The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price has been outperforming the broader market this year.

The NAB share price is trading at $30.14 right now. That’s 2.8% higher than it started out 2022.

Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has dumped 10% year to date. That leaves the banking major having outperformed the market by around 13%.

Does it still have a bright future ahead of it? Top brokers appear to think so.

Is now a good time to snap up NAB shares?

According to brokers, the NAB share price is gearing up to post further gains in the near future. But not everyone is bullish.

Morgan Stanley had a rating similar to a hold on NAB and a $27.20 price target on its shares, as my Fool colleague Tristan reported earlier this month. That implies a potential 10% downside on its current level.

However, the broker’s cynicism is overshadowed by others’ optimism.

Citi recently upgraded the big four bank’s stock to a buy rating and slapped it with a $32.75 price target – representing a potential 8% upside.

It likes NAB’s growing business lending and tips it to benefit from rising net interest margins, Tristan reports.

Finally, Goldman Sachs is more bullish still. It also expects the bank’s business lending to drive its growth as rate hikes boost its bottom line, as my Fool colleague James reports.

It tips the NAB share price to rise as high as $34.63, implying a potential 15% upside.

The broker is also expecting NAB to up its dividends to $1.50 per share in financial year 2023 and $1.70 per share in financial year 2024.

If those predictions come true, NAB’s dividends will have lifted 18% on its financial year 2021 levels next fiscal year and by 34% in financial year 2024.

The post NAB shares: Buy, hold, or fold? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here’s why I decided to buy each of the big 4 ASX 200 bank shares
• NAB shares: Boring or beautiful?
• Looking to buy CBA shares? Here’s how the bank’s balance sheet stacks up
• The NAB share price has gained 10% in 3 months. Too late to buy?
• Which ASX 200 bank share will win the great tech battle?

Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs. 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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Shares of Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) have been cyclical these past 12 months, having entered and exited a number of peaks and troughs.

Woolworths had also narrowed its dividend payment earlier in 2022. Although upped its final dividend to 53 cents per share (cps). This brought the FY22 payment to 92cps.

However, what’s the health score of Woolworths’ dividend, and is it in jeopardy of continuing?

Coverage potentially at risk?

Woolworths increased its full-year payout by around 1.1% on the previous year. It currently trades on a trailing yield of 2.65%.

The total amount paid for the FY22 dividend is expected to be just over $1 billion. And there’s also the option for investors to participate in the company’s dividend reinvestment plan.

However, it’s relevant to know that Woolworths also converted around the same amount in free cash flow (FCF) for the 12 months to 26 June 2022.

Judging from these numbers, it might appear the sustainability of the Woolworths dividend might be at risk.

However, as dividend investors, one critical piece of information we need to obtain is the company’s dividend policy. That is, where does it pay dividends from?

This is relevant as some companies choose to pay dividends from profits, whilst others choose to do it from cash flows.

Where does Woolworths pay its dividend from?

Looking at the latter, the conglomerate paid around 115% of its free cash flow in dividends for FY22.

Thankfully, Woolworths doesn’t pay dividends from this pile of cash earnings.

According to its annual report, the company says that “[d]ividends are distributions of the group’s profit after tax before significant items and assets to its shareholders”.

That means it pays dividends from its profit ‘pile’, versus the remaining free cash it has after obligations.

In that vein, the payout is well covered. Approximately 72.5% of the payout figure is covered by the $1.55 billion in after-tax earnings Woolworths booked in FY22.

Despite this, there’s one disadvantage of covering the dividend payout figure from profits versus cash flow, and that’s the volatility in dividend payment and yield that can result.

We’ve seen this in the food and retail giant’s dividend stream over the past few years, coming off a high of $1.39 in FY15, and remaining lumpy since.

Meanwhile, the Woolworths share price has slipped more than 8% into the red this year to date.

The post Could the current Woolworths dividend be in jeopardy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• How many Woolworths shares does the CEO hold after his $8.4 million sell-down?
• Are these ASX blue-chip shares losing their defensive benefits?
• Attention Endeavour shareholders: Here’s some news on your dividends
• Have Woolworths shares ‘got their mojo back’?
• Supermarket shakeup: Do Coles shares offer better dividends than Woolworths?

