Despite being the most shorted share on the Australian share market, the Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price has been on fire this year.

Since the start of 2023, the travel agent’s shares have risen an impressive 26%.

Investors appear to be betting on a strong performance from Flight Centre in FY 2023.

This could make it worth watching Flight Centre shares closely next week when the company releases its half year results on 22 February.

Ahead of the release, let’s take a look at what the market is expecting.

What is the market expecting from Flight Centre?

Well, the good news is that a lot is already known about Flight Centre’s performance during the half.

That’s because earlier this month the company released a trading update to support its capital raising and revealed a performance ahead of consensus estimates.

Flight Centre revealed that it expects to report total transaction value (TTV) of $9.9 billion, group revenue of $1.0 billion, and group underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $95 million.

However, there are a few things that could be worth looking out for outside these metrics.

For example, according to a note out of Morgans, its analysts are looking forward to digging deeper into its earnings.

The broker suspects that the company’s Corporate business could be delivering the goods and contributing strongly to its earnings. It commented:

The 1H23 beat to consensus was led by the strong profitability of Corporate. This business is on track to deliver record TTV in FY23 (MorgansF is ~A$11.6bn vs pre-COVID of A$9.0bn). November EBITDA was in line with the monthly run rate implied at the AGM (A$14.5m/month). December EBITDA was lower given usual seasonality. If we conservatively assume December EBITDA was A$7.5m, this would equate to 1H23 Corporate EBITDA of ~A$80m. FLT is continuing to gain market share through high customer retention rates and material new account wins.

And given how Flight Centre’s earnings are expected to be heavily weighted to the second half, Morgans is likely to be looking out for another update on its guidance. It added:

FLT has provided FY23 EBITDA guidance of A$250-280m. This was below Morgans previous forecast of A$289.5m. However it was largely at the midpoint of FactSet consensus of A$266.3m. This guidance is prior to any benefits from the acquisition. The midpoint of guidance implies a 35%/65% 1H vs 2H split, which is broadly in line with FLT’s historical seasonality.

The post Own Flight Centre shares? Here’s what the market expects from its half year results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Are whales dipping in and out of this ASX 200 travel share?
• Someone just bought $22 million of Flight Centre shares. Here’s what we know
• Here are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Why has the Flight Centre share price soared 20% in a month?
• Buy Flight Centre shares now for 13% upside: Macquarie

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended 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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It hasn’t been a great day for the Endeavour Group Ltd (ASX: EDV) share price so far this Wednesday. At the time of writing, Endeavour shares have fallen by a nasty 1.83%, down to $6.96 each. That’s even worse than the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which is presently down by a far tamer 1% to 7,356 points.

But even after this drop, shares in the alcohol retailer and hotels operator remain well above where they closed at last week ($6.82 a share). Investors were mightily impressed with the earnings report the company delivered on Monday, it seems.

As we covered at the time, Endeavour delivered its earnings results for the FY2023 half-year ending 31 December 2022 on Monday.

It was objectively a stellar earnings report. Endeavour announced a 17% rise in after-tax profits to $364 million, while sales rose by 2.5% to $6.5 billion. Earnings per share (EPS) was also up, by 16.7% to 20.3 cents This enabled Endeavour to boost its interim dividend by 14.4% over last year to 14.3 cents per share.

Monday saw the Endeavour share price rise 4.11% on these earnings, but the company has pulled back slightly over yesterday and so far today:

So with these latest earnings in full view, many investors might be wondering if the company’s shares are worth buying today.

Are Endeavour shares a post-earnings buy today?

Well, one ASX expert who thinks the shares are looking tempting is broker Morgans. As we covered earlier this week, Morgans liked what it saw in the company’s earnings report.

The broker has upgraded its rating on Endeavour to a buy, with an upped 12-month share price target of $7.80. If realised, this would result in a further upside of more than 12% over the coming year.

Morgans liked that Endeavour’s earnings were well ahead of expectations, and singled out the company’s retail margins as a positive point:

The result highlighted management’s ability to control costs despite inflationary pressures… While the regulatory environment remains uncertain, on balance, we think the risks lie to the upside with the underlying business performing well.

