The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is setting the pace today, up 2.6% in late morning trade.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) mining giant closed yesterday trading for $38.42 and are currently swapping hands for $39.42 apiece.

The ASX 200 is in the green as well, though up a more modest 0.3%.

So why is the BHP share price outperforming?

What’s the latest out of China?

The BHP share price on the ASX is following in the footsteps of the miner’s US-listed stock. BHP shares closed up 3.7% on the NYSE yesterday (overnight Aussie time).

BHP looks to be getting a boost from rumours circulating on Chinese social media.

Those unconfirmed rumours indicate that the Chinese government may be ready to ditch its COVID-zero policies and reopen the world’s number two economy by March. China’s continuing lockdowns have hampered its growth and diminished its voracious demand for industrial metals.

Atop sending many Chinse stocks higher, the rumours also fuelled some gains in iron ore and copper.

Iron ore is up 0.8% overnight to US$80.15 per tonne, while copper gained 2.7% to US$7,652 per tonne.

That’s good news for the BHP share price, as iron ore is the miner’s biggest revenue earner with copper coming in at number two.

As for what’s happening with China’s COVID policies, Charlie Wilson, a portfolio manager at Thornburg Investment Management, said (courtesy of Bloomberg), “I’m not surprised to hear rumours about a more formal approach. It’s impossible to run an economy of that size with periodically locking down. It’s not sustainable.”

Commenting on the rally in stocks and commodity prices, Sharif Farha, head of investments at HB Investments added, “Whether the rally sustains or not will be dependent on if China’s Covid Zero policy is officially over.”

BHP share price snapshot

Though it’s taken a big tumble since April amid a sharp retrace in iron ore and copper prices, the BHP share price remains up 10% over the past 12 months. That compares to a 4% full-year loss posted by the ASX 200.

The post Why is the BHP share price racing ahead of the ASX 200 today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Which ASX 200 mining shares managed to dig up gains in October?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• ‘It’s a buy’: Why are BHP shares in the good books of this expert?
• Could ASX 200 iron ore shares be heading for more pain?
• The BHP share price went backwards in October. Time to pounce?

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

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The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) share price is down 2.33% in early trading to 64 cents per share. Meantime the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up slightly by 0.3%.

It’s been a shocker of a year for the buy now, pay later (BNPL) ASX share. The Zip share price is down 85% in the year to date. Yikes.

The company is trying to turn things around by abandoning its seemingly growth-at-all-costs strategy.

But there are other headwinds for the Zip share price that are not in the company’s control.

One of them is proposed regulation.

What’s next for the Zip share price?

According to reporting in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) today, the federal treasury department will soon publish an options paper regarding three proposed models for new regulation of BNPL services.

One model proposes credit checks for all BNPL customers.

This issue has been hanging over the heads of BNPL companies for years. In a nutshell, there is a global debate as to whether BNPL companies should be considered credit providers. This would make them subject to more rigorous regulations.

Currently, they’re not because they don’t charge customers interest. Many of them do charge late fees but their main revenue comes from merchants.

Shops are motivated to pay providers like Zip for their services because BNPL allows customers to buy things ‘on time’ but with immediate access to the product or service purchased. This can lift merchants’ revenue.

Why are credit checks a problem for BNPL providers?

Basically, it slows down the customer recruitment process. But here’s the thing. Any such regulation may not impact Zip as much as other BNPL providers because it already conducts credit checks. Zip has distinguished itself from rival BNPL services like Afterpay in doing so.

But if new regulation is imposed on the industry, Zip shares may get caught up in any negative market response anyway.

According to the AFR, there are three proposed models.

The first is strengthening the existing self-regulatory industry code. The Australian Finance Industry Association (AFIA) administers the code and an independent committee enforces it. The proposal is to make it enforceable by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). 

The second is requiring more detailed customer credit checks on all BNPL loans. This is already in place for large loans but not the smaller ones typical for retail purchases.

The third is creating an entirely new regulatory regime for the BNPL sector.

The government will seek industry feedback on the proposals after the options paper is released.

What’s the latest from Zip?

Zip reported its Q1 FY23 results on 20 October. The market responded positively with the Zip share price soaring 13% on the day of the announcement.

Zip reported a 19% revenue increase to $163.2 million.

Zip CEO Larry Diamond said:

We are pleased to deliver another solid set of numbers as Zip resets and moves toward positive cash flow, taking control of our future.

During the quarter we made great progress on our refreshed strategy to deliver sustainable growth, right-size our global cost base and accelerate our path to profitability.

