After a decent start to the day, the Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price is trading lower this afternoon.

At the time of writing, the online travel agent’s shares are down 0.5% to $5.47.

This means the Webjet share price is trading largely flat in 2022.

Where next for the Webjet share price?

According to the team at Goldman Sachs, its analysts believe the Webjet share price could take off from here.

This morning Goldman retained its buy rating and $6.90 price target on the company’s shares. This implies potential upside of 26% for investors over the next 12 months.

What did the broker say?

Webjet remains the broker’s top pick in the sector. Its analysts prefer the company to rival Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT), with the latter getting only a neutral rating and $19.50 price target.

In respect to the travel market, the broker believes that pent up demand will offset inflationary pressures. It commented:

“Despite the inflationary macro environment, we believe the outlook for travel remains relatively protected due to pent-up demand for travel as well as strong consumer health from an economic perspective. Domestically in Australia, our expectations are for consumption to remain robust at c. 6.7% CAGR over FY22-24e on a nominal basis with the lifestyle services category (travel, entertainment etc) expected to see the best growth at c. 10.8% CAGR over the same period.”

But the main reason that Goldman is positive on the Webjet share price is the WebBeds business to business (B2B) business. It explained:

“Webbeds is the 2nd largest Bedbanks operator globally with Hotelbeds, the number 1 player, remaining a strong market leader. Management estimates the addressable market for the Bedbanks business to be at c. A$70bn, representing c. 8.8% of the accommodations market.

At the other end of the COVID crisis, while questions remain about the permanent closure of some individual hotels, we believe that the Bedbanks businesses will remain beneficiaries of the recovery due to their broader distribution ability which is a positive in the constrained demand environment.

Separately, we expect the Webbeds business to be more efficient coming out of the pandemic driven by greater efficiencies from streamlining of platforms and ERP and other initiatives which the group expects to deliver c. 20% increase in cost efficiencies.”

The post Why this broker thinks the Webjet share price can fly 26% higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the Flight Centre share price is taking off today
• How did the Webjet share price travel in March?
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• Federal budget: Goldman Sachs names 4 ASX shares to buy

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited and Webjet 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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The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price is up 1.5% over the past 24 hours, currently trading for US$46,695 (AU$61,611).

Depending on your dateline, Bitcoin will have kicked off April somewhere around US$47,397, though it had some wild swings on the first day of the month.

With the world’s biggest crypto by market cap enjoying a range of tailwinds last month, the Bitcoin price finished March up 20%.

But that’s virtual water under the bridge.

What crypto investors want to know now, of course, is what to expect for the Bitcoin price in April.

Where to next for the Bitcoin price?

Over the past few months, cryptos have moved similarly to risk assets, like high-growth tech shares.

With risk appetite rebounding, the Bitcoin price has done well.

Looking to April and beyond, DeVere Group chief executive Nigel Green says crypto investors should keep a close eye on the key psychological price barrier of US$50,000.

If the Bitcoin price were to “surge through this key price marker, we expect the current bull run would become supercharged as crypto FOMO [fear of missing out] would kick in – as it typically does when Bitcoin prices shoot up,” Green said.

Green said that as prices rebound, it will remind people sitting on the sidelines that cryptos are the “future of money”:

As such, prices are set to skyrocket over the long term – and both institutional and retail investors will not want to miss out on the ‘early advantage’ edge. Watching others make decent returns during a good rally may make you feel obligated to join in and get in on the gains.

“The world is racing towards a digital revolution and as investors increasingly pay attention to this, the long-term trajectory for Bitcoin, surely, has to be upward,” he added.

Still rangebound

While the Bitcoin price has toyed with breaking above its key resistance level, hitting US$48,087 last week, it’s been stuck in the US$30,000 to US$50,000 range since 5 December.

That, according to co-founder of Bitcoin IRA Chris Kline, may not bode well for the Bitcoin price in the shorter term.

According to Kline (quoted by Bloomberg):

There seems to be a range where Bitcoin starts to look like a pong game. There are headwinds across markets, not just in crypto. We’ve got inflation that is not transitory. There’s uncertainty around rate hikes and conversations about a recession. There is a lot of waiting on the sidelines.

Regardless of whether the next big move for the Bitcoin price is up or down, senior portfolio manager at UBS Asset Management Jeremy Zirin sounded a note of caution for crypto investors.

“From an investment standpoint, it should be viewed as something that is highly speculative and should not be a meaningful part of a client portfolio because of its very high levels of volatility and just uncertain utility over time,” he said.

