It’s really depressing for shareholders to watch a high-quality ASX 200 share going down, down, down after hitting an exciting historical peak.

But that’s what’s been happening for James Hardie Industries plc (ASX: JHX) investors since early 2022.

The building materials supplier hit a historically high price of $58.07 on 8 December 2021.

Over the previous two years, the ASX materials share had returned an outstanding 97% capital gain.

Today, the James Hardie share price hit an intraday high of $34.60.

That’s well off its all-time high, but it’s an 11.4% improvement over the past four weeks.

So, has the tide turned?

What’s driving this ASX 200 share higher of late?

James Hardie hasn’t released any price-sensitive news since 3 March, when it announced it had been removed from the ASX 200 due to its falling share price.

However, brokers have been saying since the start of 2023 that James Hardie has been oversold.

Two reasons for the share price decline were rising inflation and interest rates, both of which hurt the housing markets in Australia and also the United States, where James Hardie has a significant business.

On top of that, global supply chain disruptions have caused many delays in housing construction activity.

Bureau of Statistics data released this month shows a 15% decline in new home builds and a 34% decline in apartment builds.

Master Builders Australia chief economist Shane Garrett says there now are fewer new projects in the pipeline.

All of this led to James Hardie reducing its guidance for FY23 when it released its Q3 FY23 results in February.

However, inflation has turned a corner and is easing off in both Australia and the US.

Australia has also paused its interest rate hikes, and the latest data from CoreLogic points to a stabilisation in house prices.

So, are investors returning to James Hardie shares because they look like a bargain with gathering tailwinds?

What do the experts say?

Back in February, after James Hardie reduced its FY23 guidance, top broker Citi said the ASX 200 share was “close to an inflection”.

Citi analyst Samuel Seow said:

Following a weaker than expected result, we believe the market will be looking for the last downgrade and we think this could be it.

Ironically, we see [the Q3] result as a buying event, and the total shareholder return outlook should be positive from here.

The James Hardie share price closed at $31 that day.

Seow said the company was “attractive”, trading on an FY24 “trough earnings” multiple of 19 times.

Seow cited increased US mortgage applications and the 30-year fixed rate “appearing to settle” as tailwinds for the ASX 200 share.

Citi maintained its buy rating but lowered its 12-month share price target by 6.5% to $34.60. Funnily enough, that’s the intraday high James Hardie shares reached today.

Are ASX 200 share investors listening?

Also in February, Baker Young managed portfolio analyst Toby Grimm said James Hardie could only move up from here.

Grimm said:

With US interest rates likely to peak during the first half of calendar year 2023, we see potential for a share price recovery later this year.

In our view, the shares offer long-term value at current levels.

At the time, 11 out of 16 analysts on CMC Markets recommended buying the ASX 200 share. Ten of them rated it a strong buy.

Also, fund manager L1 Capital said the ASX 200 share could “grow at an above-market rate for many years to come”.

Last month, Goldman Sachs said James Hardie was one of several ASX 200 shares flying under the radar.

Goldman gave James Hardie a buy rating and a 12-month share price target of $39.50.

It highlighted that its “share price is implying an EBIT of US$681m vs GSe FY24e of US$716m.”

Today, Wilsons equity strategist Rob Crookston says James Hardie is “an attractive investment at this juncture“.

Crookston explains:

There are strong structural tailwinds behind the US and Australian housing markets.

We think James Hardie is well placed to take advantage of market softness to strengthen its market position and drive further profitable volume share gains.

James Hardie currently trades on a price-to-earnings ratio (PE) of 17x, which is 1 standard deviation below its 10-year average.

James Hardie will announce its Q4 FY23 results before the market open on 16 May.

The post Which ASX 200 share has quietly risen 11% in a month? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Friday
• Passive income plan: I’d invest $100 a week in ASX 200 shares to earn $7,500 of annual dividends
• Lynas share price gains despite quarterly revenue taking a 28% dive
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Which stocks does Warren Buffett own (and what can ASX 200 investors learn from this)?

Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in James Hardie Industries Plc. 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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/6YdHRAp

In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end the week with a decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.4% to 7,331.9 points.

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

Bank of Queensland Ltd (ASX: BOQ)

The Bank of Queensland share price is down 5% to $6.05. Investors have been selling this regional bank’s shares after a few brokers responded negatively to its half-year results. One of those was Morgan Stanley, which has downgraded the bank’s shares to an underweight rating with a $6.00 price target.

Lithium Power International Ltd (ASX: LPI)

The Lithium Power share price is down 16% to 33 cents. This appears to have been driven by news that Chile plans to nationalise its lithium industry to create a state-owned lithium company. This could potentially mean that control of Lithium Power’s Maricunga Lithium Brine Project in Chile is transferred to the government.

Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL)

The Piedmont Lithium share price is down almost 5% to 80 cents. This is despite the company releasing an update on the definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the Tennessee Lithium Project. The DFS affirmed the potential for Piedmont Lithium to develop an American-based lithium hydroxide business.

Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO)

The Rio Tinto share price is down 3% to $116.97. This may be due to a lukewarm response to the miner’s quarterly update from brokers. For example, analysts at Morgans responded by retaining their hold rating and trimming their price target to $116.00. Over at UBS, its analysts retained their sell rating and $95.00 price target. Whereas Macquarie held firm with its neutral rating with a slightly reduced price target of $122.00.

The post Why Bank of Queensland, Lithium Power, Piedmont Lithium, and Rio Tinto are falling appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• Why is the Piedmont Lithium share price tumbling today?
• Goldman Sachs says the Rio Tinto share price is ‘compelling value’ after Q1 update
• ASX 200 mining shares sink as iron ore price nears 2023 low
• Why 29Metals, Allkem, Alliance, and Rio Tinto shares are falling today
• Why Bank of Queensland, Link, Silk Laser, and Zip shares are pushing higher

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://ift.tt/xW2Tt0c

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) looks like it is heading for a disappointing end to the trading week at this point of Friday’s session. After what has been a bit of a bumpy week, the ASX 200 has taken a turn for the worse today, with the index presently down by 0.4% at just over 7,332 points.

But rather than dwelling on that as we start the weekend, let’s now take stock of the ASX 200 shares that are topping the share market’s trading volume charts right now, according to investing.com.

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Friday

Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS)

The first ASX 200 share up today is the famous blue chip, Telstra Group. So far today, a hefty 15.97 million of this telco‘s shares have been bought and sold on the markets. There continues to be a lack of news out of Telstra over April so far.

So this volume looks like a consequence of the movements of Telstra shares themselves today. Telstra has indeed had a bit of a wild session. The company opened at $4.28 a share this morning but quickly dropped to $4.23 after opening. The company has recovered somewhat since, but it is still down by 0.23% at $4.27 a share. This bouncy showing probably explains this high trading volume.

Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA)

Next, we have ASX 200 lithium share Sayona Mining to consider. At this point of the session, a sizeable 16.72 million Sayona shares have been swapped on the share market so far. This appears to be a result of the significant volatility Sayona has displayed today.

The company is currently flat at 20 cents a share. But this morning, Sayona dipped down to 19 cents, a fall worth more than 2.5%, before recovering to back where it started. No wonder so many shares have been flying around.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Our third, final and most traded ASX 200 share this Friday is another lithium stock in Pilbara Minerals. A whopping 23.61 million Pilbara shares have been exchanged on the ASX in today’s trading thus far. Once more, we have heard zip out of this lithium leader today. So the elevated trading volumes on display here again appear to stem from the movements of the company’s shares themselves.

Pilbara has also had a highly volatile trading day. After opening at $3.89 a share this morning, Pilbara promptly plunged to $3.75 soon after (down almost 3%). But we have another remarkable recovery here, with Pilbara presently back up to $3.90 a share, up 0.51% on yesterday’s close. This volatile training almost certainly explains why so many Pilbara shares have been bought and sold this Friday.