The post What could this proposed regulation mean for Zip shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why has the Zip share price dumped 12% in October?
• Could this represent another nail in the Zip share price coffin?
• Zip shares have fallen 85% this year but Diamond still says ‘We can be the next CBA’
• How has the Zip share price been tracking in October?

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended ZIPCOLTD FPO. 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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

What happened

Shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) finally reversed their ongoing slump Tuesday morning, US time, climbing as much as 4.6%. By 2:22 p.m. ET, the stock was still up 3.8%.

The social media titan finally got some (potentially) good news, as government regulators consider banning one of the company’s strongest competitors.

So what

A commissioner with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Brendan Carr, said in an interview with Axios that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) should ban short-form video platform TikTok. The company is currently in talks with CFIUS, which is charged with governing foreign companies operating in the US and conducting national security reviews. The regulatory body has been working to determine if TikTok should be spun off from its Chinese parent, ByteDance, in order to continue operating within the US. 

While the FCC itself has no regulatory authority over TikTok, as one of five commissioners at the FCC, Carr’s opinion has a lot of sway in Washington, DC. Early last year, Carr recommended strong action against Chinese telecom companies, citing a “glaring security loophole” that permitted unsecured devices to operate on US networks. Acting on that warning, Congress passed the Secure Equipment Act of 2021, which gave the FCC power to effectively ban the use of telecom gear manufactured by Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE, which were viewed as a potential threat to national security. 

TikTok and the Biden administration are said to have come to a preliminary agreement to address these national security threats, but the Department of Justice has expressed concerns that the limitations framework doesn’t go quite far enough to prevent TikTok’s user data from being accessed by the Chinese government. The Treasury Department is also said to be skeptical of a potential deal.  

Now what

Meta Platforms has cited growing competition as one of several reasons for the company’s back-to-back quarters of declining year-over-year revenue. CEO Mark Zuckerberg cited rival TikTok as the catalyst for Meta’s focus on Reels, the short-form video option debuting across the company’s social media platforms.

Nevertheless, Meta’s willingness to adapt to a changing social media landscape has helped the company stay at the head of the class, making the stock a long-term buy.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Why Meta Platforms stock (finally) gained ground Tuesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Danny Vena has positions in Meta Platforms, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Meta Platforms, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Meta Platforms, Inc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) shares have had a volatile year so far, and insiders appear to have taken advantage of their most recent downturn.

The stock plunged 20% between its May high – $12.37 – and its late-September low – $9.85 – before turning it all around, surging to close October 14% higher than it started.

Right now, the Suncorp share price is $11.75, around 2% higher than it was at the start of 2022. For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has fallen 7.9% over the course of this year.

Some of the company’s insiders appeared quick to take advantage of the stock’s recent lows.

They spent more than $320,000 combined on Suncorp stock last month. Let’s take a closer look.

The insiders buying Suncorp shares in October

Suncorp stock has been the subject of insider buying over the last 30 days, with two of the company’s directors bolstering their holdings.

Duncan West was first off the rank. The director indirectly snapped up 24,565 Suncorp shares on-market on 4 October, paying $10.17 apiece. That saw the parcel with a total value of nearly $250,000.

Sylvia Falzon soon followed, indirectly buying 7,000 Suncorp shares on-market on 7 October, paying $10.34 apiece to do so. Her parcel, therefore, was valued at slightly more than $72,000.

Since bolstering their portfolios, the value of West’s newly acquired stock has increased an impressive 14.6% while that of Falzon has lifted 12.8%.

Indeed, the Suncorp share price is trading within 2% of its July high, reached on news of the sale of Suncorp Bank.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) is set to take on the banking business for $4.9 billion. The transaction is expected to be finalised next year.

Suncorp has said it will likely return most of the profits to shareholders.

The Suncorp share price was also dampened in August on the release of the company’s financial year 2022 earnings.

The post Have insiders been loading up on Suncorp shares recently? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• How did the Telstra share price fare over October?
• Lake Resources share price leaps 10% on ‘excellent early results’
• Which ASX 200 mining shares managed to dig up gains in October?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• 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 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 Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) share price is having a tough time on Wednesday.

In morning trade, the industrial property company’s shares are down over 3% to $17.05.

Why is the Goodman share price falling?

Investors have been selling down the Goodman share price today following the release of the company’s first quarter update.

Given Goodman’s tendency to under-promise and over-deliver, the market appears disappointed that management has only reiterated its guidance for FY 2023. Though, given the volatile economic environment, this is arguably a good outcome for investors.

