Energy fans, rejoice. The ASX has welcomed a new oil and gas explorer today and its shares are roaring past its initial public offering (IPO) price.

After offering shares in the company for 20 cents under its prospectus, the Top End Energy Ltd (ASX: TEE) share price has hit the ground running.

The company’s stock is currently swapping hands for 36.5 cents apiece – representing an 82.5% gain on its float.

However, that’s far from the highest the Top End Energy share price has been today. In fact, its first open saw it trading at 40 cents.

Additionally, at its current record high, it had surged to 41 cents. That’s right, at one point this afternoon the ASX newbie was boasting a 105% gain.

So, what’s got the market so excited about the energy commodity explorer? Let’s take a look.

ASX energy newbie’s shares float at double their IPO price

Top End Energy hit the ASX at 1pm on Monday at double its IPO offer price. The company raised $6.4 million in its IPO by issuing 32 million shares for 20 cents apiece.

Top End Energy is focused on its projects in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

It holds a hydrocarbon permit for Queensland’s ATP 1069, named the Tri-Star Project.

It’s also progressing permits for a 50% interest in 30 oil and gas permit applications – dubbed the TG Project – in the Northern Territory, covering more than 160,000 square kilometres.

Top End Energy acquired the TG Project from McKam, a private company that has been identifying, exploring, and developing resources for more than 30 years.

The project will be in joint venture with McKam. Additionally, McKam holds a 22.2% stake in Top End Energy.

The company intends to explore for gas and oil, as well as other marketable products such as helium and hydrogen. Though, its major goal is to reach net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

To get there, it plans to explore renewable energy, carbon abatement and sequestration projects, and, where necessary, will purchase carbon credits.

Additionally, it will look into developing complimentary renewable energy revenue streams in the vicinity of its core assets. These could include wind, solar, biomass, and biogas.

It expects to factor in costs of offsetting emissions in future exploration and development budgets.

Assuming its stock floated on the ASX at its IPO price, the company expected a fully-diluted market capitalisation of approximately $24 million with around 119.9 million shares outstanding.

At its current share price, the company has a fully-diluted market capitalisation of around $43 million.

The post This ASX energy share just hit the boards at double its IPO price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why is the Novonix (ASX:NVX) share price charging 6% higher?
• Here’s what $10,000 invested in CSL shares 5 years ago looks like now
• Is the Westpac share price the best value of the big four banks?
• 3 things about Apple that smart investors know
• Considering Macquarie shares? Here’s why this expert is predicting a ‘cracker result’

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/GPEFcDa

The Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX) share price has started the week in a positive fashion.

In afternoon trade, the battery technology company’s shares are up over 6% to $6.82.

Why is the Novonix share price charging higher?

Investors appear to have been bidding the Novonix share price higher today in response to the release of an announcement out of Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA).

According to the release, with the help of scientists from Novonix, the lithium developer has made lithium hydroxide from its Authier spodumene product that is the same quality as commercial battery-grade material.

The release notes that Novonix’s scientists incorporated the sample into a common lithium battery cathode compound precursor (NMC622), which was used to make lithium‐ion coin half‐cells.

Positively, the results showed the discharge capacity of Sayona’s hydroxide‐based cathode cells was the same as benchmark cathode cells using currently available commercial lithium hydroxide.

Is it too late to invest?

Despite today’s gain, the Novonix share price is still down by over a third since the start of the year.

Unfortunately, though, the team at Morgans don’t believe the Novonix share price has fallen enough to put it in the buy zone.

Morgans currently has a neutral rating and $4.88 price target on its shares, which suggests potential downside of approximately 28%.

The post Why is the Novonix (ASX:NVX) share price charging 6% higher? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Allkem, Iluka, Pendal, and Sayona Mining shares are charging higher
• Here’s why the Sayona (ASX:SYA) share price is surging 34% on Monday
• These were the best performers on the ASX 200 last week
• The ASX 200 just had its longest winning streak since 2017. What’s doing?
• Novonix (ASX:NVX) share price shoots up 20% this month amid tech snapback

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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/UHzNXWu

Regardless of travelling lower in 2022, the CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price has rocketed over the past five years.