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

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• Passive income plan: I’d invest $100 a week in ASX 200 shares to earn $7,500 of annual dividends
• Lynas share price gains despite quarterly revenue taking a 28% dive
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Which stocks does Warren Buffett own (and what can ASX 200 investors learn from this)?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/cVsruU8

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has followed Wall Street’s lead and is on course to end the week with a decline. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is down 0.4% to 7,335.4 points.

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

Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX: LNK)

The Link share price is up 2.5% to $2.19. This morning, analysts at Citi upgraded this administration services company’s shares to a buy rating with a $2.45 price target. The broker was pleased with news that Link has agreed a deal to sell its LFS business to Waystone and settle with the FCA. Citi feels this is a big positive and has been surprised by the market’s muted response.

Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC)

The Lynas share price is up 5% to $6.86. This follows the release of the rare earths producer’s quarterly update. Lynas reported a 9% quarter on quarter increase in sales revenue to $237.1 million. This was underpinned by strong neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) production.

Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: TLX)

The Telix share price is up almost 2% to $9.99. Investors have been buying this pharmaceutical company’s shares this week following the release of its quarterly update. Telix reported first quarter revenue of $100.1 million, which was up from $3.7 million a year earlier and 27% from $79 million in the fourth quarter of FY 2022.

Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)

The Whitehaven Coal share price is up 6% to $7.38. This has been driven by the release of the coal miner’s quarterly update. As expected, Whitehaven Coal reported a 12% reduction in production to 4.3 million tonnes and a 24% decline in its average coal price. The company also maintained its recently revised guidance for FY 2023.

The post Why Link, Lynas, Telix, and Whitehaven Coal shares are pushing higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• Lynas share price gains despite quarterly revenue taking a 28% dive
• Whitehaven share price lifts as production tumbles 12%
• How to mine $100 a month in passive income from 2 ASX 200 coal stocks
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why Bank of Queensland, Link, Silk Laser, and Zip shares are pushing higher

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Telix Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Link Administration. 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://ift.tt/KPt1AOf

The Lake Resources NL (ASX: LKE) share price has tumbled 80% over the past 12 months.

The ASX lithium share is currently trading at 46 cents, which is a 78.7% decline over the year.

By comparison, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 4.5% over the year.

But things could be turning around following Lake Resources’ announcement that its environmentally-friendly direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology process “has now been proven” to work.

This at least partly debunks one of the claims made by a United States short seller in July last year.

Lake Resources share price stabilises in April

On 3 April, Lake Resources told the market about a potentially game-changing development in its evolution from a lithium explorer to a clean lithium producer.

Since that day, the Lake Resources share price appears to be stabilised. It is currently trading at 45 cents, which is the same level it closed at on Friday, 31 March, ahead of the Monday announcement.

Could this be the beginning of the end of this ASX lithium share’s depressing 12-month decline?

A painful year for investors

It’s been a rough road for Lake Resources shareholders since the company’s troubles began in April 2022.

Let’s do a quick recap.

On 5 April 2022, the Lake Resources share price hit an all-time high of $2.65. For investors who bought in at 7 cents in early 2021 when global lithium prices began their massive upswing, this was an incredible 3,685% capital gain. Yee-hah!

Then began the fall.

On 20 June 2022, Lake Resources announced the shock resignation of its CEO Steve Promnitz, in a seemingly acrimonious split. Promnitz sold his 10.2 million shares the next day.

There was also commentary swirling about overly optimistic demand projections for lithium.

These two factors, along with the 150% gain in the Lake Resources share price between February and April, led to it making its debut as one of the top 10 most shorted ASX shares on the market in July.

The short interest at the time was 8.9%.

Then came another enormous hit. US short seller J Capital published a report with a series of claims against Lake Resources.

What did the short seller claim?

J Capital listed a number of concerns, one of them pertaining to the DLE technology provided by Lake Resources’ technology partner, Lilac Solutions.

A bit of background here.

Lake Resources has long sought to separate itself from other lithium producers by marketing itself as a “clean lithium developer” due to its use of DLE technology to produce greener lithium.

Lake Resources says the ion exchange extraction technology will deliver high-purity battery materials (desirable for enhanced performance) and lithium carbonate with a lower carbon footprint.

