The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bank share sector is a competitive space. There are a number of major players, as well as smaller competitors.

Most people have probably heard of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ).

But, how are we supposed to know which bank is better than the others?

There are a number of different things to look at such as the dividend yield, price/earnings (P/E) ratio, price-to-book ratio and so on.

Now that CBA has just revealed its FY23 first quarter, we have some of the most up-to-date information about the banks and their performance.

For a bit of guidance about which ASX 200 bank share may be the best to own, let’s have a look at the view of the investment team from the Perennial Value Australian Shares Trust, which has outperformed the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index (ASX: XKOA) by an average of 3.7% per annum over the past two years.

Banking opinion

The Perennial team noted that in October, its bank holdings outperformed. It was pointed out that the rally started when the Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ) said that the benefit from rising interest rates was going to be larger than expected.

Perennial also said that the ANZ result included that benefit as well, showing that credit quality remains “very strong”, with no signs of stress “at present” – this is consistent with the “ongoing strength in the Australian economy.”

The fund manager said that the revenue environment for the banks is the “best it has been in a very long time”. However, margins are “likely to come under pressure again as funding costs rises.”

Banks are feeling the pinch of rising costs, with the ANZ result showing that wage expenses are going up.

On top of that, Perennial said that “it is likely that there will be an increase in bad debts from the current very low levels, as interest rate rises flow through the economy.”

Which is the best ASX 200 bank share?

The fund manager said that, overall, the trust’s holdings represent a neutral position in the banking sector.

However, it does have a larger weighting to NAB which is “performing well operationally and is exposed to the strong growth in business lending.”

It also has an overweight position on the Westpac share price because it “has significant upside should its turnaround be successful.”

However, it’s underweight on the CBA share price because of its “unjustifiable valuation premium” and it called ANZ shares the “weakest franchise”.

Recent results

For investors that didn’t see the most recent results, CBA said that it generated cash net profit after tax (NPAT) of $2.5 billion, up 2%, with income rising 9% and underlying expenses increasing 4.5%.

In the NAB FY22 result, it grew its statutory net profit by 8.3% to $6.89 billion and cash earnings increased by 8.3% to $7.1 billion.

The post ASX 200 bank shares: fundie picks winners and losers of the big four appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Allkem, Core Lithium, Flight Centre, and NAB shares are dropping today
• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares on Tuesday
• Why CBA, DGL, Incitec Pivot, and Readytech shares are pushing higher
• Why is the Pilbara Minerals share price tumbling 10% on Tuesday?
• Building a passive income for retirement? Check out these 3 ASX 200 dividend shares

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Westpac Banking Corporation. 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 Arafura Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: ARU) share price was out of form on Tuesday.

The rare earths developer’s shares ended the day 1.5% lower at 35 cents.

This was driven by weakness in the materials sector, which offset the release of a positive announcement this afternoon.

The S&P/ASX 200 Materials index fell 1% on Tuesday amid significant weakness in the battery materials industry.

What’s happening with the Arafura share price today?

This afternoon, Arafura revealed that the Mining Management Plan (MMP) for its 100% owned Nolans Neodymium-Praseodymium (NdPr) project has been approved by the Northern Territory Government.

Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Mining and Industry, the Hon Nicole Manison, advised that the application for an authorisation of the Nolans Rare Earth Project under section 36 of the Mining Management Act 2001 has been approved and authorisation 1127-01 granted.

This mining authorisation allows Arafura to mine, construct, and operate the Nolans Project.

Arafura’s managing director, Gavin Lockyer, was pleased with the news. He said:

This approval validates the enormous amount of hard work undertaken since ramping up the Environmental Impact Studies in 2014. It provides the framework, along with our ESG commitment to transparency and openness, that will ensure we minimise the impact of the Nolans Project on the unique Central Australian Arid Zone environment.

This approval, following the recent Hyundai/Kia Offtake Agreement and Project Update, adds to the momentum that should allow Arafura to commence procurement and construction, with FID expected to occur in early 2023.

The Arafura share price remains up over 50% since the start of 2022.

