strategy is working with more industries as digitisation increases. The AFR quoted some of her speech:

It is an exciting time to be in telco, and I’m looking ahead at the next decade as one of profound opportunity…Connectivity is the bedrock, but it is not the end point, it is just the beginning.

She pointed to the Australian Farmers Federation wanting to grow production from $75 billion today to over $100 billion by 2030, which could mean deploying internet of things (IoT) devices and other digital technology.

It could also mean connecting its mobile and IoT networks and satellites with other technologies, such as long-range wi-fi from companies like start-up Zetifi. Brady said:

Zetifi is a good example of us needing to get comfortable with not being the only connectivity option available.

This requires a mindset change. I’ve been in telco for more than two decades, and I’ve seen opportunities pass by because we were defending what we had, instead of thinking about the larger opportunity that could be created if we worked together.

If we don’t, we risk others capturing that value over our networks.

…we are absolutely at our core a telecommunications company and I don’t want it to be misinterpreted, as that will be critical … However, I think we’ve got an opportunity on top of that connectivity, with the ability to partner and co-create.

Overall, this could be quite positive for the business if it unlocks more earnings streams.

Telstra share price snapshot

Since the start of 2023, Telstra shares have risen 2.5%.

The post Looking to buy Telstra shares? Boss reveals ‘profound opportunity’ for growth 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
• Why Brainchip, Cooper Energy, Link, and Telstra shares are dropping today
• Why is the Telstra share price sliding lower on Wednesday?
• Top ASX shares to buy in March 2023
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Tuesday

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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When we hear that a director, let alone the CEO, of an ASX 200 share that we own is selling shares, it can cause some consternation. But $1 million worth of shares? Now we have something worth talking about.

That’s exactly the situation faced by investors in Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL) today.

This morning, Super Retail Group, the company behind famous retail names like Rebel, BCF and Super Cheap Auto, put out an ASX announcement detailing this director transaction.

It reveals that Super Retail CEO and group managing director Anthony Heraghty offloaded a total of 87,000 shares of Super Retail Group last month. The transactions occurred over 22, 23 and 24 February, and amounted to a value of just over $1.17 million.

That implies an average sale share price of roughly $13.46 per share. That’s fairly close to Super Retail’s new 52-week high of $13.75 that we saw the company hit late last month.

Today, Super Retail shares are going for a bit below that level, asking $12.98 each at the time of writing.

Heraghty has been the CEO of Super Retail since early 2019. So why is the CEO of this company selling shares? Does this mean investors should follow suit and bail out?

ASX 200 CEO sells shares, should investors be worried?

Well, not really. CEOs buy and sell shares of their companies all of the time. We investors obviously like to see management have the same skin in the game as we do.

But even CEOs need to think about wealth diversification. It’s rarely good investing practice to tie up 100% of one’s wealth in a single share, even for an ASX 200 CEO.

In a statement put out concurrently with the ASX notice, Super Retail clarified that Heraghty’s share sales have “been undertaken to fund a tax payment relating to the exercise of vested performance rights”.

It also stressed that “Mr Heraghty continues to hold 252,840 ordinary shares and 340,986 performance rights in the Company”.

Those ordinary shares alone would have a value of just over $3.28 million today. So it’s not as though the CEO doesn’t still have a lot of skin in the game here.

So it’s up to investors to decide whether this sale of Super Retail Group’s shares by its CEO is worthy of concern or not. But from the outside, this doesn’t look like anything too out of the ordinary for a director.

The post Why did this ASX 200 CEO just sell $1 million worth of his company’s shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 3 ASX 300 shares soaring to new 52-week highs on Friday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why A2 Milk, Piedmont Lithium, QBE, and Super Retail shares are racing higher
• Why term deposits can’t compete with these 5 ASX dividend machines

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

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As the close of trading draws near, the top 5 best-performing shares of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) are all mining stocks.

Leading the bunch is ASX gold share Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS), up 6.15% to 95 cents.

Next on the list is ASX lithium share Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE), up 5.77% to $12.01.

Then we have gold miner Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN), whose share price is up 4.78% to $2.85.

It’s followed by iron ore share Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA), up 4.6% to $7.70.

Rounding out the top 5 are Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) shares, up 4.6% to $86.34.

What’s pushing ASX 200 mining shares higher?

Ramelius Resources has not reported any news today. However, Ramelius shares have risen by 14% since the miner released its 1H FY23 results on 21 February.