How is Goodman performing?

According to the release, for the three months ended 30 September, Goodman reported a 4% increase in like-for-like net property income (NPI) growth on properties in its partnerships.

It also reported 99% occupancy across its partnerships and 100% occupancy on completed development projects. The latter bodes well for the $13.8 billion of development work in progress across 85 projects.

The company advised that this strong operational result, despite the volatile economic environment, was supported by the long-term structural drivers of demand for well-located industrial real estate.

Pleasingly, these drivers remain intact today. In light of this, management has reiterated its operating earnings per share guidance of 11% growth to 90.3 cents.

Though, management warned that it remains cautious and patient given market volatility, geopolitical risks, and a slowing global economy. However, it maintains a strong balance sheet and is able to adapt to changing market conditions and take advantage of growth opportunities.

Goodman’s CEO, Greg Goodman, commented:

The Group’s solid operational performance this quarter is a result of the consistent execution of our strategy to deliver high quality sustainable properties in strategic locations around the world. We are in a strong position to withstand and respond to the impacts of a slowing economy in different parts of the world. This is due to the demand for our strategic locations, quality of our assets, strength of our development book, growth in cash flows, and our low leverage and strong capital position.

The post Goodman share price drops 3% on Q1 update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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October ended up being a pretty great month for ASX shares on the whole. Over the month just passed, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose by a healthy 6%, rising from 6,747.2 points to 6,863.5. But how did the Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price go?

Telstra shares had quite an interesting month. Investors were a little confused when the telco seemed to change its longstanding ticker code from TLS to TLSDA.

But, as we went through last month, this was just a byproduct of Telstra going through a corporate restructure. As of yesterday, the telco has reverted back to its original TLS ticker code.

So that means we can still check out how Telstra shares performed last month. The company started October at a share price of $3.85. By the end of the month, Telstra was trading at $3.92.

That’s a gain of 1.82%. Nothing to turn one’s nose up at, perhaps. But certainly not a shoot-the-lights-out performance from the telco, seeing as the ASX 200 beat it by more than 4%.

Telstra shares now sit at a loss of 6.87% over 2022 thus far on today’s figures (at the time of writing). However, the telco is up slightly over the past 12 months with a gain of 0.77%. Both figures are a slight outperformance on the ASX 200, which remains down by 7.7% and 4.4% over those periods respectively.

So what now for Telstra shares?

Is the Telstra share price a buy this November?

Well, one ASX broker who reckons the Telstra share price is looking ripe right now is Morgans.

As my Fool colleague James covered late last month, Morgans currently has an add rating on the company, with a 12-month share price target of $4.60. That implies a further upside of 17% from today’s pricing over the coming year, not including Telstra’s current 4.3% dividend yield.

The broker reckons Telstra shares could benefit from the structural separation the telco has just completed:

TLS currently trades on ~7x EV/EBITDA. However some of TLS’s high quality long life assets like InfraCo are worth substantially more, in our view.

We don’t think this is in the price so see it as value generating for TLS shareholders. This, free option, combined with likely reputational damage to its closest peer, following a major cybersecurity incident, means TLS looks well placed for the year ahead.

No doubt Telstra shareholders will be happy with that assessment.

The post How did the Telstra share price fare over October? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) shares rocketed 14% on 2 March this year after the lithium miner announced it had signed an Offtake Term Sheet with global electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA).

The agreement would have seen Core Lithium supply Tesla with up to 110,000 dry metric tonnes of lithium spodumene concentrate from its Finnis Lithium Project, located in the Northern Territory. That was expected to commence in 2023.

That deal collapsed last Thursday. Core Lithium shares fell on the announcement. Though not as much as you might expect.

While the ASX lithium stock was down 10% early in the day, shares closed down 5.5%. And shares closed 3% higher on Monday with another 3.6% gain yesterday.

So, could canning the deal with Tesla actually be good news for Core Lithium shares?

No shortage of demand 

While the agreement with Tesla was big news, there’s no shortage of demand for lithium, a battery critical element found in most EV and grid storage batteries. Indeed, approximately 75% of the world’s consumption of lithium currently goes into rechargeable batteries.

And the booming demand is only expected to increase in the years ahead.

According to the latest report from the Department of Industry, Science and Resources:

World demand for lithium is estimated to increase from 583,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in 2021 to 724,000 tonnes in 2022. Over the following two years, demand is forecast to rise by over 40%, reaching 1,058,000 tonnes by 2024.