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

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The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price has climbed to a new record high on Wednesday after some good news offset the market selloff.

At the time of writing, the lithium miner’s shares are up almost 3% to a new high of $5.03.

This compares very favourably to the ASX 200 index, which is down a disappointing 1.2% in early trade following weakness on Wall Street overnight.

Why is the Pilbara Minerals share price rising?

The Pilbara Minerals share price is rising today following the release of a positive update relating to the company’s latest battery material exchange (BMX) auction.

After the market close on Tuesday, the company revealed the that its BMX auction had been another big success.

According to the release, Pilbara Minerals has commanded another increase in the price it commanded from the BMX auction.

After accepting bids of US$6,188 per dmt in July and US$6,350 per dmt in August, the company accepted the highest bid of US$6,988 per dmt in September.

This is for 5,000 dmt at a target grade of ~5.5% lithia and represents a decent 10% increase month on month. On a pro rata basis for lithia content (and adjusted to be inclusive of freight costs), this equates to a price of ~US$7,708 per dmt (SC6.0, CIF China basis).

This strong pricing appears to demonstrate that the insatiable demand for lithium is not cooling despite concerns about the potential for a global recession in the coming months.

Following today’s gain, the Pilbara Minerals share price is now up an impressive 40% in 2022.

The post Pilbara Minerals share price hits record high following lithium auction appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Pilbara Minerals share price on watch following BMX lithium auction
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Is this prediction great news for ASX lithium shares?
• Is this the new frontier for ASX lithium shares?
• Pilbara Minerals share price racks up ninth all-time high for September

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 no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) is built from shares in most of the market’s biggest names. But, in an interesting turn of events, a fair chunk of them are currently unprofitable.

Indeed, nearly a sixth of the entire index is said to be trading on red balance sheets.

So, which of the market’s favourites are operating at a loss? Let’s take a look.

Do you own unprofitable ASX 300 shares?

The ASX 300 is reportedly housing a higher-than-normal number of unprofitable companies right now.

Research by MST Marquee, cited by the Australian Financial Review, found 48 of the 300 shares making up the index are currently operating at a loss.

That’s said to be 30% more unprofitable companies than is historically housed by the index.

And some may well be filling a spot in many investors’ portfolios.

Of course, market watchers are probably aware that the likes of Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) is yet to post a profit.

The buy now, pay later (BNPL) favourite posted a $1.1 billion loss for financial year 2022. As my Fool colleague Tony pointed out, that figure is greater than the company’s market capitalisation.

Looking to Zip’s tech peers, ASX 300 icon Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX) is also unprofitable. As is Life360 Inc (ASX: 360).

Other non-profitable stocks that garner plenty of attention from investors are those operating in the lithium space.

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO), for instance, isn’t yet producing. Thus, it has nothing to profit from. It’s a similar story for Core Lithium’s peer, Lake Resources NL (ASX: LKE).

All up, the 48 ASX 300 shares yet to turn a penny are worth around $200 billion combined, the AFR reports.

Is there hope for unprofitable ASX favourites?

MST Marquee senior research analyst Hasan Tevfik dubbed unprofitable companies “birds without wings”, courtesy of the publication.

He reportedly said for every stock that evolves from a loss-maker to a market champion, there are likely to be several that miss out on such happy endings.

However, as Tevfik reportedly noted, Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) was, for the years leading up to the early 2000s, an unprofitable tech stock.

And ASX 300 lithium share Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) announced its maiden profit just last month, perhaps proving the journey can sometimes be worth it.

The post Guess how many companies in the ASX 300 actually make no money appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Is this prediction great news for ASX lithium shares?
• Could this be a red flag or false alarm for Novonix shares?
• Here are 3 ASX growth shares analysts rate as buys
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why Lake Resources, Life360, Pilbara Minerals, and PolyNovo shares are storming higher

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. 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 Amazon and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon. 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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Warren Buffett is one of the world’s greatest investors. He has an extraordinary record of identifying businesses with strong compounding potential and owning them for the long term. But he isn’t known for being an exchange-traded fund (ETF) investor.