The miner reported a small decline in sales revenue to $304.8 million and a 33.7% decline in underlying EBITDA to $106.3 million. However, it reaffirmed its FY23 production guidance of between 240,000 ounces and 280,000 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost of between $1,750 per ounce and $1,950 per ounce.

Moving on to Allkem shares, which are shining brightly today after top broker Goldman Sachs backed the company to withstand the coming decline in lithium prices better than other ASX lithium shares.

The broker reckons there’s a 30%-plus upside for Allkem shares over the next 12 months.

As my Fool colleague James reports, Goldman says Allkem’s production growth potential and downstream opportunity will see it through a big decline in lithium prices over the next few years.

Evolution Mining told the ASX yesterday it has seen ongoing drilling success at its Ernest Henry site. Investors are excited about the news, with Evolution shares up 7% since the announcement.

Evolution Mining CEO Lawrie Conway said: “The significance of the recent drilling intercepts released today indicates that Bert, which is located adjacent to the open pit, is a sizable mineralisation domain that remains open down-plunge.”

There’s been no news from Champion Iron over the past three weeks.

Finally, Mineral Resources shares are also up on no news today. However, last week the company revealed incredible earnings growth in its 1H FY23 report.

Its net profit after tax (NPAT) went up 1,890% to $390 million over the half. Revenue increased by 74% to $2,350 million, driven by turbocharged lithium revenue of $997.2 million, up from $143 million year over year.

The post Why are ASX 200 mining shares leading the market today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Investing in ASX 200 lithium stocks? Here’s why this 6% decline in China matters
• Why Allkem, Argosy Minerals, Mayne Pharma, and NextDC shares are racing higher
• Own ASX lithium shares? Here is the latest Goldman Sachs lithium price forecast
• Broker says buy ASX 200 lithium share Allkem for 34% upside
• Get a second income with these ASX dividend shares: experts

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in Allkem. 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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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) lithium stocks are shrugging off some potentially concerning news about the outlook for the battery-critical metal. At least for now.

We’ll get to that news in a tick.

First, here’s how the top five lithium shares are performing in afternoon trade today:

• Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) shares are up 2.4%
• Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) shares are up 2.7%
• Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) shares are up 5.2%
• IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) shares are up 2.8%
• Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) shares are up 3.49%

Looks like greed is trumping fear for investors in ASX 200 lithium stocks today.

But should they be concerned?

Why this 6% decline in China matters for ASX 200 lithium stocks

China produces approximately 75% of the world’s lithium-ion batteries each year.

And the Middle Kingdom boasts by far the largest production and sales figures for EVs of any nation on Earth.

In December alone, the China Automobile Association reported China produced 795,000 EVs. And the nation’s dealers dipped into their inventories, with a whopping 814,000 EVs sold.

The story was much the same throughout 2022. And this surge in demand helped drive lithium prices to all-time highs last year. Since that peak, prices have retraced some 30%. But many analysts are forecasting they could have further to fall.

The decline is partly demand related.

As Reuters reports, January saw a 6.3% decline in sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids in China. That’s after the sector grew 90% in 2022.

Commenting on the potential impact, Barrenjoey analysts said, “While we remain positive on the long-term outlook for lithium, the short-term outlook is less clear, with a clear acceleration in China EV sales needed to allay market fears.”

January’s decline is likely linked to the government’s plan to end subsidies for EVs. But it’s fuelling concerns that demand growth may slow just as supply growth looks set to explode.

Too much lithium?

ASX 200 lithium stocks could come under pressure more from a potential excess supply hitting the markets than from any big fall in demand.

And some analysts are forecasting this will see prices for the battery-critical metal continue to fall.

Chinese spot prices for lithium carbonate have dropped from some 600,000 yuan ($128,000) per tonne at the November peak to around 400,000 yuan ($86,000) today.

Commenting on market dynamics, vice president at Rystad Energy Susan Zou said (as quoted by Reuters):

Demand is still healthy, but battery and EV makers are currently destocking instead of placing new orders. The subdued spot demand therefore is weighing on sentiment and pressing down prices..

A lithium carbonate price of 200,000-300,000 yuan per tonne is where both upstream and downstream will feel comfortable.

“Supply is coming on stream faster than you can say ‘boo’,” Ord Minnett analyst Dylan Kelly added. “Demand remains strong, but prices have been unsustainable for some time now.”