So this ASX broker is one expert who clearly reckons the Endeavour share price is worth buying today. We’ll have to see what the next 12 months and beyond holds in store for the company.

At the current Endeavour share price, this ASX 200 consumer staples stock has a market capitalisation of $12.46 billion, with a trailing dividend yield of 2.21%.

The post Should I buy Endeavour shares following the ASX 200 company’s stellar results? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 4 ASX 200 stocks smashing new 52-week highs on Wednesday
• Stop mucking about and buy these 4 ASX shares right now: Morgans
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

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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Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) shares are having a tough day on Wednesday.

In afternoon trade, the energy giant’s shares are down 2.5% to $35.34.

While this is disappointing, it is potentially good news for income investors.

That’s because every time to Woodside share price pulls back, the yield on offer with its shares gets larger.

And large it certainly is!

The Woodside dividend

According to a note out of Citi, its analysts are expecting the company to pay a $2.99 per share fully franked dividend in FY 2023.

Based on the current Woodside share price, this implies a potential yield of approximately 8.5% for investors. This is significantly better than what you’ll find with savings accounts, term deposits, and the market average dividend yield.

If Citi is on the money with its forecast, it also means that to generate $20,000 in passive income from its shares, you would need to make an investment of a little under $250,000.

This is of course a large number and few investors have that available to invest. But there’s nothing to stop you from making it a long term target.

Although past performance is not a guarantee of future returns, the share market has historically provided investors with a return averaging 10% per annum.

If the market were to do the same again in the future and you were able to match the market return, you could grow your portfolio from zero to $250,000 by investing $10,000 each year for a touch over 12 years.

At that point, you would have grown your portfolio to the desired amount and then you can switch your focus to income and sit back and watch your passive income come rolling in.

The post How I’d generate a $20,000 second income from Woodside shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Woodside share price turns red following production update
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why are ASX 200 energy stocks like Woodside having such a stellar start to the week?
• Even Joe Biden sees a lengthy future for ASX 200 oil stocks

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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1) It’s turning out to be a tough day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), down 92 points or 1.2% in early afternoon Wednesday trade.

The big four banks are doing most of the damage, coming after Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) reported first half results. More on that below.

The biggest faller in the ASX 200 is the Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) share price, down 8% to $15.86 despite guiding to a record full year profit and saying “travel demand remains strong with no signs of macroeconomic factors impacting the recovery.” 

Based on the share price reaction, the market sees things differently. Corporate Travel Management shares have plunged 38% from their 52-week high despite a very strong travel recovery. Animal spirits and speculation may have seen Corporate Travel Management shares previously get ahead of themselves. Investing can be tough. 

2) Tough crowd these stock market investors, with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia share price falling 6.1% despite it reporting a 9% lift in cash profit and a hefty 20% hike in its interim dividend.

According to the AFR, investment bank Barrenjoey “has warned analysts are likely to downgrade profit margin forecasts for CBA after its net interest margin – as a key measure of profitability – peaked in October.”

“Given CBA is trading on 19x P/E, we expect the shares to be soft today.”

I’ve been wrong on CBA shares for as long as I can remember. More recently, in August last year, with the CBA share price trading around $100, I said it looked “downright expensive.”

That didn’t stop CBA shares recently hitting an all time high of $111, although with the CBA share price now trading at around $102 after today’s sell off, and Barenjoey calling out the high valuation, I feel a fraction closer to the mark.

Putting the CBA results to one side, from a “Team Australia” perspective, it was heartening to see CEO Matt Comyn say consumer spend is remaining resilient, with the bank remaining optimistic that a soft landing for the Australian economy can be achieved.

3) This is in stark contrast to outspoken columnist Christopher Joye who, writing in the AFR, recently said “in their quest to crush inflation, central bankers are going to crush everything.”

Joye says the number one focus of central bankers is demand destruction as they are singularly committed to creating job losses to reduce elevated wage growth.