In fact, the biotherapeutics company’s shares have more than doubled in value, representing stable long-term growth.

In February 2020, CSL shares reached an all-time high of $342.75 before retreating. While the company’s shares have been rangebound ever since, they are still some way off reaching uncharted territory.

Nonetheless, let’s rewind the clock and see how much an investor would have made if they had invested $10,000 in CSL shares five years ago.

How much would your initial investment be worth now?

If you spent $10,000 on CSL shares exactly five years ago, you would have bought them for $126.49 each. The long-term investment would have given you approximately 79 shares without reinvesting the dividends.

At the time of writing, CSL shares are swapping hands for $268.53.

That means that those 79 shares would be worth $21,213.87 right now.

In percentage terms, the initial investment implies a return of about 112% or an average return of 16.23% per year.

On the other hand, if you had invested the same amount in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), it would be worth $12,833.38.

Going back to percentages, this equates to a gain of roughly 28% or a yearly average of 5.02% across a five-year period.

What about CSL’s dividends?

From 2017 to halfway through 2022, CSL has made a total of 11 biannual dividend payments to shareholders.

Its most recent dividend distribution was its second-highest interim dividend declared by the board, despite COVID-19 disruptions.

Adding those 11 dividend payments gives us a total amount of $13.99 per share. Calculating the number of shares owned against the dividend payments gives us a figure of $1,105.21.

When putting both the initial investment gains and dividend distribution, an investor would have roughly $22,319.08 or $12,319.08 profit.

As you can see, investing in CSL would have quadrupled what you would have gotten from investing in the ASX 200 ($12,319.08 vs. $2,833.38).

CSL share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the CSL share price has travelled 2% higher but is down almost 8% year to date.

CSL has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 33.54 and commands a market capitalisation of roughly $129.12 billion.

The post Here’s what $10,000 invested in CSL shares 5 years ago looks like now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These were the best and worst performing ASX sectors in March
• Own AMP shares? Here’s how this ASX company did in March
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO): Perpetual makes Pendal offer, Iluka hits record high
• Here’s why the performance of ASX 200 shares is smashing the S&P 500
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

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. owns and has recommended CSL Ltd. 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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/Iwh3ZtU

Shares in Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) are rangebound today and now trade flat at $24.05 apiece.

The bank has whipsawed higher in 2022 and now trades at 3-month highs after sinking to its yearly lows back in February.

Zooming out, over the past 5 years, Westpac has wormed its way down to trade at its near-lowest levels in that time, separating March 2020 market activity from the question.

In that time, shareholders have seen their holdings evaporate by around 30% after failing to recover to pre-pandemic highs. The spread of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) above Westpac is now abundantly clear, and widening.

Westpac – best value or not?

According to analysts at JP Morgan, Westpac’s outlook is “highly uncertain” and its revenue remains under pressure due to “compression on mortgage margins”.

“Westpac’s FY24 cost plan ($8 billion target ex Specialist) is highly ambitious given it requires an approximate 20% reduction from the FY21 cost base, but we expect the market to remain skeptical on achieving this,” the broker said in a note.

“Westpac has a solid capital surplus but this is not dissimilar to peers and collective provision coverage is now at the bottom end of the peer range,” it added, noting the investment proposition appears equally as bottom-heavy.

“In this context, and given our long-term concerns about the sustainability of mortgage margins across the industry (where WBC has a heavy exposure) we see the risk/reward as unattractive”.

Judging from that perspective, there might be better picks. However, not everyone agrees. Over 29% of analysts covering the bank rate it a buy right now, whereas 53% are neutral, according to Bloomberg data (although many with investment banking relationships as well).

Meanwhile, Bloomberg Intelligence banking analysts Matt Ingram and Jack Baxter commented last month that Westpac’s “strong balance sheet supports [a] big buyback”.

