The lithium sector certainly was a great place to be invested last month.

Although the ASX 200 index charged notably higher over the period, some lithium stocks absolutely smashed the market return.

For example, the four shares listed below all recorded gain of over 25% last month. Here’s why investors were buying their shares in March:

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

The Core Lithium share price was on form last month and recorded a 79% gain. The key driver of this was an announcement at the beginning of the month which revealed that Core has signed a binding agreement with electric vehicle giant Tesla. The agreement will see Core supply up to 110,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate to Tesla from the Finniss Lithium Project near Darwin over a four-year period. This, and positive drilling results from the Carlton deposit, offset the surprise news that the company’s CEO is leaving.

AVZ Minerals Ltd (ASX: AVZ)

The AVZ Minerals share price was a positive performer last month and raced 35% higher. There were a couple of catalysts for this strong gain. One was rising lithium prices which boosted the whole sector, the other was news that S&P Indices added the lithium developer to the illustrious ASX 200 index at the March quarterly rebalance.

Ioneer Ltd (ASX: INR)

The Ioneer share price bounced back from a poor start to finish the month 30% higher. Almost all of this gain was made in the final days of March following the announcement of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with NexTech Batteries. It is a leader in proprietary lithium-sulphur battery technology based in Nevada. The two parties are looking at using lithium from Ioneer’s Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project to manufacture next generation solid-state batteries that are “poised to revolutionise the automotive industry.”

Calidus Resources Ltd (ASX: CAI)

The Calidus Resources share price continued its positive run in March and rose a further 27%. This was driven by news that its 50% owned Pirra Lithium business has identified a “substantial lithium-bearing pegmatite with a mapped strike length of more than 1km” in the Eastern Pilbara. Management commented: “It is already clear that we are in the early stages of an exciting lithium discovery with both scale and strong grades.”

The post These were the best performing ASX lithium stocks in March appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday
• Why has the AVZ Minerals share price rocketed 34% in a month?
• The Core Lithium share price is tumbling again. What’s going on?
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts on Wednesday
• Why is the Core Lithium share price sinking 7% 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The March quarter proved fruitful for the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price.

The bank’s stock surged 13.54% over the three months ended 31 March, closing the final session of the quarter trading at $24.24 apiece.

For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gained just 0.74% over the same period, while the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) improved 3.67%.

So, what pushed the Westpac share price to outperform most of its peers last quarter? Let’s take a look.

What drove the Westpac share price last quarter?

The Westpac share price was the worst-performing ASX 200 big four bank stock of 2021. But it bucked that trend to outperform its fellow ‘fours’ last quarter.

Firstly, it gained 2.28% on the back of its earnings for the December quarter.

The bank’s unaudited cash earnings jumped 74% over the period, reaching $1.58 billion. Meanwhile, its expenses dropped 7% to $2.7 billion.

It also recognised a $118 million impairment charge mostly brought about by provision overlays reflecting COVID-19-related uncertainty.

On top of that, Westpac cut its c-suite – converging two executive positions into one new title – in an effort to simplify the business and reduce costs.

Additionally, the bank conducted a $3.5 billion off-market buyback last quarter. That saw it purchasing its own stocks from investors for $20.90 apiece and reducing its outstanding shares by 4.6%.

And while it didn’t make price-sensitive news, Westpac announced in February it had completed the sale of its New Zealand life insurance business.

The bank sold the business for NZ$400 million (around $368.3 million at today’s exchange rate). It expects to post a post-tax gain on the sale of approximately $90.25 million in its first-half results.

Westpac will also receive ongoing payments under a 15-year distribution agreement.

What else was the bank up to in the March quarter?

There were plenty of other happenings that likely didn’t move the Westpac share price last quarter although they may have impacted market sentiment for the bank.

Firstly, Westpac technically found itself on the cusp of the big four banking group in January.

Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG)’s market capitalisation surpassed Westpac’s, making the institutional bank the third largest ASX bank at that moment in time. Westpac has since regained its crown, according to the ASX.

In addition, the talk of the ASX last quarter was inflation, as many global market watchers expected the measure’s increase to push interest rates higher.

In fact, the release of the latest consumer price index coincided with a disastrous day on the ASX 200.

On that note, Westpac upped its fixed interest rates three times last quarter.

On the bank’s latest addition to “aggressive fixed rate hikes across the mortgage market”, RateCity.com.au research director, Sally Tindall said:

Last year, Westpac had some of the lowest fixed rates in the market. Now there is daylight between the bank’s rates and the low-cost lenders.

Westpac also joined other big four banks in cutting its variable interest rate late last month.