The post What’s going on with the Arafura share price today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why did the Arafura share price surge over 7% higher on Friday?
• Why Arafura Rare Earths, BHP, Capricorn Metals, and Newcrest shares are rising today
• Arafura share price rockets 10% on Hyundai and Kia rare earths deal
• Why have shares in ASX 300 rare earths miner Arafura just been halted?
• Could this news be helping the Sayona share price light up today?

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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The market often keeps a close eye on insider buying, as many believe it can indicate what those in the know expect a share to do. For instance, if a director were to snap up a significant chunk of their company’s stock, it could be assumed they expect its value to rise. But what might it mean if an S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) tech insider discards nearly $13 million of their company’s shares?

Interestingly, that’s what seems to have been happening at WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) over recent weeks. The company’s founder, CEO, and director Richard White appears to be continually offloading his stake in its shares.

But all might not be what it seems. Let’s take a closer look at the insider selling seemingly going down with the ASX 200 tech share.

Is this ASX 200 tech insider offloading shares?

Plenty of eyes have been on WiseTech shares in recent months as White –  via his company RealWise Holdings – appears to have continually sold down a monumental stake in the ASX 200 tech company.

The most recent transaction tied to White’s name saw the insider apparently selling 117,731 WiseTech shares at an average price of $54.79, bringing in $6.45 million, between 4 November and 10 November.

The prior week, he ‘offloaded’ 111,994 shares at an average price of $57.67, totalling another $6.45 million.

Together, the transactions saw White sell a total of $12.9 million worth of the company’s shares.

As of the most recent notice, RealWise Holdings directly holds nearly 890,000 WiseTech shares. It also indirectly boasts 121 million shares in the ASX 200 tech share.

However, there might be more to this story than meets the eye.

Back in December 2021, the ASX 200 company announced RealWise had entered into an equity swap transaction involving the sale of 4.3 million WiseTech shares. Thus, the recent ‘insider selling’ at the company could simply boil down to the unwinding of the equity swap agreement.

Commenting on the agreement in December, White said:

I am committed to driving WiseTech’s global growth ambitions and positioning our CargoWise logistics execution software as the operating system for global logistics.

As WiseTech continues to gain momentum in delivering revenue growth and market penetration, we are seeing increasing interest from new, long-term investors wanting to be part of the company’s growth journey, which is why it is important to enhance liquidity via an orderly process.

The post Guess which ASX 200 tech insider has sold $12.9m of their company’s shares in just 2 weeks appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 8 All Ords shares that soared 10% or more today
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• 3 ASX 200 tech shares booming 10% or more on Friday
• ASX 200 tech shares jump 6%
• Guess which ASX 200 director sold $6.5m worth of their company shares last week

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 WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended WiseTech Global. 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 All Ordinaries (ASX: XAO) is down 0.15% so far today, but these ASX All Ords shares have still managed to hit 52-week highs.

Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE), Perseus Mining Limited (ASX: PRU) and Monadelphous Group Limited (ASX: MND) shares all reached new, yearly or multi-year highs at some point during trading today.

Let’s take a look at what’s going on with these ASX All Ords companies.

Treasury Wine Estates

Treasury Wine shares soared to a multi-year high of $13.70 shortly after market open. The wine company’s share price leapt by 3.6% this morning to crack the new high before giving back some of those gains. At the time of writing, Treasury Wine shares are climbing by 0.61%.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping today and, as reported by SBS, Australia’s current trade sanctions on wine, coal, barley and beef could be on the agenda. China slapped a tariff on Australian wine exports back in 2020.

Monadelphous Group 

The Monadelphous Group share price hit a yearly high of $14.64 this morning before also pulling back. Monadelphous shares climbed 2.4% in early trade but are now 0.49% in the red. Monadelphous is an engineering company and recently provided an update on some new contracts. On 9 November, the company advised it had just been awarded new contracts and contract extensions in the resources and energy sectors worth $150 million.

Perseus Mining

Perseus Mining shares climbed 1.83% to an almost 10-year high of $2.22 this morning before shedding some of those gains and then rebounding again. The explorer’s share price is up 1.38% to $2.21 at the time of writing. The spot gold price is currently down 0.17% to US$1,773.9 an ounce, CNBC data shows.

Perseus is exploring gold from three operating mines in Africa. In the September quarter, Perseus reported record gold production of 137,460 ounces, up 12% on the previous quarter.