“I see it more as a speculative component of one’s portfolio.”

Indeed, from a speculative perspective, the Bitcoin price is down 32% from its 10 November all-time high of US$68,790, while it’s up 40% from its 24 January low of US$33,184.

Invest with care.

The post What’s the outlook for the Bitcoin price in April? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why cryptos like Bitcoin are ‘no longer in the fringes’
• Another crypto is buying $13 billion of Bitcoin. Here’s why
• Here’s what moved the Bitcoin price 20% higher in March
• Here’s what ESG investors should know about cryptos like Bitcoin
• Mining Bitcoin is 3.5 times more expensive than digging up gold

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Bitcoin. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Bitcoin. 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 Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price topped the $100 mark in March but could it retreat lower in April?

CBA shares are currently trading at $104.09 apiece, a 0.36% gain. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) is up 0.33% at the time of writing.

Let’s take a look at the outlook for the bank.

What might the future hold for CBA?

The CBA share price has surged 10% since market close on 4 March, hitting a monthly high of $107.45 on 23 March.

However, analysts at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) have recently named CBA as a share to sell. Macquarie retained an underperform rating on the company’s shares with a $90 price target. That’s nearly 14% less than the price at the time of writing.

Macquarie has concerns that upcoming updates from the banks could disappoint and impact their shares. My Foolish colleague James reported this is due to margin weakness caused by slowing volume growth and competitive pressures.

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley also recently placed an underweight rating and $92 price target on CBA shares.

Morgan Stanley thinks CBA’s shares are overvalued at the current price. Analysts are concerned any net interest margin boost from rate hikes could be partly offset by increasing funding costs. Intense mortgage competition and modestly higher loan losses could also impact the bank.

CBA announced an interim dividend of $1.75 per share in February. This was 17% more than the FY21 half-year dividend. Statutory net profit after tax soared 26% to $4.741 million in the first half of FY22.

CBA share price recap

The CBA share price has soared 21% in the past year while it is up 3% year to date.

In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned about 10% in the past year.

CBA has a market capitalisation of about $177.9 billion.

The post Could the CBA share price be heading back under $100 this month? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 banks bounce bank in March. Here are the April forecasts from analysts
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell next week
• How big will the CBA dividend be in 2022?
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• Why has the CBA share price outperformed its big four peers in March?

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. 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has enjoyed a strong day on Tuesday, although its previous gains have been dented this afternoon. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is up by a slight 0.16% at just over 7,500 points. 

But let’s dig deeper into these gains and check out the shares topping the ASX 200’s trading volume charts, according to investing.com.

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Tuesday

Liontown Resources Limited (ASX: LTR)

The first ASX 200 share up today is battery materials company Liontown Resources. Liontown has had a hefty 11.96 million of its shares change hands as it currently stands. There’s been no major news out of the company itself that might explain this volume. In saying that, Liontown shares have taken a bit of a battering today, which probably provides an alternative explanation. The Liontown share price is currently down by a nasty 5.66% at a flat $2 a share, the probable reason behind today’s high volumes. 

AVZ Minerals Ltd (ASX: AVZ)

Lithium hopeful AVZ is our next ASX 200 share worth taking a look at this Tuesday. So far today, a sizeable 28.65 million AVZ shares have found a new ASX home. Again, it seems we have a large share price movement to thank for this elevated trading volume, considering there has been nothing out from the company itself. The AVZ share price has copped a battering today, currently down by 7.52% at $1.23 a share. Even so, the AVZ share price remains up more than 40% over the past month alone. 

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

We have another ASX 200 lithium stock in Pilbara Minerals to round out our list today. This producer has watched a whopping 28.84 million Pilbara shares trade on the markets so far today. Yet again, it seems a large share price movement is responsible. And yet again, it’s a steep loss. Pilbara is currently down by 3.18% at $3.50 a share. This is Pilbara’s first major down day in close to a month. 

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

More reading

• High voltage! Origin (ASX:ORG) share price up 3% to new 52-week high
• Here’s why ASX 200 shares still have ‘a pretty good growth outlook’
• These are the best ASX lithium stocks so far in 2022
• 2 lithium ASX shares to buy in April 2022: experts
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: IGO dealt blow, Block’s data breach, Xero jumps

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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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As for many shares on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), the QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) share price is having a pretty pleasant day of trading thus far. QBE shares are currently up a robust 1.12% at $11.70 after the company closed at $11.57 a share yesterday.