“The bottom line is that this is bad news for everything except cash. It means lower earnings and income growth, deeper economic retrenchments, and lower valuations as the risk-free hurdle rates inexorably rise. It means the coming default cycle is probably going to be the worst we have seen since the 1991 recession, which will be terrible for anyone who has lent money to risky borrowers or invested in junk debt.”

This is hardly the stuff of soft landings.

So who is right? CBA or C Joye?

I have no idea. The optimist in me struggles to think we’re heading for a deep recession. Like CBA, I see consumers still spending and restaurants still busy. The unemployment rate remains hovering near half-century lows at just 3.5%.

Yet storm clouds are ahead. 

With the Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest cash rate hike, which marks the ninth increase since May, households are preparing themselves for increased mortgage repayments.

Consumer confidence has plummeted, sinking to its lowest levels since the early days of the pandemic. 

The AFR reports today that TD Securities is tipping the RBA to take its terminal rate to 4.35%, a full 100 basis points – or four more lots of 25 basis point hikes – ahead of the current cash rate of 3.35%.

That just might “crush everything,” including CBA’s prediction of a soft landing.

4) Meanwhile, at Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES), consumers are continuing to spend up, with sales at value-orientated retailers Kmart and Target up an impressive 24% for the first half of FY23. Wesfarmers also reported sales growth at Bunnings and Officeworks, albeit more modest single-digit percentage gains. 

In aggregate, the conglomerate reported profits up 14% and increased its interim fully franked dividend by 10% to 88 cents per share. 

Like others, they see the storm clouds ahead, although Wesfarmers says its “strong value credentials and low-cost operating models mean they are well positioned to meet changing customer demand as customers adjust to cost pressures.”

On a day when the ASX 200 is taking it on the chin, the Wesfarmers share price is up 1% to $49.20 where it trades on around 23 times forecast earnings and on a forecast fully franked dividend yield of 3.7%. 

Like a number of high quality ASX blue chips, Wesfarmers shares are still trading on a valuation that’s appropriate for a lower interest rate environment. 

If TD Securities are right and the RBA cash rate gets as high as 4.35%, by comparison to Wesfarmers shares, cash in the bank will look very attractive. 

It’s hard to see Wesfarmers shares being “crushed” but the risks might be more skewed to the downside. A re-rating to a forward P/E of 20 times implies a Wesfarmers share price of $43.50. 

5) One stock whose valuation continues to defy conventional logic is healthcare imaging software company Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME). 

The company reported solid first half revenue growth, up 28% to $57 million, with net profit up 32% to $27 million.

Pro Medicus has been winning long-term contracts with US healthcare companies. Such a high level of recurring revenue, coupled with clear operating leverage as demonstrated by a near 50% net profit margin, would deservedly translate to a premium valuation for Pro Medicus. The company is debt-free and sits on cash reserves and other financial assets of $94.5 million.

For a company with around $100 million of annual sales, Pro Medicus sports an eye-watering market capitalisation of $6.73 billion. It trades on roughly 116 times forecast earnings. 

If Pro Medicus grew profits at 25% per year for the next five years – no mean feat – my back of the envelope calculations would have Pro Medicus shares trading at 32 times earnings, something far more palatable and arguably reasonable at that stage. 

In effect, growth for the next five years could arguably already be priced into Pro Medicus shares. 

Despite all that, I still hold the shares. It’s a risk I’m willing to take for one of the highest quality companies trading on the ASX. 

As investing legend, 99 year old Charlie Munger has once said…

“The first rule of compounding: Never interrupt it unnecessarily.”

Pro Medicus is a core holding of the Hyperion Small Growth Companies Fund. Its stated philosophy is…

“The highest proven quality businesses with the strongest competitive advantages and organic growth opportunities produce superior shareholder returns over the long term.”

Whilst I hope to hold Pro Medicus shares for many years to come, I realise I’m unlikely to see the huge gains I’ve seen since first buying the shares at just $1.50. 