That should certainly offer some continuing tailwinds for Core Lithium shares. As should the government’s price forecasts. The report estimates that:

Spodumene prices are forecast to rise from an average US$598 a tonne in 2021 to US$2,730 a tonne in 2022, and US$3,280 a tonne in 2023 before moderating to US$2,490 in 2024. We expect lithium hydroxide prices to lift from US$17,370 a tonne in 2021 to US$38,575 a tonne in 2022 and US$51,510 in 2023.

So it’s really no surprise that Core Lithium’s CEO, Gareth Manderson didn’t sound particularly concerned over the deal collapse with Tesla.

He noted that the company has agreements in place with Ganfeng and Yahua.

All told, Core Lithium has some 80% of its total concentrate sales over the first four years of operations at Finniss locked in under offtake contracts.

“I want to thank Tesla for the time taken to negotiate with Core and look forward to maintaining an open and ongoing dialogue,” Manderson said.

He noted that in “an increasing lithium price environment” Core Lithium shares are “well positioned to capitalise on the high demand and current shortage of available battery grade lithium spodumene concentrate”.

How have Core Lithium shares been tracking?

Tesla or no Tesla, Core Lithium shares are up a whopping 151% over the past 12 months. And shares are also 51% higher than the closing price on 2 March, the day the miner announced its offtake agreement with Tesla.

The post Could ‘no deal’ with Tesla actually be good news for Core Lithium shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares on Tuesday

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 positions in and has recommended Tesla. 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 Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is up 17% over the past month and one expert believes now could be the time for investors to start taking profits.

Shares in Australia’s largest bank have been on a tear during October after starting the month at $90.70 apiece. At the time of writing, the CBA share price is $106.02.

But Medallion Financial Group private wealth advisor Stuart Bromley has given CBA shares a sell recommendation, as reported by The Bull. His reasons include the potential for Australian house prices to fall as well as slowing global economic activity as we adjust to the shocks of rising interest rates.

Bromley said:

In our view, the rising share price provides a profit-taking opportunity in a volatile share market. Australian residential property values are forecast to fall. The banking sector is up against potentially slowing economies here and overseas.

Citi reckons Aussie housing market could fall 23 per cent

Analysts from Citi agree with Bromley’s view that the Australian housing market is set to fall, as reported by The Australian this morning.

Citi expects house prices to fall by an average 23% from peak to trough, describing the Reserve Bank of Australia’s hawkish monetary policy as “embark[ing] on its most aggressive tightening cycle in decades”.

This comes amid the RBA’s decision to lift interest rates by 0.25% yesterday, bringing the official cash rate to 2.85%.

Low valuations and strong upside could make for a buying opportunity

However, Citi arrived at a different conclusion to Bromley, naming a couple of ASX bank shares among its buy recommendations. It noted “investors should start to build positions now” in light of these companies potentially being snapped up at a bargain.

While Commonwealth Bank did not make the list, Citi analysts Josh Williamson and others in the article recommended eight companies. They were chosen due to their depressed valuations and “represent a solid upside”, according to the analysts.

The companies are:

• Australia and New Zealand Banking Grp Ltd (ASX: ANZ)
• Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)
• Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN)
• Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK)
• Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR)
• CSR Limited (ASX: CSR)
• Fletcher Building Limited (ASX: FBU)
• BlueScope Steel Limited (ASX: BSL)

The post The CBA share price has soared 17% in a month. Is it time to cash in? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Are NAB shares the most expensive of the big four banks?
• Here’s what’s putting CBA shares in the headlines this week

Motley Fool contributor Matthew Farley 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 Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. 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 Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price has risen strongly over the past month, up 13.66%.

The ANZ share price is in the green this morning, breaching $26 per share for the first time since May.

Top broker Citi reckons there is more growth ahead for the ANZ share price.

Why will the ANZ share price keep rising?

According to a report in The Australian today, top broker Citi thinks ASX shares related to housing are winners. The broker says ASX investors should “start to build positions now” in such companies.

The most obvious housing-related companies to invest in are ASX bank shares. This is because they are the biggest lenders to households and hold billions of dollars in mortgages on Australian property.

Citi expects the Reserve Bank of Australia to raise the official cash rate to a peak of 3.35% in early 2023. It expects an average fall in house prices of 23% from the peak to the trough — sometime late next year.

But here’s the clincher for ASX investors.

Citi’s own quantitative analysis indicates that housing-related shares tend to hit their floor six months before house prices.