In short, they reckon their lithium is cleaner and greener than any other producers’ lithium, thereby potentially making Lake Resources more appealing to ESG-focused customers and investors.

But J Capital analysts weren’t convinced the technology would work as planned, commenting:

Lake is one of several lithium explorers planning to use an unproven direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology to remove lithium from brine.[…]

We believe, however, DLE will still use large amounts of water and produce toxic waste.

Lake has failed to get an operational pilot plant on site three years after promising it would. Investors still have no evidence that the Lilac DLE technology works at scale and if so at what cost.

Lake Resources went into a trading halt and then responded, saying the report “puts forth incorrect information on technical matters and inaccurate assertions on Lake Resources’ progress to date”.

The Lake Resources share price recovered slightly over the next month to reach $1.595 on 11 August.

But then it lost momentum, and a long downward spiral ensued.

Good news at last for the ASX lithium share

On 3 April, Lake Resources announced independent verification of above 99.8% grades and purity for lithium carbonate that was converted from 40,000 litres of lithium chloride produced at its flagship Kachi Project in Argentina using the DLE technology.

Lake Resources CEO David Dickson said the results proved the DLE process worked.

This is a new process that has now been proven to produce high grade lithium in our ‘mining and
refining’ facility – this means a critical part of the value adding chain is being captured by Lake.

It also sets a new standard for what it means to be a responsible member of the lithium supply chain.

In its statement, the company said Project Kachi was “poised to lead the industry in the production of high-quality lithium with minimal environmental footprint”.

Lake Resources elaborated:

This test, performed by Saltworks with independent analysis by two third party labs, validates the
major commercial process systems for the Kachi Project and confirms its ability to produce high-quality, battery-grade lithium carbonate from Lake’s brine resource using Lilac DLE technology.

The quality of the Li2CO3 product from the Saltworks test exceeds the Project Design Specification and
the battery grade specifications of major South American brine lithium producers.

Kachi ‘on track’ for commercial-scale development

On Monday, Lake Resources announced another “major milestone” for Kachi with first production of 2,500kg of lithium carbonate equivalents (LCE).

The company said it was a “historic advancement in lithium production technology”.

The company said:

The project is now on track to move from its pilot phase into commercial-scale development, which will make it the first lithium brine project in South America to produce lithium at commercial scale without the use of evaporation ponds for lithium concentration.

This is the first successful implementation of ion exchange for lithium production in South America, home to most of the world’s lithium brine resources.

The 2,500 kg of LCEs was extracted at Kachi with … 1,000x less land compared with evaporation ponds, and 10x less water compared with conventional aluminum-based absorbents.

In a joint statement from Lilac and Lake Resources, the two company CEOs commented:

Today, we’ve proven that it is possible to produce high-purity lithium faster and without evaporation ponds – all while protecting surrounding communities and ecosystems.

Is Lake Resources a buy at today’s share price?

As we covered last month, Bell Potter thinks the Lake Resources share price could grow five-fold in the next year. At the time, the broker had a speculative buy rating with a price target of $2.52.

Short positioning on the ASX lithium share has dropped by 30% over the past six months. According to the latest ASIC data, 6.83% of Lake Resources shares are shorted compared to 10.13% six months ago.

The post ‘A new process now proven’: Lake Resources share price stabilises as short seller’s claim debunked appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why EML, Lake Resources, Lindsay, and Sayona Mining shares are racing higher
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Lake Resources share price leaping 10% higher on ‘major milestone’
• If I’d invested $500 in Lake Resources shares at launch, here’s how much I’d have now!

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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/7TsA8OX

It has been another busy week for Australia’s top brokers. This has led to the release of a large number of broker notes.

Three broker buy ratings that you might want to know more about are summarised below. Here’s why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:

Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE)

According to a note out of Bell Potter, its analysts have retained their buy rating on this lithium miner’s shares with an improved price target of $19.89. This follows the release of the company’s third-quarter update. And while the broker notes that Allkem expects lithium prices to weaken in the fourth quarter, this is in line with its own expectations. In light of this, the broker remains positive and rates the company highly due to its portfolio of growth projects and strong balance sheet. The Allkem share price is trading at $11.61 on Friday.

Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF)

A note out of Morgans reveals that its analysts have upgraded this annuities company’s shares to an add rating with a trimmed price target of $7.52. While the broker felt that Challenger’s quarterly update was soft, it remains positive on the future and believes that recent share price weakness has created a buying opportunity for investors. Particularly given how the roll-through of recent strong interest rates rises provides a supportive backdrop for earnings over the next few years. The Challenger share price is fetching $6.19 today.

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

Analysts at Goldman Sachs have retained their conviction buy rating on this banking giant’s shares with a trimmed price target of $25.86. While the broker acknowledges that net interest margin (NIM) pressures are accelerating across the sector, it feels Westpac’s shorter-duration portfolio will see it outperform peers. In addition, it likes the bank due to its cost reduction plans and attractive valuation compared to historic levels. The Westpac share price is trading at $22.34 this afternoon.

The post Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• Should lithium investors buy the dip in the Allkem share price?
• Can Westpac shares really deliver 15% upside AND a 6% dividend yield?
• Why 29Metals, Allkem, Alliance, and Rio Tinto shares are falling today
• 3 ASX 200 shares making big moves following quarterly updates
• Allkem share price slides despite strong quarterly production from the ASX 200 lithium stock

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Allkem and 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 Challenger and Westpac Banking. 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://ift.tt/lxcmNkE

If an ASX income investor is looking for big dividends on the share market, the first place they will probably go to is the ASX 200 bank sector. ASX bank shares have long been stalwarts of dividend-focused investors, thanks to decades of large and fully franked dividend payments to investors.  

Most investors will naturally gravitate toward the big four banks. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) and ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) are the clear market leaders, with long histories of providing baking services to Australians. They have a reputation for strength and stability, and as such, feature in most income investors’ portfolios.

But they are not the only choices facing dividend-hungry investors today. In fact, there is an ASX bank outside the big four that currently offers a dividend yield even better than the likes of CBA, ANZ, Westpac and NAB. It’s Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN).

Bendigo Bank is a relative minnow compared to its larger brethren. It’s currently trading with a market capitalisation of $4.95 billion, less than 3% of CBA’s $170 billion size at present.

But this smaller ASX bank is still an entrenched Australian bank with a solid customer base, strong earnings and, yes, a monstrous dividend yield.

How does the Bendigo Bank dividend stack up against the big four ASX bank shares?

Let’s illustrate. So right now, CBA offers the smallest trailing dividend yield of the big four at 4.18%. NAB is a little better at 5.24%, and Westpac is at 5.6%. ANZ leads the big four with its present yield of 5.98%.

But Bendigo Bank blows the big four away with its dividend yield of 6.36% today. That comes fully franked too, which grosses up that yield all the way to 9.09%. 

This dividend yield comes from Bendigo Bank’s last two dividend payments. Investors bagged a 29 cents per share interim dividend just last month. Preceding this payment, there was the final dividend of 26.5 cents per share that shareholders enjoyed last September.

The latest interim dividend was a pleasing hike from the 26.5 cents per share payment from last year. But the bank still isn’t back to paying out the dividends it was back in 2018 and 2019. In both years, investors enjoyed a total of 70 cents per share in dividend income.

But even so, the dividend pay rise investors have just enjoyed, as well as the big four-smashing dividend yield of over 6% today, certainly make this ASX bank share stand out amongst its peers today.

The post Want big dividends? This ASX bank share smashes the big four appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• Are these ASX All Ords shares ready to buy at fundamentally fire sale prices?
• The bigger Bendigo Bank dividend is being paid today. Here’s the latest
• ASX shares are paying out $19 billion in dividends this week. Are you getting a piece?
• ASX 200 bank stocks: ‘No different’ or ‘extremely strong’?
• Bendigo Bank shares worst of the ASX 200 banks following UBS downgrade

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in National Australia Bank. 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 Westpac Banking. 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://ift.tt/mHoEbCJ

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares are down 0.5% at the time of writing.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bank stock closed yesterday trading for $100.92. Shares are currently swapping hands for $100.43.