The post ASX 200 in freefall as CBA’s prediction of a soft landing might have just been torpedoed by huge interest rate call appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why CBA, Corporate Travel Management, Treasury Wine, and Westpac shares are dropping
• 3 ASX 200 shares on the move amid strong earnings updates
• Why Cochlear, GUD, Netwealth, and Wesfarmers shares are charging higher
• Everything you need to know about the boosted Wesfarmers dividend
• Why is the ANZ share price tumbling on Wednesday?

Motley Fool contributor Bruce Jackson has positions in Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Pro Medicus and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Corporate Travel Management. 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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Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) shares will be worth watching closely next week.

That’s because the retail giant is scheduled to release its half year result on 22 February.

Let’s take a look to see what the market is expecting from the company.

What is the market expecting from Woolworths?

It’s fair to say that the market is expecting a strong result from the retailer.

For example, according to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts are expecting Woolworths to outperform rival Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL). It is forecasting earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) growth of 12% for Woolworths and flat earnings for Coles.

This strong earnings growth is expected to be underpinned largely by margin expansion in the supermarket business and group sales growth of 3.5%. The broker explained:

In 1H23, we expect group sales growth of 3.5% but EBIT growth of 12% on higher EBIT margins. Specifically for Australia Supermarkets, we expect sales growth of 2.9% with comps sales of 2.3% (2Q23 comps sales 6.0%) and EBIT growth of 16.7% YoY due to 70bps of EBIT margin expansion to 5.8%. Compared to COL, we expect that GPM will hold largely steady due to more personalized offers focusing on targeted promotions, while lower COVID cost with no material implementation cost step-up on the supply chain should provide a tailwind for margins. We also increase Big W EBIT margin to ~1.9% (vs ~1.3% previously) due to still healthy trading in 1H23 observed for consumer spending.

Goldman also suggested that investors look out for any commentary on its recently announced strategy. It added:

We see strategic merit in management’s announced strategy to amalgamate Big W and MyDeal with Petspiration (following the planned acquisition of the latter, which is expected to close in mid 2023) into the “Everyday Needs” part of the business, though execution will be the focus given none of these businesses are clear leaders in their sub-segment.

The post Own Woolworths shares? Here’s what the market is expecting from its half year results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Buy Woolworths shares today for 15% upside plus passive income: Goldman
• These ASX 200 shares are buys: experts
• With interest rates heading higher again, the risk is to the downside for these popular blue chip ASX shares
• Buy these growing ASX dividend shares for passive income: Goldman
• Analysts name 2 strong ASX 200 shares for a retirement portfolio

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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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is sliding lower today, down 1.1% in early afternoon trade.

This comes following the release of the latest inflation data out of the United States.

That resulted in a mixed day in US markets (overnight Aussie time), which saw the Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) close up 0.6% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) closed 0.5% lower.

At the time of writing, futures indicate all the major US exchanges will come under selling pressure tomorrow. Which, in turn, could throw up some short-term headwinds for ASX 200 shares.

Because, like it or not, fast-rising prices and the resulting central bank tightening in the world’s top economy have a major spillover effect on the ASX 200’s performance.

ASX 200 dips as US inflation remains concerning

Looking on the positive side, annual inflation in the US edged lower to 6.4%, down from 6.5% in December. And well down from the 9.1% figures posted in June.

But even after seven months of declines, 6.4% is way above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target range.

Which means ASX 200 investors can expect another interest rate rise from the Fed when its board meets again in March. And that most likely won’t be the last hike in 2023 either.

Indeed, on Monday, before the latest CPI data was released, Fed governor Michelle Bowman said, “I expect we’ll continue to increase the federal funds rate because we have to bring inflation back down to our 2% goal, and in order to do that we need to bring demand and supply into better balance.”

ASX 200 shares have broadly come roaring back in 2023. Despite the higher interest rate environment in Australia, the US, and most of the developed world, the benchmark index is up 4.4% year to date.

But if rates keep ratcheting higher, some sectors, like consumer discretionary stocks, could come under renewed pressure as households begin to feel the pinch.

Growth stocks, priced with future earnings in mind, could also get hit with renewed headwinds.