They also begin to outperform the broader market about a year before the trough in house prices.

Citi says:

This suggests that investors should start to build positions now, with the added fillip near-term of several stock and sector nuances which underpin our view of more compelling value today.

These range from industry impacts like excess liquidity in banks and an elongated building cycle – to more stock specific (factors like) acquisitions.

Which ASX shares related to housing does Citi recommend?

Citi sees upside in the ANZ share price, along with the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price.

The broker’s other housing-related ASX share picks outside banking are Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN), Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK), Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR), CSR Limited (ASX: CSR), Fletcher Building Limited (ASX: FBU), and BlueScope Steel Limited (ASX: BSL).

ANZ released its full-year results last week and declared a final dividend of 74 cents per share.

This was a 2.8% increase on the FY21 final dividend.

The ANZ share price currently offers a trailing grossed-up dividend of 8%.

The post Up 14% in a month, why the ANZ share price can keep delivering: Citi appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Experts name 2 ASX 200 dividend shares to buy now
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Here’s how the NAB share price has fared in October
• The ANZ share price has had a strong run, rising 10% in October
• Buy Westpac shares now for EPS and dividend growth: experts

Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Limited, Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd., Nick Scali Limited, and Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. 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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There are a number of ASX dividend shares that managed to achieve dividend growth during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

Investors in those businesses certainly may have appreciated that level of consistency.

Dividends are not term deposits. They can be reduced or cut entirely if the board thinks that’s the best course for the business.

However, some ASX dividend shares that managed to keep growing their dividends have resilient business models and industries, and they could be interesting to look at in this new era of uncertainty.

Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SHL)

Sonic is a large pathology business in Australia and in other Western countries. It has operations in Australia, the US, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and New Zealand.

Pathology is a vital part of the healthcare sector. People don’t decide to get sick based on economic cycles so demand is quite resilient in my opinion. And, obviously, staying alive and healthy is important to people — I think it’s likely that people will prioritise going to Sonic over other activities.

This business received a huge boost in earnings from COVID-19 testing. But, it has used those earnings to make acquisitions to fuel the future revenue of its base business, such as Canberra Medical Imaging.

In FY19, the base business generated $6.5 billion in revenue and in FY22, the base revenue grew to $6.9 billion.

In FY20, the ASX dividend share grew the dividend by 1.2% to 85 cents per share; in FY21, the dividend grew by another 7.1% to 91 cents per share, and finally, in FY22, it increased the dividend by 10% to $1 per share.

It has a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 4.3%.

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)

The supermarket giant saw a mixed performance for its businesses during the COVID years of FY20 to FY22.

Coles Express, the petrol station division, suffered as people’s overall mobility was reduced due to various COVID impacts, particularly lockdowns.

But the supermarkets (and liquor shops) saw elevated demand. Obviously, people still need to eat. And some of that discretionary spending money had to go somewhere.

Coles has managed to grow its revenue while investing for its future. The ASX dividend share is building some huge warehouses with significant automation features.

In FY20, Coles grew its total dividend per share by 62% to 57.5 cents, up from 35.5 cents. In FY21, it grew its dividend by 6.1% to 61 cents per share. In FY22, Coles increased its dividend by another 3.3% to 63 cents per share.

In the first quarter of FY23, its total revenue went up by another 1.3%.

APA Group (ASX: APA)

The business owns a national gas pipeline which is more than 15,000km in size, connecting sources of supply with markets across mainland Australia. It owns, or has interests in, gas storage facilities, gas-fired power stations and renewable energy generation (wind and solar farms). The company delivers half of Australia’s natural gas usage.

The ASX dividend share is steadily investing in new pipelines and projects which can unlock more cash flow, which then funds higher distributions.

In FY20, it grew the total distribution by 6.4% to 50 cents per security. Then, in FY21, the total distribution increased by 2% to 51 cents per security. In FY22, it increased the distribution by 3.9% to 53 cents per security. The FY23 distribution is expected to grow by 3.8% to 55 cents per security.

The FY23 expected yield is 5.2%.

The post Dividends beasts: 3 ASX shares that kept the funds growing even during COVID appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• These are the ASX 200 dividend shares to buy: analysts
• Bell Potter names 9 ‘champion’ ASX 200 shares to buy for the next five years
• Brokers name 2 ASX dividend shares to buy
• Broker says the Coles share price is great value post-Q1 update
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended APA Group and COLESGROUP DEF SET. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Sonic Healthcare 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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