It’s been a pretty disappointing day for ASX shares and the ASX 200 Index so far this Wednesday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has slipped by 0.31% to under 7,315 points. But one ASX 200 share, perhaps mercifully, is sitting this session out. That would be the Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR) share price.

Yesterday, this ASX 200 casino operator and gaming company closed at $1.52 a share. And that’s where it will be staying, at least for a while. This is due to Star announcing a trading halt for its shares this morning before market open.

Yes, in an ASX release today, Star announced that its shares would be put on ice.

Why?

Star share price on ice as capital initiatives announced

Well, Star Entertainment has told investors that “the Trading Halt is necessary as The Star expects to make an announcement to ASX regarding capital structure initiatives“.

As such, the shares will remain halted until either 24 February or until “such time as The Star releases an announcement to ASX in relation to the capital structure initiatives”.

And that’s all we know for now.

Of course, the Star share price has had a truly awful month. Back on 13 February, the company released an earnings and guidance update which spooked investors mightily.

Star told the markets that it is anticipating a non-cash impairment charge of between $400 million and $1.6 billion in its half-year results, depending on the impact of the proposed changes to New South Wales casino duty.

It also declared that it is expecting to report full-year underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) between $330 million and $360 million.

Investors were not impressed, to say the least. On the day this guidance came up, the Star share price cratered by a horrendous 20.74%, and lost another 13.4% the following day too, reaching a record-low share price of $1.28 in the process:

Until yesterday, the Star share price had recovered somewhat from these lows. But it will interesting to see what investors make of this latest announcement. Or indeed exactly what kind of “capital structure initiatives” Star has up its sleeve.

The post Why is the Star Entertainment share price on ice today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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The Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP) share price has come crashing down to earth on Wednesday.

In afternoon trade, the pizza chain operator’s shares are down 21% to $56.23.

This follows the release of the company’s half-year results, which fell short of the market’s already low expectations.

But the Domino’s share price isn’t the only thing in freefall today. This morning, the company revealed that it would be slashing its dividend.

The Domino’s board has elected to cut its interim dividend by a disappointing 23.8% to 67.4 cents per share.

Why has the Domino’s dividend being cut?

Domino’s was forced to cut its dividend in response to a sizeable profit decline during the first half.

For the six months ended 31 December, Domino’s reported a 1.2% increase in sales to $1.97 billion but a 21.5% decline in underlying net profit after tax to $71.7 million.

This poor form was driven by the company’s failure to combat inflation effectively. The company’s CEO, Don Meij, explained:

Given the challenging conditions and the effect on our franchisees we felt it was necessary to lift prices, including applying some surcharges. This was successful in protecting franchisee profitability, however given the speed of the change it was difficult to forecast the effect on customer repurchasing rates, especially where customers order less frequently such as Japan or Germany.

It meant while we saw an initial benefit to franchisees’ unit economics, specific customer groupings, particularly in delivery, reduced their ordering frequency which resulted in December trading being significantly below our expectations.

And while management suspects that the company may fall short of its medium term same store sales growth and store expansion targets in FY 2023, it remains positive on the future and expects to return to positive same store sales growth once it is able to balance the value equation for customers.

All being well, this could mean that the Domino’s dividend returns to growth again in FY 2024.

The post What took a 24% bite out of the Dominos’ dividend? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Domino’s share price crashes 23% following disappointing first-half result
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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Domino’s Pizza Enterprises. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Domino’s Pizza Enterprises. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Domino’s Pizza Enterprises. 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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ASX mining share FYI Resources Ltd (ASX: FYI) is having a day to forget.

The small-cap mining stock closed on Friday at 16 cents per share before entering a trading halt pending an announcement.

On making that announcement and exiting the trading halt today, the FYI Resources share price plunged 64%. Shares are currently trading for 5.8 cents apiece.

Here’s what’s happening.

Why are investors selling off the ASX mining share today?

FYI Resources is under heavy selling pressure after the company reported that Alcoa of Australia Limited (a subsidiary of Alcoa Corporation, the world’s eighth-largest producer of aluminium) has withdrawn as a project partner for FYI’s high purity alumina (HPA) development strategy.

FYI affirmed its committed to progressing the HPA project development and said it would now resume control of its HPA production plans.

In 2021, Alcoa of Australia executed a binding term sheet with the ASX mining share to jointly develop HPA production. Alcoa pitched in some US$5 million for the stage one development activities.

With Alcoa now stepping aside, FYI will retain joint access to all HPA project IP, data and information, assets, and customer relationships developed during the project.