What the experts are saying

“Inflation slowed again, but the details show the Fed’s fight is far from over. Services inflation is still fiery hot, and that’s the kind of inflation the Fed is trying to get under control,” Callie Cox, US investment analyst at eToro said.

Cox recommended caution to investors in US equities. Advice that would likely also serve ASX 200 investors well.

“The inflation crisis isn’t over yet, and as we’ve seen recently, it’s easy for markets to get carried away. We may not see new highs until inflation is fully under control,” she said.

Most analysts are convinced the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will raise rates at both of its next two meetings. Consensus expectations are for a 0.25% increase each time.

Many also believe we could see the world’s most influential central bank begin to ease by the end of the year, which could see the ASX 200 finish 2023 with a bang.

According to Morgan Stanley’s Ellen Zentner (quoted by The Australian Financial Review):

We expect the Fed tightening path to be largely set through the May FOMC, with a 25bp hike at each of the upcoming meetings. Beyond May, however, a slowing labour market and more moderate inflation outcomes should set the stage for a stop in the tightening cycle and an eventual first rate cut in December.

Oxford Economics’ Ryan Sweet added:

All told, risks are weighted toward inflation being higher in the first half of this year than we anticipated in the February baseline. Still, inflation should moderate more noticeably in the second half of this year as goods disinflation intensifies and services inflation peaks.

The post Why the latest US inflation figures matter to ASX 200 investors appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why CBA, Corporate Travel Management, Treasury Wine, and Westpac shares are dropping
• Star Entertainment share price rebounds 8% on Wednesday
• 3 ASX 200 shares on the move amid strong earnings updates
• 3 ASX 200 stocks moving higher on strong results announcements
• 4 ASX 200 stocks smashing new 52-week highs on Wednesday

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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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is out of form and has dropped deep into the red. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 1.2% to 7,338.5 points.

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

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)

The CBA share price is down 6% to $102.30. Although Australia’s largest bank delivered a strong half year result, there are concerns that its net interest margin has peaked well ahead of expectations. Goldman Sachs wasn’t expecting the peak for another year, which has caused alarm bells to ring.

Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD)

The Corporate Travel Management share price is down 7% to $16.02. This follows the release of the corporate travel booker’s half year results. Corporate Travel Management reported a 79% increase in revenue to $291.9 million and a 182% jump in underlying EBITDA to $51.3 million. As strong as this was, the latter was still short of market expectations.

Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE)

The Treasury Wine share price is down over 5% to $13.55. This morning, this wine giant posted a 1.4% increase in half year sales and a 17.2% increase in EBITS. However, once again, the market was expecting a stronger result. Treasury Wine’s sales were 8% lower than consensus estimates due largely to Premium Brands weakness.

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

The Westpac share price is down 5% to $22.73. Investors have been selling Westpac and other bank shares today following the release of Commonwealth Bank’s results. With Australia’s largest bank’s net interest margin believed to have peaked ahead of expectations, investors appear concerned that this could be the same for the rest of the sector.

The post Why CBA, Corporate Travel Management, Treasury Wine, and Westpac shares are dropping appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is the ANZ share price tumbling on Wednesday?
• Why did the CBA share price just sink almost 6%?
• Everything you need to know about the supersized CBA dividend
• Corporate Travel share price tumbles despite record earnings forecast
• Treasury Wine share price sinks 7% despite solid earnings growth

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Westpac Banking. 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 Corporate Travel Management, Treasury Wine Estates, and Westpac Banking. 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 probably fair to say that this week has been one of, if not the, worst week in the history of the Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR) share price. Star, an ASX 200 gaming and casino share, fell off a cliff on Monday when the company released an earnings and guidance update.

As we covered at the time, Star reported a big drop in revenue from its Sydney casino, as well as a large rise in costs and headcount. The company also told investors to expect a non-cash impairment charge of between $400 million and $1.6 billion when the company delivers its next earnings report.

It’s probably an understatement to say that investors were not impressed. By the end of Monday’s session, Star shares fell almost 21% to their lowest price on record. Yesterday, the pain kept coming. The company fell another 13.4% to find a new all-time low of $1.28 a share.