In more positive news, Westpac entered an agreement with Microsoft last quarter. The tech giant will help push the bank’s digital strategy.

Westpac share price snapshot

Right now, the Westpac share price is trading 11% higher than it was at the start of 2022.

However, it’s 4% lower than it was this time last year.

The post How did the Westpac share price outperform the ASX 200 by 13% in the March quarter? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 ASX dividend shares with attractive yields
• ASX 200 banks bounce bank in March. Here are the April forecasts from analysts
• Is the Westpac share price the best value of the big four banks?
• How big will the CBA dividend be in 2022?
• How did the Westpac share price perform in March?

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. owns and has recommended Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group Limited and Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) is one of the largest dividend payers on the ASX.

It has a market capitalisation of around $105 billion, according to the ASX.

It is one of the big four ASX banks, alongside Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ), and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC).

So what can shareholders expect from the next NAB dividend? Let’s take a look.

How big is the next NAB dividend going to be?

NAB’s dividend has been recovering after the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, both of its dividends were $0.30 per share. The first half of FY21 saw an interim dividend of $0.60 per share. NAB increased the dividend again with the final dividend of $0.67. That brought the FY21 full-year dividend to $1.27 per share.

Many analysts believe the NAB dividend in FY22 will be increased again.

Commsec numbers, provided by third-party external data vendors, suggest the NAB dividend could increase by more than 13% to $1.44. That would represent a forward grossed-up dividend yield of 6.4% at NAB’s Thursday closing share price of $32.47.

There are different brokers with varying estimates for the NAB dividend in FY22.

Macquarie currently rates NAB as a buy, with a price target of $32.50. However, its dividend expectations for the bank are lower than the estimate on Commsec for FY22. Macquarie’s forecast for the FY22 grossed-up dividend yield is 6%. Macquarie suggests that bank margins could remain pressured by competition.

The broker Morgan Stanley thinks NAB will pay a grossed-up dividend yield of 6.2% in the current financial year.

Ord Minnett has one of the more optimistic views on the company’s potential dividend. It thinks the NAB grossed-up dividend yield could be 6.44% in FY22.

UBS may have one of the biggest predictions for the NAB dividend out of all the brokers. The broker has pencilled in a dividend which translates into a potential grossed-up dividend yield of 6.6%.

What do we know about the upcoming NAB half-year result?

NAB’s half-year result is due to be released on 5 May.

Two months ago, the bank announced its first-quarter update. NAB said it generated $1.8 billion of cash earnings. This represented cash earnings growth of 9.1% year on year. Cash earnings before tax and credit impairment charges were up 6%.

NAB said volumes were “strong” over the quarter, with lending and deposits each up $18 billion. In Australia, over the three months to December 2021, home lending grew 2.6%, and small and medium enterprise (SME) business lending increased by 3.4%. Its market share of core lending and deposit products increased. New Zealand loan growth was “strong” at 2.2%.

NAB said it was optimistic about the outlook for Australia and New Zealand. The CEO said the bank is well-positioned to continue to grow with a strong balance sheet and disciplined execution of a clear strategy.

It recently completed a $2.5 billion share buy-back and announced a further buy-back of another $2.5 billion.

The post How much is the next NAB dividend? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 buy-rated ASX 200 dividend shares analysts are recommending
• Is the NAB share price fully valued in April?
• ASX 200 banks bounce bank in March. Here are the April forecasts from analysts
• The NAB share price almost doubled the ASX 200’s return in March
• This ASX blue-chip share has notched up 9 52-week highs this month

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 Macquarie Group Limited and Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The GrainCorp Ltd (ASX: GNC) share price looks set to end the week in style.

In morning trade, the grain exporter’s shares are up 9% to a record high of $9.46.

Why is the GrainCorp share price racing higher?

Investors have been bidding the GrainCorp share price higher today in response to an earnings update.

According to the release, the company has been benefiting from significant ongoing global demand for Australian grain and oilseeds. It also notes that planting conditions for the upcoming east coast Australian winter crop are favourable.

In light of this, GrainCorp is upgrading the FY 2022 earnings guidance provided to the market in February.

The company was previously guiding to underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $480 million to $540 million and underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) of $235 million to $280 million.

Whereas it is now expecting underlying EBITDA of $590 million to $670 million and underlying NPAT in the range of $310 million to $370 million.

Management commentary

GrainCorp’s Managing Director and CEO, Robert Spurway, advised that this strong demand is being driven by a number of factors. He explained:

“As we outlined at our AGM in February, we are seeing high global demand for Australian grain and oilseeds and strong supply chain margins for grain exports. This has been driven by two consecutive bumper crops in east coast Australia (ECA), coupled with supply shortages in the northern hemisphere.”