Sure, he hasn’t gotten every single investment right, such as Tesco or airlines. But, he has made enough right decisions over the decades to make Berkshire Hathaway into one of the world’s biggest and greatest businesses.

I like the approach that Warren Buffett has taken with many of his investments.

But, I think that as one of the world’s leading stockpickers, it’s worthwhile looking into what his opinion on ETFs is considering the passive nature of many ETFs.

Buffett’s advice for the public about ETFs

According to commentary by my American Foolish colleague, Keith Speights:

In Buffett’s 2013 letter to Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholders, he wrote about how he and his longtime business partner Charlie Munger evaluate stocks. After this discussion, though, he noted that most investors don’t need to do what he and Munger do.

Buffett rightly pointed out, “In aggregate, American business has done wonderfully over time and will continue to do so (though, most assuredly, in unpredictable fits and starts).” He stated that non-professionals should simply invest in a cross-section of businesses and that “a lost-cost S&P 500 index fund will achieve this goal.” An index fund, as the name implies, simply holds all of the assets in the index that it attempts to track.

How serious was Buffett about this recommendation? He even put similar instructions in his will for how his cash should be invested for the benefit of his family. Buffett revealed that his will stipulates that 90% of the money should be invested in a low-cost S&P 500 index fund with 10% in short-term government bonds.

For investors on the ASX, the type of investment that would be the equivalent on the Australian Stock Exchange would be iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV).

What’s in the iShares S&P 500 ETF?

Blackrock, the provider of this ETF, touts three compelling reasons to consider the fund.

First, it provides exposure to large, established US companies.

Next, the investment access it provides to the top 500 US stocks in a single fund.

Finally, it can be used to diversify internationally and seek long-term growth opportunities in a portfolio.

It owns names like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla, Alphabet¸ Berkshire Hathaway, Johnson & Johnson, PayPal, Adobe, Visa, Mastercard and Home Depot.

What does Warren Buffett think about investing at times like this?

In 2001 Warren Buffett said the following:

To refer to a personal taste of mine, I’m going to buy hamburgers the rest of my life. When hamburgers go down in price, we sing the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ in the Buffett household. When hamburgers go up in price, we weep. For most people, it’s the same with everything in life they will be buying — except stocks. When stocks go down and you can get more for your money, people don’t like them anymore.

In other words, I think he’d be very interested in looking at investing in shares on the ASX because of the selloff.

The post What does Warren Buffett think about investing in ETFs? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 3 excellent ETFs for beginner investors to buy
• Does the iShares S&P 500 ETF (IVV) pay dividends?
• 3 quality ETFs for ASX investors in September
• How does VGS stack up against other ASX index funds?

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. 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 positions in and has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, Home Depot, Mastercard, Tesla, and Visa. 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 recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, Mastercard, and iShares Trust – iShares Core S&P 500 ETF. 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 Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) share price won’t be tumbling lower with the market today.

That’s because prior to the market open, the graphite producer requested a trading halt.

Why is the Syrah share price halted?

This morning Syrah requested that its shares be placed into a trading halt until Monday 26 September.

According to the release, the trading halt is requested pending an announcement by the company to the market regarding a labour-related operational interruption at Balama Graphite operation.

The Balama Graphite operation is in the Cabo Delgado Province of Mozambique.

What is the operational interruption?

No further information has been provided in relation to this “labour-related operational interruption.”

However, it is worth noting that several months ago the Syrah share price was sold off after the company revealed that there had been a security incident near to its operation.

Syrah advised at the time that there was an insurgent attack at a mine project site near Ancuabe, approximately 200km from the Balama Project.

As this and another incident occurred close to the N1 road, which is the primary transport route between Balama and both Nacala and Pemba, Syrah and its logistics service provider suspended all personnel and logistics movements through the route section.

There have been reports of further insurgent attacks in the province in recent weeks, so it isn’t inconceivable that the “labour-related operational interruption” relates to these. Though, until Syrah releases an announcement and confirms the reason for the halt, it is only speculation.

The Syrah share price is down 1% in 2022 after rebounding 25% since this time last month.

The post Why is the Syrah share price halted? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Investors are obsessed with ASX lithium shares, but what about this other critical battery metal?
• Batteries and water: Experts name 2 ASX shares you can’t ignore

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 Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS) has seen its fair share of volatility in 2022.