The 0.5% intraday decline is broadly in line with losses being posted by the other big four banks.

That’s today’s price action for you.

Now here’s why CBA shares have been making headlines this week.

What’s putting the ASX 200 bank in the headlines?

CommBank made headline news on Wednesday after the bank admitted in Federal Court that management was aware thousands of staff were underpaid a total of $16.1 million since 2010, yet they allowed the practice to continue.

Finance Sector Union national secretary Julia Angrisano said the bank’s admission should cause everyone “deep unease”.

CommBank is potentially facing fines of $660,000 per breach under a provision of the Fair Work Act. With 7,402 impacted staff, that could add up!

A spokesman for Australia’s biggest bank said:

We acknowledge that any instance of employees not being paid their correct entitlements is unacceptable. CBA and CommSec have co-operated fully and engaged constructively with the FWO during its investigation and the proceedings.

CBA shares closed flat on Wednesday.

The big four bank was back in the headlines on Thursday.

That came amid fresh news that CommBank is carrying out exclusive due diligence to potentially acquire business lender ScotPac, owned by Affinity Equity Partners. The Motley Fool first reported on that potential takeover on 28 March.

CBA has now hired advisory company Gresham to carry out due diligence on ScotPac.

CBA shares closed up 1.6% on Thursday.

Yesterday the bank also reported on the expansion of its range of green financing to support its clients.

The maximum loan for the bank’s Green Loan will increase from the prior $20,000 to $30,000. The range of eligible products that can be funded under the loan will also be expanded from mid-2023.

“CommBank is dedicated to supporting Australia’s energy transition, and rewarding our customers for making more sustainable choices,” CBA retail banking group executive Angus Sullivan said.

How have CBA shares been tracking?

As you can see in the chart below, CBA shares have dropped 7% over the past 12 months. The stock is up 4% since 21 March.

The post Here’s why CBA shares have been making headlines this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• Which stocks does Warren Buffett own (and what can ASX 200 investors learn from this)?
• Could CBA be about to add $1 billion to its loan book?
• Own CBA shares? Here’s why the bank could ‘face the full wrath of the law’
• Which is the best ASX 200 bank share to buy today?
• The CBA share price just surged past $100. Too late to buy?

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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/OwVnqFo

When it comes to buying ASX 200 gold shares, Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) are two of the most prominent choices facing ASX investors wanting to invest in gold.

Newcrest and Northern Star are the largest and second-largest ASX gold miners on the share market by market capitalisation respectively. So what better pair to compare for a better buy right now? Let’s get started.

So in comparing these two ASX gold shares, it’s important to note that the Newcrest share price has been markedly elevated in recent weeks thanks to a takeover bid from the US gold miner Newmont Corporation. Newmont has offered an all-scrip deal to acquire Newcrest, which the company’s board and shareholders are still considering. This bid values Newcrest at approximately $29.4 billion, or $32.87 per share.

For context, Newcrest shares started 2023 at $20.84 a share and are now up almost 40% year to date. So this is obviously impacting Newcrest’s valuation today. But we’ll plough through with a comparison with Northern Star regardless.

So here’s a table that compares some of these two gold shares’ major metrics so we can make a fair comparison between the two:

	Newcrest Mining	Northern Star Resources
Share price (at the time of writing)	$28.98	$13.88
Market capitalisation	$25.88 billion	$15.97 billion
Price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio	19.71	74.77
Dividend yield (at the time of writing)	1.78%	1.62%
Gold reserves (FY22)	120,000,000 ounces (measured and indicated)	20,683,000 ounces (proved and probable)
Gold production (FY22)	1,956,000 ounces	1,530,000 ounces
Major mine locations	Australia, Canada, PNG	Australia, USA (Alaska)
Underlying profit (FY22)	$872 million	$273 million
AISC per ounce mined	$732	$1,555

So after comparing these two companies, my own clear favourite is Newcrest.