The post 3 ASX All Ords shares that racked up new 52-week highs this morning appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Brokers rate these blue chip ASX 200 shares as buys
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Morgans names 3 of the best ASX 200 shares to buy in November
• Here’s why brokers rate these blue chip ASX 200 shares as buys
• These were the best-performing ASX 200 shares in October

Motley Fool contributor Monica O’Shea 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 Treasury Wine Estates Limited. 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 on course to record another small decline. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is down 0.1% to 7,139 points.

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

Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE)

The Allkem share price is down 12% to $14.28. Although Allkem released its annual general meeting update today, this decline appears to have been driven by broad weakness in the lithium industry. In other news, the company’s chair, Martin Rowley, has announced his surprise retirement from the role this afternoon.

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

The Core Lithium share price is down 15% to $1.59. Once again, this has been driven largely by significant weakness in the lithium industry today. In addition, this morning Macquarie downgraded Core Lithium’s shares to a neutral rating and cut its price target to $1.80. The broker suspects that Core Lithium’s first spodumene production could be delayed until FY 2024.

Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT)

The Flight Centre share price is down a further 2.5% to $15.98. Investors have been selling this travel agent’s shares this week following the release of a trading update at its annual general meeting. One broker that was not impressed was Ord Minnett. This morning its analysts downgraded Flight Centre’s shares to a lighten rating with a trimmed price target of $13.71.

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)

The NAB share price is down 2.5% to $30.44. This has been driven by the banking giant’s shares going ex-dividend this morning for its final dividend. Last week, NAB released its full year results and declared a fully franked 78 cents per share fully franked final dividend. This will now be paid to eligible shareholders on 14 December.

The post Why Allkem, Core Lithium, Flight Centre, and NAB shares are dropping today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares on Tuesday
• Here’s what Goldman Sachs is saying about the Flight Centre share price
• Why are ASX 200 lithium shares hitting the dirt on Tuesday?
• Why is the Core Lithium share price falling 12% on Tuesday?
• Why is the Allkem share price crashing 10% today?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Allkem Limited. 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 Limited. 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 again looking like a disappointing day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) this Tuesday.

After going backwards yesterday, the ASX 200 looks to be on track to record another loss for this session. At the time of writing, the index has lost 0.12% of its value, dropping down to 7,138 points.

But let’s not dwell on all that. Instead, it’s time to check out the shares currently topping the ASX 200’s share trading volume charts, according to investing.com.

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Tuesday

Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS)

First up today is the ASX 200 telco Telstra. So far this Tuesday, a sizeable 26 million Telstra shares have been dialled in to a new owner. We haven’t heard any fresh news out of the company today. So perhaps we can put this high volume down to the volatility we have seen with Telstra shares this Tuesday.

The telco is presently bucking the market with a gain of 0.52% to $3.88 a share. But Telstra has had several stints in both positive and negative territory this session, fluctuating between $3.84 and $3.89 all day. It’s probably this volatility that has caused the high trading volumes we see.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

From TLS to PLS! ASX 200 lithium share Pilbara Minerals is next up for this session. This Tuesday has seen a hefty 52 million Pilbara shares find a new ASX home. We haven’t heard anything out of Pilbara itself either.

But, as my Fool colleague Bernd went through this afternoon, ASX lithium shares of all shapes and sizes are getting a drubbing today. In Pilbara’s case, the company is down by a nasty 9.83% to $4.77. This follows the company’s 11% gain yesterday. With all of this bouncing around, it’s no wonder so many shares are taking flight.

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

Our final ASX 200 share today is another ASX lithium stock in Core Lithium. This Tuesday’s session has had a whopping 78.2 million Core Lithium shares change hands as it currently stands. We seem to have a similar situation to Pilbara Minerals with this company.

Despite no news out from Core itself, the Core Lithium share price has been walloped by investors today. The company is down a depressing 14.4% to $1.60 a share. With a loss of that magnitude, there was always going to be a high number of shares being traded.

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

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More reading

• Why Allkem, Core Lithium, Flight Centre, and NAB shares are dropping today
• How I’d aim to generate a growing passive income from dividend shares
• Why are ASX 200 lithium shares hitting the dirt on Tuesday?
• Why is the Pilbara Minerals share price tumbling 10% on Tuesday?
• Why is the Core Lithium share price falling 12% on Tuesday?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Telstra Corporation Limited. 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 Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares met with wildly varying fortunes in the months, and indeed years, following the onset of the global pandemic.