The conflict in Ukraine and resulting trade disruptions in the Black Sea region have created uncertainty in global grain markets, with buyers looking for alternate sources of supply. This has further increased both the demand for Australian grain and oilseeds and export supply chain margins.

Recent weather patterns and continued La Nina conditions have provided excellent planting conditions for the 2022 winter crop to date, building confidence in grain supplies from ECA and further supporting export sales and supply chain margins.

Despite recent weather-related supply chain disruptions across the ECA, we are continuing to operate our ports at close to full capacity, exporting as much grain as possible to international markets. Our supply chain resilience demonstrates the value of our infrastructure assets and is testament to the capability of our operations and planning teams.”

The post GrainCorp share price jumps 9% to record high on guidance upgrade amid ‘significant’ demand appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why ASX, Coronado, Graincorp, and Integral Diagnostics shares are dropping today
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Block and Zip shoot higher, Ampol’s acquisition boost

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 Bruce Jackson.

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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

Although it wasn’t exactly a steep decline, Amazon‘s (NASDAQ: AMZN) stock took a bit of a fall on Thursday. The retailing giant’s shares declined to close the day 0.6% lower, while the S&P 500 index as a whole rose by 0.4%. The drop was linked to potential new struggles in labor relations.

So what

On Thursday, Reuters reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected an Amazon request to scotch a proposed shareholder vote on an audit of working conditions at its facilities. That proposal was put forward by a man named Thomas Dadashi Tazehozi. 

Tazehozi is an investor in Tulipshare, a London-based activist investment collective that aims to “promote ethical change” at companies, according to its website.

Citing the official response letter sent by the SEC to Amazon, the regulator stated, “In our view, the Tazehozi Proposal transcends ordinary business matters.”

Amazon has not yet officially commented on this development. Its upcoming annual general shareholders meeting, at which the vote will be conducted, is scheduled for May 25.

The news comes on the heels of a major victory for Amazon’s workforce. Last week, workers at a company warehouse on Staten Island in New York City voted to form the retail giant’s first U.S. union. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden expressed support for those workers and potential union creators, saying: “By the way, Amazon, here we come. Watch.”

Not surprisingly, Amazon filed a formal objection to the vote, alleging that the union used threats to win support for its cause. 

Now what

For some time, members of the general public have decried what they consider to be unfair labor practices of big companies like Amazon. These concerns are obviously gaining traction, and they’re landing with investors, too. It might just be time for the Amazons of this world to rethink their labor strategies, particularly considering that labor in certain markets is becoming scarce. 

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

The post Why Amazon stock slumped today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 3 differences between you and billionaires, and 1 thing you have in common

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Amazon. 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 Bruce Jackson. 

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

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The Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) share price has travelled on a rollercoaster over the course of the last few years.

The impact of COVID-19 led government at all levels around Australia to enforce mandated restrictions on passenger movements. This steered Woodside shares south as demand for oil plummeted throughout the pandemic.

However, the recent war in Ukraine and heavy-handed sanctions on Russia’s energy markets has led oil prices to spike. In turn, Woodside shares have recorded a stellar year on the back of strong demand for oil and gas.

Below, we calculate if the dividends have been worth the wait if a shareholder made an investment five years ago.

What if you had invested $10,000 in Woodside shares 5 years ago?

If you had invested $10,000 in Woodside shares on this day five years ago, you would have bought them for around $32.60 each. This would have given you approximately 306 shares without factoring in any dividend reinvestments over the years.

Fast-forward to today, and the current Woodside share price is $32.90. This means those 306 shares would now be worth $10,067.40. When considering percentage terms, this would have given you relatively flat returns for the period.

In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned a yearly average of 4.89% to shareholders in the past five years.

And the dividends?

Over the course of the last five years, Woodside has made a total of 10 bi-annual dividend payments from April 2017 to March 2022.

Adding those 10 dividends payments gives us an amount of $6.9953 per share. Calculating the number of shares owned against the total dividend payment gives us a figure of $2,140.57.

When putting both the initial investment gains and dividend distribution, an investor would have made roughly $12,207.97.

In comparison, investing the same amount in the ASX 200 would have netted you a total figure of $12,695.60.

As you can see, parking your money in the benchmark index would have retuned a slightly better result.

Woodside share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Woodside share price has accelerated by around 35%, driven by favourable market conditions.

Its shares hit a 52-week high of $34.60 in early March, before finding support around the $32 mark.