After these gains, QBE shares are now up by more than 16% over just the past month alone. So after this rather eye-catching run, could the QBE share price still be “relatively inexpensive”?

Well, that’s how ASX broker Morgans has just described QBE Insurance Group.

As my Fool colleague James covered this morning, Morgans has just put out its ‘best ideas for April’ list of ASX 200 shares. And QBE Insurance made the cut.

The broker rates QBE shares as an add, complete with a 12-month share price target of $13.50 a share. If that came to pass, it would represent an upside of 15.4% on the company’s current share price. That would be around 19% factoring in this company’s dividend (assuming payout consistency over the next year, of course).

Is the QBE share price cheap right now?

So why does Morgans like QBE shares right now? Here’s some of what the broker said:

With strong rate increases still flowing through QBE’s insurance book, and further cost-out benefits to come, we expect QBE’s earnings profile to improve strongly over the next few years. The stock also has a robust balance sheet and remains relatively inexpensive overall, trading on approximately 14x FY22F PE.

It’s that “approximately 14x FY22F PE” number that Morgans is using to call QBE “relatively inexpensive”. It means that on today’s share pricing, the company is trading on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of approximately 14 times its full-year earnings for the 2022 financial year. A P/E ratio is an imperfect metric that can be used to assess how the market is pricing a company compared to its peers. Since every company reports its profits in the same currency, we can look at how the market values each business compared to its profits.

Morgans is asserting that QBE is “relatively inexpensive” because many other ASX shares have P/E ratios above that right now. For example, another ASX 200 insurance company, Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN), currently has a P/E ratio of 15.97. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) is trading with a ratio of 19.88. Thus, we can say that these companies are more expensive on a P/E basis compared to QBE.

So Morgan’s assessment will no doubt be welcomed by shareholders today.

At the current QBE share price, this ASX 200 insurance share has a market capitalisation of $17.12 billion.

The post The QBE share price has gained 16% in a month. Is it still a ‘relatively inexpensive’ ASX 200 share? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Broker names 3 of the best ASX 200 shares to buy in April
• Broker names 2 ASX 200 shares to buy with almost 20% upside
• Lucky 13? The QBE Insurance share price is now up 13% in 2 weeks
• Why ‘now is the time’ to buy QBE (ASX:QBE) shares: fundie
• 2 ASX shares to buy now, no matter what else happens this year: experts

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price is currently up by 4%.

Looking at the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), many of the leading performers today are tech names.

For example, the Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) share price is up 6.7%, the Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price is up 4.2%, the Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) share price is up 4.2% and the WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) share price is up 3.4%.

While the Appen share price is currently up by 4% today and 6% over the last month, it is still down significantly in 2022. In the calendar year to date, Appen shares currently register a decline of 36%.

Can the Appen share price keep going higher?

Brokers are mixed on whether the business is an opportunity or not.

Macquarie still thinks there is more downside to come, with a price target of just $5.70. That implies a decline of another 20% from where it is today. The broker wasn’t impressed by the FY21 result, which didn’t hit forecasts. The broker thinks that the company won’t be able to rise much.

However, Citi has a different view. It rates the company as a buy, with an Appen share price target of $9.15. Like Macquarie, it also noted that the lack of short-term guidance doesn’t inspire confidence.

In the recent FY21 result, Appen said that revenue rose 8% to $447.3 million. Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) only grew by 3% to $77.7 million. Underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) was down 10.4% to $40.6 million.

By FY26, the company wants to at least double FY21’s revenue, improve the customer mix with one-third of revenue from non-global customers and achieve an EBITDA margin target of 20%.

The post Tech recovery? Appen share price jumps 4% higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares during the first quarter
• Why is the Appen (ASX:APX) share price surging 6% higher today?
• 3 ASX growth shares down more than 50% in a year
• Is the Appen (ASX:APX) share price on the comeback trail?
• How have ASX artificial intelligence shares been performing lately?

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns Altium. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Altium, Appen Ltd, Block, Inc., WiseTech Global, and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Block, Inc., WiseTech Global, and Xero. 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 Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) share price is powering ahead on Tuesday following a positive update from the company.

At the time of writing, the mining services company’s shares are fetching for $59.64, up 5.63%.

What did Mineral Resources announce?

Investors are snapping up Mineral Resources shares after the company provided a business update on its lithium portfolio.