ASX travel stocks, as you’d expect, were among those that got absolutely smashed. And this sector has taken more than two years to rebound following the virtual halt of global air travel in April 2020.

On the flip side, ASX 200 healthcare shares tended to strongly outperform after COVID-19 became an unwanted household name as demand for their products and services surged.

That outperformance means that some of these top companies are struggling today as markets work to rebalance the post-pandemic supply and demand dynamics.

Which is not to say there aren’t some potentially juicy opportunities out there.

Why this ASX 200 share is ‘one of the best’ on the market

Speaking to Livewire, David Moberley, portfolio manager at ClearLife Capital named medical device company Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX: FPH) as the ASX 200 share he doesn’t currently own but that tops his watchlist.

Why doesn’t he own Fisher and Paykel just now?

“Unfortunately… COVID was a huge beneficiary for them. A lot of their machines were put out into the market to support hospitals over that COVID treatment period. And the industry, at the moment, is trying to digest some of that inventory,” Moberley said.

At the moment, ClearLife is awaiting a better entry point as they examine the demand outlook for the company’s devices. Moberley explained that they’re “having a look at that inventory and when it draws down,” adding that the ASX 200 share “looks good on a medium-term view”.

On that medium-term view, Moberley is quite bullish on the outlook for Fisher & Paykel Healthcare:

It’s one of the best businesses in the market. The balance sheet’s rock solid, management is really strong, and it’s a global leader in its space. Its Optiflow oxygen therapy is basically close to a monopoly position, and they’re very underpenetrated. So we’re talking single-digit type penetration and the opportunity is huge for them.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare share price snapshot

Going back to the first year of the pandemic, the Fisher and Paykel Healthcare share price gained 62% in the first eight months of the year (3 January to 28 August).

However, 2022 has been a different story, with the ASX 200 share down 43% year to date.

It is currently up 1% at $17.87 in late afternoon trade on Tuesday.

The post This ASX 200 share is ‘one of the best businesses in the market’: fundie appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

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

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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a small decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.2% to 7,134.1 points.

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

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)

The CBA share price is up 1.5% to $106.47. This follows the release of the banking giant’s first quarter update this morning. For the three months, CBA reported a 2% increase in cash earnings over the second half average to $2.5 billion. Goldman Sachs commented: “Cash profit from continuing operations in 1Q23 of c.A$2.5 bn was up 13% vs 1Q22 and run-rating c.5% ahead of what is implied by our 1H23E forecasts.”

DGL Group Ltd (ASX: DGL)

The DGL share price is up 17% to $1.72. Investors have been buying this industrial chemicals company’s shares following the release of its annual general meeting update. DGL confirmed that it expects to report underlying EBITDA of $70 million to $72 million in FY 2023. This will be up from $65.6 million in FY 2022.

Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX: IPL)

The Incitec Pivot share price has jumped 7% to $4.00. This morning this agricultural chemicals company released its full year results and revealed a 186% increase in net profit after tax excluding individually material items to a record $1,027 million. Incitec Pivot also announced a $400 million share buyback.

Readytech Holdings Ltd (ASX: RDY)

The Readytech share price is up 2.5% to $3.98. This has been driven by an update on its potential takeover by Pacific Equity Partners. According to the release, following recent meetings and the due diligence undertaken to date, Pacific Equity Partners has reconfirmed that it remains willing, on a conditional, non-binding indicative basis, to pursue an acquisition of ReadyTech at an offer price of $4.50 per share.

The post Why CBA, DGL, Incitec Pivot, and Readytech shares are pushing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ASX 200 chemicals giant Incitec Pivot leaps 8% on record year and share buyback news
• Why is the CBA share price charging higher today?
• CBA share price on watch amid $2.5b Q1 cash profit
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Looking to buy CBA shares? Here’s what to watch in Tuesday’s update

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended DGL Group Limited and Readytech Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended DGL Group Limited and Readytech Holdings Ltd. 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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Are you thinking of buying your first ASX shares? Well, congratulations. Getting started on your investing journey can be daunting, but it’s a phenomenal step to take for your financial future. Considering the effects of compound interest, the earlier one starts investing, the better.