Woodside has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 12.47 and commands a market capitalisation of roughly $32.37 billion.

The post The Woodside share price has gained just 1% in 5 years. Have the dividends been worth it? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Black gold! Here’s how well ASX energy shares performed over the March quarter
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Woodside share price dips despite project green light
• Why AGL, Alliance Aviation, Woodside, and Xero shares are charging higher

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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 Bruce Jackson.

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Volatility has crept into the ASX share market in 2022, and there’s been plenty of calamity from the fallout.

The standard deviation – a measure of volatility both up and down – of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is at an annualised 16% this year to date, well above historical levels.

As a result, several sectors are pushing lower, while others are well up, with pockets of green and red littered throughout each corner of the market.

Worried about the uncertainty? Think long-term

One important consideration is the current economic and investing cycle, Shane Oliver of AMP Capital says.

The economist says while there are plenty of setbacks in the ASX share market, over the long-term, growth assets like stocks continue to provide outsized returns.

“It’s invariably the case that the share market leads the economic cycle (bottoming out before economic recovery is clear and topping out before an economic downturn has really hit and vice versa at the top) and that different assets perform relatively best at different phases in the cycle,” he said to Livewire.

Such a mantra is important, Oliver says, because investment returns have proven to be smooth and consistent for the patient investor. That’s despite an extensive list of “worries” that have kept more than a few on the sidelines.

“Australian economies have had plenty of worries over the last century, but it got over them with Australian shares returning 11.8% per annum since 1900, with a broad rising trend in the All Ords price index,” he remarked.

Expanding on this school of thought, Oliver also mentioned:

Worries are normal around the economy and investment markets but most of them turn out to be no more than short-term noise.

Short-term share returns can sometimes see violent swings, but the longer the time horizon the greater the chance your investments will meet their goals. It’s also extremely hard to time these short-term swings. So in investing, time is on your side and its best to invest for the long-term.

ASX shares have certainly shrugged off the wave of pressures in the past few years, even powering through geopolitical and global market tensions since trading resumed in 2022.

The benchmark recently powered back towards its all-time highs, with the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) and Australian small caps following suit.

The post Worried about current ASX share market uncertainty? Read this appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
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• 2 ASX tech shares that are cheap enough to buy now

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 Bruce Jackson.

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Shares in Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL) finished trading yesterday at $3.06 apiece.

The gain comes amid a period of heavy losses for the company whose share price has collapsed from a high of $3.60 on January 2.

What’s up with the Medibank share price?

Shares have been gliding down these past few weeks with authority. This is despite nothing sensitive from the company.

Noteworthy are the natural flooding disasters spread along the East Coast of Australia that are no doubt causing headaches for Australian insurers and insurees alike.

Fellow insurers Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) and Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) also felt pain from the fallout.

As such, it appears the market has priced in lower growth expectations for Medibank over the coming periods, according to Matt Ingram, analyst at Bloomberg.

“[Medibank’s] cyclically adjusted P/E ratio lags behind peers despite being 20% above the past decade’s average and could be due to the market’s lower growth expectations for Medibank,” he wrote in a recent note.

“Its 4.3% dividend yield is comparable to peers, but may not be boosted by more buybacks like Suncorp and Australia’s big four banks due to lower surplus capital,” he added.

The market prices securities on a balance of earnings performance and in particular, future earnings expectations, Peter Lynch says in One Up on Wall Street.

So if the market feels Medibank’s growth is set to wind back, so will its share price on this logic.

In the last 12 months, the Medibank share price has climbed 21% but has erased around 8% of gains since trading resumed this year.

The post Why did the Medibank share price go backwards in March? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why has the Medibank (ASX:MPL) share price lost 11% since early January?
• Own Medibank (ASX:MPL) shares? Now you own a piece of this tech start-up

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 owns and has recommended Insurance Australia Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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If you’re looking to boost your income with some dividend shares, then you might want to consider the ones listed below.

Both dividend shares are expected to provide investors with attractive yields in the near term. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

The first ASX dividend share for income investors to look at is Rural Funds.

It is a lessor of agricultural property with revenue derived from leasing almond orchards, macadamia orchards, poultry property and infrastructure, vineyards, cattle properties, cropping properties, agricultural plant and equipment, cattle and water rights.

Rural Funds currently has property portfolio comprising 61 properties across New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia with a lengthy weighted average lease expiry of 10.9 years.

Combined with built in periodic rental increases, this provides Rural Funds with great visibility on its long term earnings. It also allows management to target a 4% dividend increase each year.