Commenting on the development sending the ASX mining share plunging today, FYI Resources managing director Roland Hill said:

While this is not the outcome we envisaged, the HPA project has advanced considerably, benefitting from Alcoa’s rigour and US$5 million investment. FYI recognises the value proposition of the strategy and views regaining control and management of the project as an opportunity.

Looking ahead, Hill added, “FYI intends to adopt a project schedule with emphasis on an accelerated timelier approach to development. We have a highly experienced team that can move the project forward.”

The company said it is “adequately funded” with just over $10 million in treasury to continue its small-scale production and demonstration development work.

FYI Resources share price snapshot

As you can see in the chart below, the FYI Resources share price was solidly in the green for 2023…until today.

With the big intraday fall factored in, the ASX mining share is now down 59% year to date.

The post Why did this ASX mining share just crash 64%? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• What took a 24% bite out of the Dominos’ dividend?
• Bought $1,000 of South32 shares in 2015? Here’s how much passive income you’ve made
• Should I buy BHP’s shares after the ASX 200 miner’s latest update?
• Here’s why the AGL share price is dipping on Wednesday
• 3 ASX All Ordinaries stocks climbing on strong earnings updates

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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Did you invest in South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) shares when the company split from BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) to float on the ASX in 2015? If you did, you’ve nearly doubled your money.

South32 was spun out of the iron ore giant in 2015, taking many of its alumina, aluminium, coal, manganese, nickel, silver, lead, and zinc assets with it.

As part of the demerger, BHP investors were offered one share in South32 for every share they held in BHP.

South32’s first day on the ASX saw its stock closing at $2.05. Nearly eight years later, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) mining share was trading for $4.58 apiece as of yesterday’s close – representing a 123% gain.

That means $1,000 invested in May 2015 would today be worth around $2,230.46.

But what about the dividends handed out by the now-mining giant over its listed life? Let’s take a look.

All dividends offered to those holding South32 shares

Here are all the dividends paid to those invested in South32 shares since it listed, rounded to the nearest tenth of a cent:

Suncorp dividends’ pay date	Type	Dividend amount
October 2022	Final and special	20.7 cents and 4.4 cents
April 2022	Interim	11.9 cents
October 2021	Final and special	4.8 cents and 2.7 cents
April 2021	Interim	1.8 cents
October 2020	Final	1.4 cents
April 2020	Interim	3.3 cents
October 2019	Final	4.1 cents
April 2019	Interim	9.6 cents
October 2018	Final	8.7 cents
April 2018	Interim	9 cents
October 2017	Final	8 cents
April 2017	Interim	4.8 cents
October 2016	Final	1.3 cents
Total:		96.5 cents

As readers can see, each South32 share has yielded 69.5 cents of dividends over its life. That means our figurative $1,000 parcel has likely brought in $338.465 of passive income.

Considering both the payouts and the South32 share price’s gains, investors have seen a return on investment (ROI) of 157%.

And that’s before considering the franking credits that have come with nearly all the ASX 200 company’s dividends. They could have brought tax benefits for some investors.

Further, reinvesting the payouts could have seen an investor compound their returns further.

South32 shares currently trade with a 7.1% dividend yield.

Looking forward, the company’s next dividend will be worth 4.9 US cents and will be paid in early April.

The post Bought $1,000 of South32 shares in 2015? Here’s how much passive income you’ve made appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) shares are having a relatively flat session.

In afternoon trade, the ASX 200 mining giant’s shares are trading 0.1% lower at $48.24.

This means the BHP share price is now down 10% from its recent high.

Should you buy BHP shares following its update?

According to a note out of Morgans, its analysts were disappointed with the Big Australian’s first-half result and notes that it fell well short of expectations. It commented:

BHP reported a softer start to FY23 than we expected, with inflationary pressures and added inventory costs contributing to lower first half earnings. 1H23 missed consensus estimates by 5% at both EBITDA and EPS.

In light of this, the broker believes investors should keep their powder dry and wait for a better entry point.

The note reveals that its analysts have retained their hold rating with a trimmed price target of $46.70. This implies potential downside of 3.2% from current levels. Morgans adds:

Post the 1H23 result we maintain our HOLD rating. We continue to view BHP as offering exposure to China re-opening, with high quality earnings and a healthy dividend. Although at current levels it appears trading around fair value territory.

It’s a similar story over at Goldman Sachs. Its analysts have retained their neutral rating with a trimmed price target of $48.00 on BHP’s shares. The broker 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.

The post Should I buy BHP’s shares after the ASX 200 miner’s latest update? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has 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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To start with, most ASX 200 shares are having a rough time today. At present, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down by 0.43% at around 7,300 points. But the AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL) share price is seemingly having a worse day than most.