But which shares to choose? That’s going to be a personal decision at the end of the day. But here are three ASX shares that I think would make worthy candidates for a first ASX share.

3 ASX starter shares for a beginner investor

BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

This investment isn’t really a share, but rather an exchange-traded fund (ETF). ETFs are investments that hold a collection of (usually) shares within them. In this case, we are getting the 100 largest companies on the American NASDAQ stock exchange.

The NASDAQ is famous for housing most of the US tech giants. Its top holdings are well-known names like Apple Inc, Microsoft and Amazon.com Inc.

The NASDAQ indisputably holds some of the best companies on the planet. Who can match the brand power of Apple, or the endemic use of Microsoft’s software? Because this ETF is an index fund, it will always hold the largest companies at any given time, meaning the BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF is a perfect ‘bottom drawer’ investment.

Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW)

We all know Woolworths as the largest supermarket chain in Australia. And that is a great place to start with an investing portfolio.

If you are buying a company’s shares, you are buying a part-ownership of that company. So owning Woolies shares means that you can go to your local supermarket and look at the store you have a share in.

Woolworths may not be a millionaire-making kind of company. But I think it is a company that is almost certainly going to be around in 10 years’ time, and with a larger business than today. I think Woolies is a perfect company for someone wanting slow and steady returns, as well as a nice fully franked dividend for some extra income.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

Wesfarmers is not a name that too many ordinary Australians might know. But there’s little doubt that almost everyone in the country would know at least one of Wwsfarmers’ retail brands.

This is the company behind Bunnings, Officeworks, Target and Kmart. But Wesfarmers also has many other businesses as well. These include interests in mining, industrial chemicals, fertiliser and gas.

Quite simply, this is one of the largest and most diverse businesses on the ASX share market. Wesfarmers has a long history of delivering returns to its shareholders, and with such strong businesses under its belt, I don’t see why this can’t continue well into the future. Investors will also enjoy a decent dividend from Wesfarmers shares as well.

 

The post Thinking about buying your first ASX shares right now? Here are 3 stocks I’d invest in appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• How I’d aim to generate a growing passive income from dividend shares
• Building a passive income for retirement? Check out these 3 ASX 200 dividend shares
• Experts name the blue chip ASX 200 dividend shares to buy now
• Why this broker sees ‘downside risks’ to the current Woolworths share price
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John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Amazon, Apple, BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS and Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon and Apple. 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 Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price is dropping again on Tuesday.

In afternoon trade, the travel agent giant’s shares are down almost 3% to $15.92.

This means the Flight Centre share price is now down over 6% this week.

Is the Flight Centre share price weakness a buying opportunity?

A number of brokers have been running the rule over the company’s trading update and given their verdict on the Flight Centre share price.

One of those is Goldman Sachs.

According to a note from this morning, the broker has mixed feelings over the company’s update. While its analysts note that the “trading update flagged strong recovery momentum for travel overall,” Flight Centre’s costs disappointed. It commented:

Cost ramp up has been ahead of recovery, especially for corporate. We expect this to be a temporary setback to profit recovery with strong profit recovery coming through in late FY23 and FY24.

Goldman also has concerns over Flight Centre’s revenue margin, which has been facing a number of headwinds. It explained:

As noted post FY22 results, revenue margin recovery remains a key concern for us. While there are undoubtedly temporary factors impacting this such as mix and elevated ticket prices, we remain concerned regarding longer term structural move towards online, which are weaker margin channels.

In light of this, the broker has retained its neutral rating with a trimmed price target of $16.10. This is broadly in line with where the Flight Centre share price is trading today.

It concludes:

Overall, we revise our earnings outlook for FLT to reflect the higher interim costs and better than expected topline recovery. Our 1H23 EBITDA outlook remains at the top-end of guidance at A$89mn (A$70-90mn) as we remain positive on continued momentum in activity recovery, which is the key delta impacting the guidance range.

The post Here’s what Goldman Sachs is saying about the Flight Centre share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Why Elders, Flight Centre, Perpetual, and Telstra shares are dropping
• Are ASX share investors getting their mojo back?
• Flight Centre share price tumbles on trading update
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

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 Limited. 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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