Indeed, many lithium miners are not yet at the production stage. As they do begin producing, global supplies will ramp up.

Even among the ASX 200 lithium stocks, only Allkem, Mineral Resources, and Pilbara Minerals are currently producing.

Core Lithium looks to be next in line. Maiden spodumene concentrate production from its Finniss Lithium Project is expected to commence in the first half of 2023.

The post Investing in ASX 200 lithium stocks? Here’s why this 6% decline in China matters 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
• Why Allkem, Argosy Minerals, Mayne Pharma, and NextDC shares are racing higher
• Why did the Pilbara Minerals share price sink 9% in February?
• Own ASX lithium shares? Here is the latest Goldman Sachs lithium price forecast
• Broker says buy ASX 200 lithium share Allkem for 34% upside

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 February earnings season saw plenty of ups and downs, as well as some insider buying among these S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares.

They’ve each seen directors trading in their company’s stocks over the last week.

So, which ASX 200 directors were buying, and how much were they snapping up? Let’s take a look.

6 ASX 200 directors buying their company shares

Insider buying is often taken as a sign those working behind the scenes at an ASX 200 company are bullish on its share price’s future.

Thus, a barrage of director trades in Dexus Property Group (ASX: DXS) stock might have pricked the ears of market watchers. Particularly the $216,794 trade made by director Paula Dwyer, who snapped up 25,000 shares last Wednesday.

And Dwyer’s wasn’t the only insider to buy. Directors Elana Rubin and Rhoda Phillippo forked out $50,052 and $21,357 respectively for parcels of 5,813 shares and 2,500 shares over the course of the week.

AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL) has also seen recent insider buying, with director John Pollaers buying 10,000 shares for around $6.92 apiece.

Over at ASX 200 financials giant AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP), director Michael Sammells was on a share-buying spree. He snapped up 50,000 stocks in the company for around $1.09 apiece – sneaking in before it traded ex-dividend.

Meanwhile, Ansell Limited (ASX: ANN) director Debra Goodin bought 486 shares in the personal protective equipment manufacturer for a total of $12,959.34.

Director of hauling company Aurizon Holdings Limited (ASX: AZJ), Lyell Strambi, also got in on the insider buying action over the last week. He bought 5,952 shares for $3.36 each – a total of approximately $20,000.

And finally, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN) director David Foster bought 1,021 shares in the regional bank for $9.79 apiece – forking out $9,996 for the additional parcel.

The post 6 ASX 200 directors buying up their company shares in the past week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• AMP shares drop then pop amid ex-dividend and delay of $225 million sale
• Why is the AMP share price sinking today?
• These ASX 200 shares were crushed in February
• Hoping to bag the newly reinstated AMP dividend? Read this
• I’d invest $5,000 into these excellent ASX shares for the long term

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 positions in and has recommended Bendigo And Adelaide Bank. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Ansell and Aurizon. 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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Many of Australia’s top brokers have been busy adjusting their financial models again, leading to the release of a number of broker notes this week.

Three ASX shares brokers have named as buys this week are listed below. Here’s why they are bullish on them:

Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN)

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts have retained their buy rating on this retail giant’s shares with a trimmed price target of $4.70. Although disappointed with the company’s first-half performance, Goldman believes the half represents the peak cash drag on franchisee support and sees a lot of value in its property. The broker also notes that ex-property, its shares are trading at just 6x FY 2024 estimated earnings. This compares to 14.5x earnings for its arch-rival. The Harvey Norman share price is trading at $3.78 this afternoon.

NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

A note out of Morgans reveals that its analysts have retained their add rating on this data centre operator’s shares with a reduced price target of $13.00. Morgans notes that NextDC delivered earnings slightly ahead of its expectations during the first half. The broker also highlights that management is expecting some material contract wins in the second half. The NextDC share price is fetching $10.55 on Wednesday.

Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR)

Another note out of Morgans revealed that its analysts have retained their add rating on this payments company’s shares with an improved price target of $1.89. It was pleased with Tyro’s performance in the first half. And based on its decent start to the second half, the broker expects the company to achieve its guidance in FY 2023. It also isn’t ruling out another takeover approach this year, which it suspects would drive its shares beyond its price target. The Tyro share price is trading at $1.59 today.