Take a look at the damage for yourself:

But today, it appears the wounds have been staunched.

Star share price finally finds a bottom

The Star share price is currently on the rebound so far this Wednesday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 gaming stock has rebounded by a pleasing 8.19% back up to $1.39 a share.

There’s been no fresh news from Star since its dramatic guidance update on Monday. So it appears investors have finally decided that the Star share price has found its bottom. That would explain why the shares are bouncing back up so far this Wednesday. But even so, the company is still sitting at a horrible 25.9% loss from where it closed last week.

The company is also down more than 78% from its last all-time high. That was back in early 2018 and saw the company above $6 a share.

At the current Star Entertainment share price, this ASX 200 gaming share has a market capitalisation of $1.41 billion.

The post Star Entertainment share price rebounds 8% on Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why did the Star Casino share price just dive 19% to an all-time low?

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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is tipping into negative territory today as the big four banks act as an anchor. Meanwhile, other ASX 200 shares are getting plenty of attention for their latest results.

Currently, the benchmark index is 1.22% worse off than where it finished yesterday — hovering around 7,340 points. Some of the biggest hindrances to the Aussie market today include Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE), Lifestyle Communities Ltd (ASX: LIC), and Computershare Limited (ASX: CPU).

That aside, let’s dive into three companies that have reported today.

Earnings ignite these ASX 200 shares

One company that is seeing its share price driven higher today is GUD Holdings Limited (ASX: GUD). Shares in the automotive parts and water systems seller are jumping 7.86% to $8.92 as investors absorb what appears to be a solid half-year result.

It was a period of phenomenal growth for GUD in the latest six-month period. Primarily driven by acquisitions, revenue was dialled up 55.7% year-on-year to $517 million. Meanwhile, the company’s net profit after tax (NPAT) increased by a blistering 88.7% to $45.6 million.

In terms of outlook, management painted a reasonably positive outlook. The APG brand is expected to benefit from normalisation in sales toward higher historic volumes. Likewise, the remaining automotive business is anticipated to benefit from aging vehicles.

Another ASX 200 share relishing in a commendable result is Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL). The financial services platform provider’s share price is currently up 4.82% to $13.92.

The three key figures that shareholders ought to be pleased with are the company’s funds under administration (FUA), revenue, and NPAT.

Ultimately, the business relies upon its FUA on the platform. Fortunately, funds on Netwealth increased 12.2% to $62.4 billion in the first half. Similarly, revenue and earnings were grown to the tune of 18.9% and 12.9% respectively.

Despite a strong performance so far in 2023, the Netwealth share price is still down 6.13% over the past year.

Failure to impress with these figures

The third and final ASX 200 share with robust numbers out today is Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME). The imaging software provider’s shares are currently up 0.29% to $65.24 apiece.

Perhaps one of the biggest success stories on the Australian share market may not have lived up to expectations today.

In its half-year report, Pro Medicus served up revenue of $56.89 million — representing an increase of 28.3%. Even better, net profits were 31.5% bigger than the prior corresponding period, perched at $27.19 million.

The improved financials were attributed to some major wins in North America with customers such as Novant Health, Allina Health, and Inova Health.

Nevertheless, it seems investors might be concerned about whether the premium valuation is still compatible following these results. For reference, Pro Medicus currently trades on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 154 times.

Though, longer-term shareholders couldn’t be upset. Shares in the software company are still up almost 41% compared to this time last year.

The post 3 ASX 200 shares on the move amid strong earnings updates appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Cochlear, GUD, Netwealth, and Wesfarmers shares are charging higher
• How to create a second income from ASX growth shares
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• ASX shares: Is this my once-in-a-lifetime chance for mega returns?
• Buy these 2 ASX 200 shares growing earnings as we speak: expert

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has positions in Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Netwealth Group and Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Netwealth Group and Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Treasury Wine Estates. 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 200 stocks are in the red today with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) down 1.24%.

But as is usually the case, there are outliers.

Here are three ASX 200 stocks basking in the green today after their half-year results were released.