AGL shares closed at $6.95 yesterday. But today, the ASX 200 energy generator and retailer opened at $6.93 a share and has fallen down to $6.88. That’s a drop of just over 1% – more than double the falls of the broader market.

But it’s not as bad as it looks. AGL shares are falling today for one of the best reasons to have an ASX 200 share fall in value – the company has just traded ex-dividend.

AGL share price falls as investors book in dividend

Earlier this month, AGL announced its latest earnings to the market, covering the first half of FY2023. As we covered at the time, it was a fairly brutal report for shareholders to read.

AGL reported that its underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) fell by a horrendous 55% from the previous year to $87 million for the half. And AGL revealed that it would be bringing home a statutory loss after tax of $1.1 billion.

The company’s dividends did not get through unscathed either. This year’s interim dividend comes in at 8 cents per share, unfranked. That’s a 50% cut from last year’s 16 cents per share dividend.

So today, AGL shares have traded ex-dividend for said shareholder payment. This means that any new investors in AGL from today are not eligible to receive this latest dividend.

As such, the value of this payment has now left the AGL share price, which is probably why we are seeing the shares lose a big chunk of value on the share market today.

This latest dividend from AGL brings its total payouts for the past 12 months to an unfranked 18 cents per share. That gives the AGL share price a dividend yield of 2.62% right now.

The post Here’s why the AGL share price is dipping on Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price is trading lower on Wednesday.

In late morning trade, the lithium miner’s shares are down 1.5% to $4.32.

Why is the Pilbara Minerals share price falling?

The Pilbara Minerals share price is in the red today after broad market weakness offset the release of a positive announcement.

That announcement reveals that finance agreements have been executed for the A$250 million long-term debt facility with Australian Government agencies Export Finance Australia and Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.

In addition, Pilbara Minerals has taken the opportunity to refinance its existing US dollar secured syndicated debt facility on improved terms.

What will the funds be used for?

Management notes that collectively, these new debt facilities support Pilbara Minerals’ strategy to expand, grow, and diversify its business further down the battery materials supply chain.

The debt facility being provided by the Government Agencies will support the construction of the P680 Project expansion at the Pilgan Plant and a new 5Mtpa integrated crushing and ore sorting facility.

The former will deliver an additional 100,000tpa of spodumene concentrate production, whereas the latter will support future expansions that could ultimately deliver up to 1Mtpa of spodumene concentrate capacity across the Pilgangoora Project.

Pilbara Minerals’ CEO, Dale Henderson, commented:

We are extremely pleased to have once again received strong financial support from the Australian Government and our commercial lending partners. The continued support from the Australian Government is a significant endorsement of Pilbara Minerals’ assets and operations, recognising their strategic significance in the global battery materials supply chain.

With the completion of these new finance facilities, Pilbara Minerals is now incredibly well positioned to pursue our long-term growth and diversification ambitions to become a fully integrated lithium raw materials and chemicals supplier – and to play a pivotal role as a battery materials supplier for many decades to come.

The post Pilbara Minerals share price dips despite cash injection appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has 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 looking like another dreary day for ASX shares and the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) so far this Wednesday. At present, the ASX 200 has lost a depressing 0.62%, falling back below 7,300 points. But that’s nothing against the seemingly nasty fall of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price. 

CBA shares closed at $101.52 each yesterday. But this morning, the ASX 200’s largest bank share opened at just $98.70 and is going for $98.95 at the time of writing, down what would be a nasty 2.53% so far today:

But investors shouldn’t get into a twist over these losses. That’s because there’s a very good reason CBA shares are dropping so dramatically today. The bank has just traded ex-dividend for its next shareholder payment.

Earlier this month, CBA reported its latest earnings, covering the first half of FY2023. The bank gave investors some pleasing metrics to look over, including a 9% rise in cash net profit to $5.15 billion, as well as a 12% lift to operating income to $13.59 billion.

But many investors own CBA shares solely for that big four bank dividend. And the Commonwealth Bank didn’t disappoint in that arena.

CBA share price slides on largest interim dividend ever

The bank declared that its first dividend of 2023 would be worth $2.10 per share, fully franked. That was a pleasing hike over 2022’s interim dividend of $1.75 per share. This year’s payment is the largest-ever interim dividend to come out of CBA.

But with a dividend comes an ex-dividend date. And that date is today. This means that from this Wednesday, any new shareholders of CBA are now ineligible to receive this latest dividend payment.

As such, CBA shares have just become nominally less valuable – the company’s shares came with a dividend yesterday, but not today. That’s why we are seeing a big drop in the CBA share price. This is a normal occurrence when a dividend share trades ex-dividend – there’s no free lunch here.