In its release, Mineral Resources advised that due to unprecedented demand for lithium products, it will ramp up production. This follows a mutual agreement with its joint venture partners to increase output from the Wodgina and Mt Marion spodumene mines in Western Australia.

As such, Mineral Resources and NYSE-listed Albemarle Corporation will accelerate the resumption of production from Train 2 at Wodgina.

First spodumene concentrate from this train is expected sometime in July this year.

In addition, Mineral Resources is on track to recommence operations at Train 1, with first spodumene concentrate expected next month. Previously, production from this train was forecast to be in the third quarter of 2022.

Each train has a nameplate capacity of 250,000 dry metric tonnes of 6% product.

Both companies will also discuss timings for starting up Train 3 at the end of 2022, and possible construction for train 4. The latter depends on the future state of the global lithium market.

Moving across to Mt Marion, Mineral Resources and its 50/50 joint venture partner Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium have decided to upgrade the mine’s facilities.

Once completed, this is expected to immediately increase Mt Marion’s spodumene concentrate production capacity to 600,000 tonnes per annum from this month.

A second stage of expansion could boost capacity to 900,000 tonnes per annum by the end of 2022.

The equivalent number of tonnes will be at a grade of 6%.

Capital expenditure for both stages is expected to be less than $120 million.

What did management say?

Mineral Resources managing director Chris Ellison commented:

For some time now the world has seen extraordinary demand for lithium, driven by the strength of the electric vehicle market. This demand has resulted in a substantial increase in lithium prices, with pricing expected to remain strong for the rest of this decade.

… With a world-class portfolio of highest-quality, long-life lithium assets in a Tier 1 mining jurisdiction, we are well positioned to capitalise on the continued growth of the global electric vehicle market.

Mineral Resources share price snapshot

Adding today’s gains, the Mineral Resources share price has surged by more than 54% for investors in the last 12 months

On valuation grounds, Mineral Resources presides a market capitalisation of roughly $11.2 billion, with approximately 188.85 million shares outstanding.

The post Mineral Resources share price leaps on ‘unprecedented’ lithium demand update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 lithium ASX shares to buy in April 2022: experts
• These were the best performers on the ASX 200 last week
• The US is backing Aussie critical minerals projects, and these ASX mining shares could be set to reap the rewards
• What’s driving the Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) share price higher today?
• Buying ASX shares to cash in on the EV and battery metals craze? Read this

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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Yesterday we looked at three ASX shares brokers have given buy ratings to this week.

Unfortunately, not all shares are in favour with brokers right now. Three that have just been given sell ratings are listed below. Here’s why these brokers are bearish on these ASX shares:

A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

According to a note out of Citi, its analysts have downgraded this struggling infant formula company’s shares to a sell rating and slashed the price target on them by almost a third to $4.80. Citi made the move in response to COVID lockdowns impacting Chinese ports and weak pricing on Chinese ecommerce platforms. In addition, the broker has recently brought up concerns over delays to A2 Milk’s China label registration renewal. It feels if this renewal is denied it could damage its brand, as well as restrict it from selling in Chinese mother and baby stores. The A2 Milk share price is trading at $5.10 today.

Reliance Worldwide Corporation Ltd (ASX: RWC)

Another note out of Citi reveals that it has commenced coverage on this plumbing parts company’s shares with a sell rating and $4.00 price target. While Citi is positive on the long term opportunity in the US market, it believes Reliance is facing some short term issues which pose downside risk to current consensus earnings. The Reliance share price is fetching $4.22 on Tuesday afternoon.

Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR)

Analysts at Ord Minnett have retained their sell rating and $5.00 price target on this copper miner’s shares. According to the note, the broker has bumped its copper price forecasts higher due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, while this is a positive for Sandfire, it isn’t enough for a change of rating. The broker continues to see the company’s shares as expensive at the current level. The Sandfire share price is trading at $5.78 today.

The post Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why A2 Milk, IGO, Lynas, and Sayona shares are dropping
• What happened to the A2 Milk share price in March?
• Could the A2 Milk share price be in for a better month in April?
• What was the highest ever A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price?
• Why A2 Milk, Atlas Arteria, Block, and Boral shares are tumbling 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. owns and has recommended Reliance Worldwide Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended A2 Milk and Reliance Worldwide Corporation 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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The last 30 days have been brilliant for the share price of ASX rare earths explorer, Arafura Resources Limited (ASX: ARU).  

It has gained 121% in that time, helped along by a significant grant and, possibly, its inclusion in the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

At the time of writing, the Arafura Resources share price is 43 cents, 5.56% lower than its previous close.