The post Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Allkem, Argosy Minerals, Mayne Pharma, and NextDC shares are racing higher
• Buying opportunity? Harvey Norman boss says share slump is a ‘total overreaction’
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Why Accent, Adbri, Harvey Norman, and Pointsbet shares are sinking
• 3 ASX 200 shares making big moves on earnings announcements

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Nextdc. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Harvey Norman and Tyro Payments. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Harvey Norman. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Tyro Payments. 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 shaken off some morning blues so far this Wednesday to push higher this afternoon. After falling as much as 0.5% this morning, the ASX 200 is back in the green at the time of writing and is up a tentative 0.07% at just over 7,260 points.

Happy days! But time now to delve a little deeper into the ASX 200’s rather indecisive day of trading thus far, by checking out the stocks that are topping the ASX 200’s share trading volume charts right now, according to investing.com.

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Wednesday

Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA)

First up this Wednesday is the ASX 200 lithium stock Sayona Mining. This session has seen a sizeable 12.62 million Sayona shares swapped as it currently stands. There hasn’t been any price-sensitive news out of Sayona so far today.

However, this lithium share has still shot up by a pleasing 2.98% thus far to 24 cents a share. Most lithium shares are enjoying some big gains this Wednesday, despite no major news coming out of the sector. It’s this gain that probably explains the high volumes we are seeing here.

Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS)

Next up is ASX 200 telco Telstra. So far this trading day, a decent 13.42 million Telstra shares have been dialled in for trading. There’s been no news out from Telstra itself either. But the company has just traded ex-dividend this morning for its upcoming interim dividend payment.

As a consequence, the Telstra share price has shed a chunky 2.3% or so at this point of the session. This is probably the source of Telstra’s high elevated trading volumes. Investors can now look forward to receiving Telstra’s 8.5 cents per share dividend on 31 March later this month.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Finally this Wednesday, let’s look at Sayona’s fellow ASX 200 lithium share Pilbara Minerals. Today’s trading has seen a hefty 29.25 million PIlbara shares bought and sold thus far.

All has been quiet on the Pilbara news front as well. So it’s likely we are seeing a similar situation to that of Sayona Mining here. In Pilbara’s case, investors are enjoying even higher gains so far, with the Pilbara share price up a robust 4.20% at $4.34 a share right now.

Such a big share price lift has almost certainly caused the high share volume on display here.

The post Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Brainchip, Cooper Energy, Link, and Telstra shares are dropping today
• ASX 200 leaps higher on latest GDP and inflation news
• Why did the Pilbara Minerals share price sink 9% in February?
• Why is the Telstra share price sliding lower on Wednesday?
• These ASX 200 shares were crushed in February

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Telstra Group. 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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BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) shares are trading higher on Wednesday.

In afternoon trade, the mining giant’s shares are up 2.5% to $46.39.

Investors have been piling into the resources sector today following the release of strong economic data out of China.

According to CNBC, China’s official manufacturing PMI hit 52.6 in February, which is above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction. Importantly, it is also the highest reading since April 2012, when the manufacturing PMI hit 53.5.

Should you buy BHP shares at $46?

In light of the above, investors may be wondering if BHP shares are good value at $46.00.

Unfortunately, opinion remains divided on the mining giant at the current level.

Goldman Sachs, for example, sees modest upside for the Big Australian’s shares and has a neutral rating and $48.00 price target. It commented:

BHP is currently trading at ~6x NTM EBITDA vs. global peers (including RIO, GLEN & AAL) at ~5x EBITDA, and at ~1.1x NAV vs. RIO at ~0.9x NAV. Although we believe this premium vs. peers can be partly maintained due to ongoing superior margins and operating performance (particularly in Pilbara iron ore), high returning copper growth, and lower iron ore replacement & decarbonisation capex, we highlight potential downside to our PT of A$48.0/sh.

However, over at Macquarie, its analysts are far more positive and see plenty of value in the BHP share price.

Last week, the broker put an outperform rating and $52.00 price target on its shares. This implies potential upside of 12% over the next 12 months.

In addition, the broker is expecting a ~$2.66 per share fully franked dividend in FY 2023. This equates to a 5.7% dividend yield, which stretches the total potential return to almost 18%.

Time will tell which broker makes the right call.

The post Should I buy BHP shares at $46? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 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?
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now
• Could this send the BHP share price rocketing to all-time highs?

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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://www.fool.com.au/2023/03/01/should-i-buy-bhp-shares-at-46/