So eligible investors can now look forward to receiving this latest dividend from CBA next month on 30 March. But they have until this Friday, 24 February, to opt for the optional dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) if they so wish. This gives investors the option of receiving additional CBA shares in lieu of the normal dividend cash payment.

At the current CBA share price, this ASX 200 bank share now has a dividend yield of 4.25%.

The post Why is the CBA share price sliding on Wednesday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Hoping to pocket the next CBA dividend? Here’s what you need to do
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• Passive income watch: 3 ASX 200 shares that announced boosted dividends this week

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 Flight Centre Travel Group Limited (ASX: FLT) share price is in the red on Wednesday amid the company posting an underlying pre-tax loss of $2.4 million for the first half, as The Motley Fool Australia reported earlier.

That’s a major improvement on the $188 million loss it posted for the same period of last financial year.

Though, brokers were disappointed by its performance in the Americas.

The Flight Centre share price is $18.04 right now, 3.01% lower than its previous close.

Let’s take a look at what might be going so wrong for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) travel giant.

Flight Centre share price falls as broker responds to earnings

Flight Centre is “lying foundations for more meaningful profit recovery”, CEO Graham Turner says, but it seems that’s not enough to boost its share price today.

It’s falling as the company’s operating cash flow and performance in the Americas disappoints broker Goldman Sachs.

The Americas region brought in $2.11 billion of total transaction value (TTV) for the company. That’s up 149% year-on-year but 14.9% lower than the broker’s forecasts.

That was offset by Australia and New Zealand’s $5.22 billion of TTV – a 290% jump and 17.2% more than Goldman Sachs tipped.

The group’s $9.9 billion of TTV and $1 billion of revenue beat expectations by 2.5% and 3.2% respectively. Though, its operating cash flow disappointed in a major way. It came in at a $91.8 million loss, compared to a forecasted $8.9 million positive result.

Ultimately, the results failed to convince the broker. Goldman Sachs remains neutral on Flight Centre’s shares, slapping them with a $16.40 price target – a potential 9% downside.

At the same time, Morgans was expecting the company to post around $80 million of corporate earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA), my Fool colleague James reported last week. It also might’ve had its eye out for a guidance upgrade.

Neither of these outcomes occurred today. Flight Centre’s corporate EBITDA was $72 million and its underlying EBITDA guidance remained at $250 million to $280 million.

Looking forward, Turner said the company hasn’t noticed any downturn amid rising cost of living pressures, saying customers view travel as essential.

The ASX 200 travel giant also declined to offer a dividend for this half. Though, it’s started a review of its capital structures ahead of an expected uptick in earnings and cash.

The post Flight Centre share price tumbles despite losses narrowing appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 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) dividend has been supercharged on the back of strong earnings during the first half of FY23.

Woolworths shareholders will receive a fully franked dividend of 46 cents per share on 13 April.

That’s 17.9% higher than last year’s interim Woolworths dividend and ahead of analysts’ expectations, which were 43.9 cents per share.

Why has Woollies turbocharged its dividend?

In short, a big profit is the reason why Woolworths has raised its interim dividend this year.

As my Fool colleague James reported this morning, Woollies beat expectations on many financial metrics.

The supermarket chain raised prices due to inflation, while a reduction in COVID-19 costs allowed it to boost its net profit after tax (NPAT) by 14% to $907 million. Sales were also up 4% to $33,169 million.

Woolworths raised its food prices by an average of 7.7%, which is in line with the headline inflation figure in Australia of 7.8% per annum.

In 1H FY22, the company encountered direct COVID costs of $239 million. Obviously, that didn’t happen in 1H FY23, which made a massive difference to the bottom line. The cost of doing business margin dropped by 29 basis points as a result.

How does the Woolworths dividend compare to Coles?

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) reported its results yesterday, including a fully franked interim dividend of 36 cents per share.

That is 9.1% higher than last year’s interim dividend and the largest single dividend Coles has ever paid out.

So, the Woolworths dividend, boosted by 18%, represents a better increase by comparison.

But let’s look at dividend yield, too.

The Woolworths share price is currently $37.01, up 0.8% for the day. That means the interim Woolworths dividend of 46 cents per share represents a yield of 1.24%.

By comparison, the Coles share price is currently $18.04, down 0.5% for the day. That means the interim Coles dividend of 36 cents per share provides a yield of 1.99%.

Over the past 12 months, the Woolworths share price has risen by 5.2% and the Coles share price has increased by 4.5%.

The post The Woolworths dividend has just been boosted by 18%. Here’s the lowdown appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Woolworths share price higher on strong result and ‘better than expected’ second-half start
• Woolworths share price on watch amid first-half earnings beat
• Is Coles now one of the best ASX 200 dividend shares?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Everything you need to know about the boosted Coles dividend

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has 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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