This means that in FY 2022, the company is aiming to lift its dividend to 11.73 cents per share. Based on the current Rural Funds share price of $3.00, this represents a yield of 3.9%.

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

Another dividend share that could be a buy is Westpac. It is of course one of Australia’s big four banks, operating through a number of brands. These include the eponymous Westpac brand, Bank of Melbourne, Bank SA, St Georges, and Rams.

Although Australia’s oldest bank has seen its shares rebound strongly from recent lows, they are still expected to provide investors with generous dividend yields in the coming years.

For example, on a trailing 12-month basis, Westpac’s shares currently offer a fully franked 4.9% dividend yield. Whereas if you look ahead to FY 2023, when the team at Morgans is forecasting a $1.60 per share dividend from the bank, the yield increases to a very attractive 6.6% for investors.

The post 2 ASX dividend shares with attractive yields appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 banks bounce bank in March. Here are the April forecasts from analysts
• Is the Westpac share price the best value of the big four banks?
• How big will the CBA dividend be in 2022?
• How did the Westpac share price perform in March?
• How did ASX 200 bank shares perform today?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended RURALFUNDS STAPLED. 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 Bruce Jackson.

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Experts have named some ASX shares as buys, and April 2022 could be the time to jump on these opportunities.

When a business generates a lot of revenue growth, it could lead to elevated compound growth over time.

Here are two ASX shares that are liked:

Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW)

Temple & Webster is an e-commerce business that sells an extensive range of different homewares and furniture products. It sells more than 200,000 products from hundreds of suppliers.

The business runs a drop-shipping model where products are sent directly to customers by suppliers, which enables faster delivery times and reduces the need to hold inventory, allowing for a more extensive product range.

The ASX share also has a private label range, which is sourced from overseas suppliers.

Temple & Webster is generating growth in numerous ways. In the FY22 first half, revenue increased 46% year-on-year to $235.4 million. Active customers grew 34% to 906,000, and revenue per active customer rose 10%.

According to management, the second half of FY22 started “strongly”, with year-on-year growth of 26% for the period of 1 January 2022 to 6 February 2022.

Management said it remains confident that the strategy is resonating with the next generation of shopper and it’s well placed to continue to take share in the markets it’s operating in.

It is continuing to reinvest its operating leverage where it makes sense to do so, building strategic moats around the core business while investing in new growth horizons.

It’s currently rated as a buy by Credit Suisse, with a price target of $13.54. The Temple & Webster share price closed on Thursday at $6.26, suggesting a potential upside of 116%.

Volpara Health Technologies Ltd (ASX: VHT)

Volpara Health Technologies is an ASX healthcare share that offers software for screening clinics providing feedback on breast density, compression, dose, and quality, while its enterprise-wide practice-management software helps with productivity, compliance, reimbursement, and patient tracking.

The business is seeing steady growth in its annual recurring revenue (ARR), which gives the company and investors revenue visibility.

For the three months to 31 December 2021, Volpara added almost US$1.1 million of ARR. The ARR reached US$21.5 million. In that quarter, subscription receipts rose 51% to NZ$6.7 million.

Its market share has now reached more than 35% of US women being screened, up from the prior quarter of 34%. Its software-as-a-service (SaaS) churn/client loss remains low.

The company is looking to upsell more of its products to clients, which could help the average revenue per user (ARPU). ARPU over the installed base was US$1.47 on 31 December 2021, with the average ARPU for deals in the third quarter of US$1.65.

The ASX share is also looking to grow in the lung cancer space. It entered the lung cancer screening world in 2019 when it acquired MRS Systems, with a market share of 8%.

Volpara says that software technology ‘stacks’ are similar, “except diagnostic tools are more compelling in the lung space due to the complexity of doing lung biopsies as compared to breast”.

Volpara believes the commercial opportunities in lung cancer screening are at least equal to breast screening as lung screening ramps up. It estimates the market could be $400 million in the US alone.

It’s currently rated as a buy by Morgans, with a price target of $1.94. That’s 54% higher than Thursday’s closing price of 89 cents.

The post 2 great ASX shares to buy in April: experts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Is this why the Temple & Webster share price surged over 6% today?
• 2 high-growth ASX shares to buy today: brokers
• 7 small-cap ASX shares that have been oversold: Wilsons
• Do ASX biotech shares offer ‘good buying’ after the sell-off? Experts weigh in
• Temple & Webster (ASX:TPW) share price hits 52-week low, top broker tips 90% upside

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. owns and has recommended Temple & Webster Group Ltd and VOLPARA FPO NZ. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended VOLPARA FPO NZ. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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