Why Newcrest is my pick for the best ASX gold share

Like any mining company, a gold miner is only as strong as its underlying costs. Newcrest’s impressive All In Sustaining Cost (AISC) per ounce of $732 gives the company far more wriggle room if gold prices descend from their current historical highs than Northern Star’s $1,555.

Say gold descends to $1,400 per ounce over the next year. That pricing would render Northern Star unprofitable, but Newcrest would still be making money. That gives me far more confidence in Newcrest as a gold investor.

Further, Newcrest has far more gold reserves left in its mines than Northern Star does. That adds to my conviction that Newcrest is the better option today.

So regardless of whether the Newmont bid goes through with Newcrest, it’s the miner that I would have more confidence in investing in today, comparing all of the above metrics. You’ll even get slightly higher dividend income from Newcrest at the current share price.

The post Better ASX gold share to buy now: Newcrest vs. Northern Star appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Here’s the forecast for popular ASX 200 mining shares from UBS
• ASX 200 gold shares are booming in 2023 with more gains forecast: fund manager
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

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

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/rNQnP9E

Investing in S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares can be a rewarding strategy. Indeed, the index has gained 23% over the last five years – that’s a 4.6% average annual return before considering dividends.

On that note, what if passive income was my investing goal? Many ASX 200 shares provide dividends twice a year.

Here’s how I’d build a $7,500 annual passive income by investing $100 a week in ASX 200 dividend shares.

Why I think ASX 200 shares can be attractive investments

I am personally a fan of investing in ASX 200 companies. As the name suggests, the index houses 200 of the Aussie bourse’s largest and most influential companies.

ASX 200 shares boasted an average market capitalisation of around $11.4 billion at the end of last quarter, according to data from the S&P Global. That means most could be considered blue-chip stocks – known to generally offer greater stability and security through the market’s ebbs and flows.

Not to mention, ASX 200 shares offer an average dividend yield of 4.58%. That’s certainly nothing to scoff at!

Such a yield could turn a decent weekly investment into a substantial annual income, thanks to the power of compounding.

Building a $7,500 passive income with ASX 200 stocks

I think I could muster up $100 to invest each week and continue doing so consistently over the coming years.

At that rate, I could sink $5,200 a year into ASX 200 shares – enough to provide $238.16 of passive income annually.

While any extra cash is welcome, that amount probably won’t stretch far. So, instead of spending it, I plan to reinvest my dividends, using them to buy more stocks – thereby compounding my returns.

Here’s how this strategy could work to build my nest egg substantially over the coming decades, all before considering share price gains:

Years invested	$ invested	Portfolio value
1	$5,200	$5,200
5	$26,000	$28,493
10	$52,000	$64,137
15	$78,000	$108,726
20	$104,000	$164,505

That’s right, only considering the power of compounding dividends, my $100 weekly investment could grow into a $164,505 portfolio in two decades.

At that point, it would be capable of providing more than $7,500 of passive income each year.

Just imagine how much it could provide if the value of my shares were to grow by 4.6% annually as well.

Of course, all that assumes ASX 200 shares will continue to pay an average dividend yield of 4.58%, and past performance isn’t an indicator of future performance. It’s also important to remember that no investment is guaranteed to provide returns.

Could I speed up the process?

But what if 20 years was a bit too long of an investment timeline? Well, there are plenty of ASX 200 shares offering above-average dividend yields.

Some such stocks include ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ), Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd (ASX: HVN), Woodside Energy Group (ASX: WDS). They currently boast respective yields of 6%, 8.4%, and 11.1%.

Though, a high dividend yield doesn’t necessarily make a good passive income buy.

The post Passive income plan: I’d invest $100 a week in ASX 200 shares to earn $7,500 of annual dividends appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• Lynas share price gains despite quarterly revenue taking a 28% dive
• The Woodside share price is sliding today. Here’s why
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Which stocks does Warren Buffett own (and what can ASX 200 investors learn from this)?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Harvey Norman. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Harvey Norman. 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://ift.tt/VyDvshA