At the time of writing, the exchange-traded fund (ETF) has fallen by around 15% since the beginning of the year.

Inflation and higher interest rates are seemingly the cause of the difficulties that the share markets are facing.

As The Motley Fool’s Bruce Jackson recently commented about the situation:

At this stage, it’s a guessing game, both as to what the inflation number might be and how the stock market might react.

What should investors do now?

Keep buying stocks. Keep regularly putting money to work, ideally each month, like clockwork. Invest more money into your favourite holdings, and/or into a broad-based ETF, like my favourite, the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF.

There’s a great Warren Buffett quote for times like this. “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.”

In other words, it’s good to invest when uncertainty is high and share prices are low. But be careful when market sentiment is strong and share prices are high.

Is this a good time to buy the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF?

I believe that businesses, collectively, will become worth more over time as they grow profitability, launch new products and services, expand geographically and so on.

I wouldn’t expect this Vanguard ETF to fall as much as others, such as the tech-focused Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ). The NDQ ETF has dropped around 25% in 2022. The Vanguard ETF is made up of a portfolio of businesses from a range of different industries.

While technology businesses are seeing valuation difficulties, others such as energy and financials are holding up quite well. That’s because they can benefit from higher energy prices and higher interest rates.

I think that it is a good time to invest in Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF.

In my opinion, this ETF has a globally diversified portfolio, it’s managed for a low cost of 0.18% per annum, with businesses that have attractive long-term potential. For example, I am optimistic about a number of the ETF’s top holdings including Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon.com and Nvidia.

There are a total of 1,470 positions in the portfolio, so it has a very good amount of underlying diversification in my view.

I believe that some of its financial metrics are impressive, including a return on equity (ROE) ratio of 18.3% and an earnings growth rate of 16.8%, according to Vanguard.

Foolish takeaway

I think the current volatility has made it the right time to invest in this ETF, for the long term. I’d prefer to buy shares of quality businesses at a lower price, with which we’re currently being presented.

The post Could right now be the perfect time to buy the Vanguard Index International Shares ETF? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Here are 2 high quality ETFs for ASX investors to buy right now
• Why making your first purchase of ASX shares can be scary
• Here’s why the Vanguard International Shares ETF isn’t what it seems
• With most investors thinking the next big move in the stock market is down, Warren Buffett says times like these are your friend
• What are the main holdings in the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (VGS)?

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. 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 positions in and has recommended Amazon, Apple, BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF. 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. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon, Apple, Nvidia, and Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF. 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 a big week for ASX dividend investors as BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) gears up to pay a whopping US$8.9 billion in fully franked dividends to eligible shareholders tomorrow.  

BHP shares have already past their ex-dividend date, so these dividends are no longer on the table.

But there are other companies in the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) that are yet to turn ex-dividend.

In particular, two ASX All Ords shares will be going ex-dividend on Friday. Since the ASX is closed tomorrow, today will be the final day to pick up the latest dividends from these ASX All Ords shares.

Both of these ASX All Ords shares are flashing sizeable trailing dividend yields. So, don’t be surprised to see their share prices in the red on Friday as the value of their respective dividends leaves their share prices.

Latitude Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: LFS)

First up, consumer finance business Latitude will be trading on Friday without a fully franked interim dividend of 7.85 cents per share.

Investors on the company’s share registry when the market closes today should receive this payment on 26 October.

Alternatively, shareholders have the option to forgo this cash payment in favour of participating in the company’s dividend reinvestment plan (DRP). Those who wish to participate must elect to do so by 27 September.

The market doesn’t appear pleased with Latitude’s first-half 2022 results, with shares down 9% in the last month.

Volumes came in at $3.7 billion, up 2% from the prior corresponding period (pcp) of 1H21, led by the personal and auto loans divisions.

Risk-adjusted income fell by 70 basis points from the pcp to 9.46%, weighed down by lower product pricing and higher funding costs. 

Given that Latitude makes the bulk of its revenue from interest on its products, other challenges during the half included excess consumer savings and elevated repayment rates.