However, earlier today it was trading at 50 cents – a new 52-week high and representative of an 11% gain.

For context, the All Ords and the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) are both up around 0.6% right now.

Let’s take a look at what’s been boosting the Arafura Resources share price.

What’s driving this ASX rare earths share higher?

The Arafura share price has been taking off lately. In fact, it’s only ended five sessions of the last month in the red.

Making its strong performance even more interesting, the company has only released one price-sensitive announcement in that time.

On 16 March, it announced it had been granted $30 million from the Australian Federal Government.

The funding was awarded under the government’s Modern Manufacturing Initiative and will be put towards building a $90.8 million rare earths separation plant at the company’s Nolans Project in the Northern Territory.

The initiative is part of a roadmap to develop Australia as a regional resources, technology, and critical minerals processing hub.

The plant will be the first of its kind in Australia and only the second to exist outside China.

Arafura Resources managing director Gavin Lockyer said the recognition of the plant’s significance in Australia’s future critical minerals processing abilities was “an exciting milestone” for the company.

And it’s not the only ASX-listed rare earths producer to be recognised by the government lately.

Yesterday, Iluka Resources Limited (ASX: ILU) made a final investment decision in favour of its Eneabba rare earths refinery.

The refinery was given governmental support through a risk-sharing arrangement, including a non-recourse loan.

Also potentially boosting the Arafura Resources share price lately is the company’s recent inclusion in the All Ords. It moved into its new home on the benchmark index on 21 March.

As The Motley Fool Australia previously reported, that meant funds tracking the index needed to get a hold of Arafura Resources’ stock prior to its inclusion.

It also opened up the company to fund managers restricted to trading within the index.

Arafura Resources share price snapshot

Right now, the Arafura share price is 85% higher than it was at the start of 2022.

It has also gained 150% since this time last year.

The post Guess which ASX rare earths share has rocketed more than 120% in a month appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ‘It’s where all the real value-add is’: Why has this ASX rare earths share soared 79% in a month?
• 3 ASX All Ords shares smashing 52-week highs today
• Why Arafura, Block, Magellan, and Qantas shares are storming higher
• Cash to splash: Why the Arafura Resources (ASX:ARU) share price is leaping 23% today
• Why is the Arafura Resources (ASX:ARU) share price leaping 8% 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a pretty robust day so far this Tuesday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is up a healthy 0.58%. But that’s nothing compared to the stellar day the Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) share price is currently enjoying.

Origin shares are presently up a pleasing 3.03% to $6.625 a share. Yesterday’s closing price was $6.43. But that’s not all. Earlier this morning, Origin shares rose as high as $6.65. That was a new 52-week high for Origin. It’s also a new two year high for the energy company. Yes, Origin hasn’t traded at these levels since way back in March 2020, just before the COVID-induced share market crash we saw that year.

Today’s move caps off what has been a very pleasant 12 months for Origin Energy. The company is now up almost 43% over the past year, as well as being up more than 23% in 2022 alone.

But, in saying that, longer-term shareholders could still well be in the red, even after these encouraging gains. Origin shares are still almost 25% below their immediate pre-COVID levels of close to $9 a share. And this company’s all-time high of more than $15 a share that we saw way back in 2010 is something of a pipedream today.

Yet, even so, we can’t deny it has been a very lucrative 12 months for this ASX 200 blue chip.

So what is behind Origin’s more recent successes?

Origin Energy share price soars amid share buybacks, energy prices

Well, there are a couple of possible catalysts. Firstly, energy prices remain significantly elevated, particularly oil, gas, and coal. This is a major tailwind for Origin.

Then there is the matter of the company’s share buybacks. As my Fool colleague Brooke covered late last month, Origin has been executing its $250 million share buyback program. Just this morning, the company told investors that it had bought and retired more than 710,000 of its own shares on the markets yesterday. Share buybacks increase returns for existing shareholders.

So it’s likely that a combination of these factors has resulted in the new 52-week high for the Origin shares that we see today. No doubt shareholders will be pleased.

At the current Origin Energy share price, this ASX 200 blue chip has a market capitalisation of $11.66 billion, with a dividend yield of 4%.

The post High voltage! Origin (ASX:ORG) share price up 3% to new 52-week high appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why ASX 200 shares still have ‘a pretty good growth outlook’
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: IGO dealt blow, Block’s data breach, Xero jumps
• These were the 5 best performing ASX hydrogen shares of the March quarter
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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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