Seven Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SVW)

The Seven Group share price is up 2.23% to $23.81 after the company reported its 1H FY23 results. This ASX 200 stock is now up 14.3% in the year to date.

Seven Group reported underlying revenue of $4.6 billion, up 16% compared to the prior corresponding period (pcp) of 1H FY22. It reported earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of $595 million, up 16%. The EBIT is also 6% above consensus expectations among brokers.

Earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations for the year is 94 cents, up 18%. The ASX 200 stock will pay a dividend of 23 cents on 5 May.

CEO and managing director Ryan Stokes said:

The result highlights the quality of SGH’s Industrial Services businesses and the “core plus” nature of the Group portfolio, with solid momentum and earnings growth of more than 20% at WesTrac, Coates and Boral. The results for the half were supported by continued strength in customer activity across the resources, construction, and infrastructure sectors.

Seven upgraded its full-year FY23 guidance to “low to mid-teen per cent EBIT growth”. It previously expected high single-digit growth. UBS says the broker consensus is 15%.

According to The Australian, UBS analyst Lee Power reckons this is a “solid result” and the guidance “may be conservative, accounting for potential volatility across both Media and Energy in the 2H.”

Vicinity Centres (ASX: VCX)

The Vicinity Centres share price is up 1% to $2.03 after the real estate investment trust (REIT) reported its 1H FY23 results. The ASX 200 stock is now up 1.76% in the year to date.

Vicinity Centres announced a statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) of $176.3 million. This was down substantially on the pcp of 1H FY22 when an NPAT of $650.2 million was recorded.

There was a net property valuation loss of $109.2 million, reflective of the current market downturn due to rising interest rates. Funds from operations (FFO) was $357.1 million, up 24.1% pcp.

Vicinity Centres will pay shareholders a distribution of 5.75 cents per share on 7 March, up 22.3% pcp.

The A-REIT said FFO growth was driven by a 20.5% increase in net property income to $459.6 million.

This growth partly reflects the comparison to the pcp when COVID-19 lockdowns were in place.

However, the company said there was also “continued strength of retail sales leading to improved cash collections, rental growth, and higher percentage rent”.

Vicinity’s CEO and managing director, Peter Huddle commented that the retail sector “continues to enjoy elevated growth, despite near-term uncertainty … “.

He said this is due to solid ongoing consumer demand supported by low unemployment and robust income growth and savings rates.

The ASX 200 stock now has a revised guidance for FY23, with FFO per share expected to be in the range of 14 cents to 14.6 cents.

Huddle said:

… our revised FFO per security guidance range for FY23 exceeds the original FY23 FFO guidance
range announced to the market on 16 August 2022. This outperformance reinforces the resilience of our operating and financial performance in the somewhat uncertain retail environment.

Fletcher Building Ltd (ASX: FBU)

The Fletcher Building share price is up 1.1% to $4.61 after the company released its 1H FY23 report. The ASX 200 stock is now up 5.5% in the year to date.

The company reported revenue of $4.3 billion, up 5% on the pcp of 1H FY22. EBIT before significant items totalled $360 million, up 8%, with an improved EBIT margin of 8.4%.

NPAT was $92 million, including $150 million for flagged construction provisions, and down 46% pcp.

The company is guiding a full-year FY23 EBIT before significant items in the range of $800 million to $855 million. It noted that bad weather in New Zealand in January and February would impact their results.

Fletcher Building will pay a dividend of 21.2 NZ cents per share (18 AU cents) on 6 April.

Fletcher Building CEO Ross Taylor said:

We are confident that our strategy positions us well to continue to drive performance and deliver growth, against the backdrop of a dynamic operating environment.

The post 3 ASX 200 stocks moving higher on strong results announcements appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 4 ASX 200 stocks smashing new 52-week highs on Wednesday
• 2 ASX All Ords shares leaping higher with one up 8% on half-year results
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• 3 ASX All Ordinaries shares going gangbusters on Monday
• Guess which ASX All Ords share is leaping higher on a return to profit

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 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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