Overall, the company’s cash net profit after tax (NPAT) dropped by 11% on the pcp to $93 million. On a statutory basis, which includes non-cash items such as amortisation and impairments, NPAT tumbled 66% to $31 million.

Despite the reduction in profits, Latitude held its interim dividend steady at 7.85 cents. This is in line with the company’s last two (and only) dividend payments since listing in mid-2021.

This means that Latitude shares are currently spinning up a sizeable trailing dividend yield of 11.5%. Including franking credits, this yield cranks up to 16.4%.

However, broker Macquarie believes Latitude could slash its dividends in the future, forecasting FY23 dividends of 8 cents per share. Based on current prices, this equates to a prospective forward dividend yield of 5.8%.

BSP Financial Group Ltd (ASX: BFL)

Also going ex-dividend on Friday is BSP Financial, the leading bank in the South Pacific.

Like Latitude, BSP recently released its first-half 2022 results. The group cut its unfranked interim dividend by 13% to 34 Papua New Guinean Kina (K).

ASX investors will receive this dividend in Aussie dollars on 14 October. 

The exchange rate will be finalised next week. But based on current spot prices, this dividend could land at around 14 Australian cents. 

Economic conditions in BSP’s markets improved in 1H22, leading to a 13% lift in net operating income to K1,144 million. More specifically, this was driven by increased lending activities in Papua New Guinea and Fiji, and higher transactional volumes now that borders have re-opened.

On the bottom line, BSP delivered 30% growth in underlying NPAT, which reached K586 million. However, the company was slugged with an additional company tax of K190 million as part of new legislation that came into effect earlier this year. 

BSP has filed an application to the Supreme Court to declare the additional company tax unconstitutional and invalid.

Circling back to dividends, we’ll have to wait for the confirmed exchange rate next week. But BSP Financial shares could be trading on a trailing 12-month dividend yield of around 13% at current levels.  

That said, between fluctuating exchange rates, foreign operations, and a different regulatory environment, BSP shares could be more complicated than your ordinary ASX investment.

The post 2 high-yielding ASX All Ords shares trading ex-dividend on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• What does Warren Buffett think about investing in ETFs?
• Why is the Syrah share price halted?
• Could right now be the perfect time to buy the Vanguard Index International Shares ETF?
• Coles shares on watch after massive $300 million selloff to Viva Energy
• Is Tesla stock recession-proof?

Motley Fool contributor Cathryn Goh 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 Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) share price will be monitored by keen investors on Wednesday morning after the company sold off a massive part of its operations.

Prior to the ASX opening, the supermarket giant announced that it has entered into a binding agreement to sell its Coles Express petrol station network to Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX: VEA).

The 710 sites were sold off for $300 million, with Viva also taking $816 million of lease liabilities off Coles’ balance sheet.

The newly acquired Coles Express locations will be rebadged over the next two years to Viva’s Shell branding.

Coles to focus on supermarket and liquor outlets

Coles chief executive Steven Cain said the deal is “positive” for both sides and their shareholders. 

“Viva is well-placed to make the most of opportunities to grow the Express business into the future, while we will strengthen our focus on our omnichannel supermarket and liquor businesses.”

Shell and Coles Express already had a co-operative agreement over the past two decades through co-branding, the Flybuys loyalty program and four-cent fuel discounts from supermarket receipts.

This partnership will continue beyond the acquisition through a new “multi-year” agreement.

The completion of the Coles Express takeover will occur in the first half of 2023, subject to conditions such as approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Coles shares are down 6.4% so far this year, while paying out a 3.76% dividend yield. The Viva share price is up 12.4% year to date, and is paying out a whopping 6.4% dividend yield.

How Coles Express is performing

Coles revealed that, for the 2022 financial year, Coles Express reported sales of $1.13 billion and earnings before interest and taxation of $42 million.

That means Viva managed to buy the petrol stations at a price-to-earnings ratio of about 7, which compares to Coles’ overall multiple of 21. But Viva does take on real estate lease liabilities of more than $800 million.

The supermarket giant stated the $300 million sale will mean it will have made a “small gain”. It will assist Viva for the next two years to ensure continuity of operations.

Viva Energy chief Scott Wyatt welcomed 6,000 Coles Express staff to his company.

“The acquisition means we will be able to accelerate our plans to grow the integrated fuel and convenience business while our customers continue to enjoy the excellent customer service provided by the dedicated Express team.”

The post Coles shares on watch after massive $300 million selloff to Viva Energy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why I think Coles shares are a top buy for ASX dividend investors
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• Are these ASX blue-chip shares losing their defensive benefits?
• Why is the Coles share price tumbling today?

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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 COLESGROUP DEF SET. 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.

If you invested $10,000 in Tesla‘s (NASDAQ: TSLA) public debut back in June of 2010, you’d be sitting on a cool $1.94 million today. By comparison, the same amount invested in an index fund would have yielded a far more modest total return on capital ranging from $30,000 to $42,000, depending on which benchmark the fund was designed to track.   

As a result of this jaw-dropping performance over the past 12 years, Tesla has earned an exceptionally loyal following from its shareholders. Because of this, the electric car and renewable energy giant has been one of the few tech-heavy outfits to generate positive returns for investors over the past 12 months.

Thanks to a flurry of headwinds such as rising interest rates, soaring inflation, supply chain woes, and geopolitical turmoil, tech giants Amazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ: AMZN) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) have lost 27.9% and 17.7% of their value, respectively, since September of 2021. Meanwhile, Tesla, which is largely subject to these exact same macroeconomic pressures, has netted shareholders a respectable 22% gain over this same period.  

Can Tesla’s stock continue to defy the broader market? Let’s take a look at both sides of the argument to find out.

Tesla’s value proposition: A Wall Street battleground

If you browse the surfeit of analyst research reports on Tesla stock, you’ll definitely walk away with the impression that Wall Street is divided on the company’s outlook.

On the bear side of the ledger, for instance, Tesla’s fair-value estimate of $255 per share, per Morningstar, reflects the uncertainty inherent in the growth prospects of the electric vehicle market at large, along with the company’s continued ability to maintain an elite brand cachet in a space that is widely expected to attract multiple new competitors in the years to come. This lowball valuation also doesn’t assign much in the way of net present value for Tesla’s renewable energy business or its growing aspirations in the field of robotics. 

On the bull side, Tesla’s 12-month forward-looking price target of $374 per share, from the research firm Argus, is steeped in the idea that the company will likely continue to dominate the emerging electric vehicle market for the remainder of the decade, successfully diversifying into other high-growth areas, such as robotics, along the way. 

This belief is founded on the fact that Tesla currently plows an eye-catching 19% of gross profits into research and development, which is one of the highest spends on R&D (as a function of gross profits) within its peer group. bulls, in short, appear confident in Tesla’s ability to maintain a competitive edge, thanks to this elevated level of investment in R&D. 

Is this growth stock immune to recessionary pressures?

Now, Tesla’s stock hasn’t completely escaped the ravages of the 2022 bear market. The company’s shares are currently down by a little over 12% year to date. That said, Tesla stock has performed admirably in 2022 overall.

What’s important to understand is that this unrelenting bear market has taken a hatchet to nearly every tech-oriented stock with a premium valuation in 2022. Tesla’s shares, though, have largely evaded this marketwide pullback across this particular asset class — despite the company’s shares trading at over 51 times 2023 estimated earnings right now. Underscoring this point, the electric vehicle giant’s shares have outperformed approximately two-thirds of its large-cap peers in consumer cyclicals this year.  

What’s the secret to Tesla’s resilience in the middle of a raging bear market? Put simply, Tesla’s loyal shareholder base, enormous long-term opportunities in electric vehicles, renewable sources of energy, and robotics aspirations have kept its stock safe from the worst of the 2022 bear market.

That’s an intriguing sign for bulls. The long and short of it is that even this dour market isn’t buying the bear view that Tesla’s competitive edge will gradually evaporate or that it will fail to innovate in ancillary markets such as renewable energy and/or robotics. 

So if you’re looking for a stock that can shrug off the market’s laser-like focus on a possible recession, Tesla ought to be at the top of your list. 

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

The post Is Tesla stock recession-proof? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Which of these Warren Buffett stocks is the better buy?

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. George Budwell 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 Amazon, Microsoft, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon. 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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