“Westpac’s 2022 distribution may once again top A$8 billion, supported by A$3.8 billion surplus capital as of December 31, decent profit and A$1.3 billion from divestments,” the pair wrote.

They too identify potential issues with Westpac’s competitiveness in the mortgage segment.

“Westpac’s delinquent loans fell to 0.58% of total exposure at December 31, still well above peers. Its 57% coverage of overdue and impaired loans is below peers, but as the loans are largely secured with excellent collateral, this didn’t require significant provisions,” each commented.

Westpac’s share price is still 2% in the red over the past 12 months even after spiking around 13% this year to date.

The post Is the Westpac share price the best value of the big four banks? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 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?
• What’s the outlook for the Westpac share price in April?
• Why analysts rate Westpac and this ASX dividend share as buys

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 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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/lC2rbte

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.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has been one of the best-performing companies in the last two decades. The excellent performance has translated into its market capitalization nearing an astounding $3 trillion. 

Savvy investors who follow Apple probably know these three things about the business: The iPhone continues to drive top-line growth. Apple has a robust and growing services segment. And finally, Apple has a history of successful innovation. Let’s look at each in greater detailer below. 

1. The iPhone is still driving revenue 

The iPhone is arguably the most successful product of all time. Launched over a decade ago, new iterations are driving hundreds of billions in sales for Apple. In its most recent quarter ending Dec. 25, Apple’s iPhone sales totaled $72 billion, up from $66 billion during the same quarter the year before. To put that figure into context, Apple’s overall sales were $124 billion in the quarter. Apple’s most recent launch, the iPhone 13, came with the latest 5G technology expected to drive consumers to upgrade older versions over the next couple of years.

The iPhone propels the company’s flywheel and is an attractive entry point for consumers into Apple’s ecosystem. Once a user adopts an iPhone as their phone of choice, they are less likely to switch to a new brand due to Apple’s strong customer retention.

That has undoubtedly helped Apple grow revenue from $229 billion in 2017 to $366 billion in 2021. Shareholders would be thrilled if Apple could match or beat that growth over the next four years. The top-line growth flowed to operating income increases from $61 billion to $109 billion in that same time. Increasing sales by over $130 billion in four years is a difficult feat, but boosting operating income by $48 billion raises the bar further.

2. The rise of the services segment 

Over the last two decades, Apple has built a robust and growing services segment. The business features exciting products like Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, iCloud, etc. Consumers have liked the offering that compliments an iPhone and improves the ownership experience. For instance, an iPhone user with an Apple Music subscription can create a custom music playlist and start playback through a voice command without touching the phone.

Apple was the first streaming content service to capture the best picture award at the Oscars for Coda. The acclaim could attract a new swatch of subscribers to Apple TV+, a boon to an already robust services business.  

The segments’ revenue increased to $20 billion in the fourth quarter, up from $16 billion in the same quarter the year before. What’s more, the services segment has significantly higher profit margins than products. Indeed, in Q4, the gross profit margin in the services segment was 72.4%, meaningfully higher than the 38.4% of product sales. For that reason, investors are encouraged by the growth of the more profitable segment over the years. 

3. History of innovation 

Apple is, by no stretch of the imagination, a one-hit-wonder. The company has a lengthy history of successful innovation. The iPhone is among a wide portfolio of leading-edge technology Apple has developed. Those hits include the iPad, iMac, iPod, Apple Watch, and AirPods. Apple’s innovation is not limited to products, and it counts several famous services to its name, including the App Store, iTunes, Siri, Apple Music, Apple TV+, IOS, and more. 

The success shows how Apple can keep creating wildly popular products and services to drive sales and profits, delivering consistent shareholder returns in the long run. 

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

The post 3 things about Apple that smart investors know appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Will Amazon start paying a dividend?
• 3 differences between you and billionaires, and 1 thing you have in common
• Why Apple stock looks tasty today
• 2 Warren Buffett stocks to buy and hold if the market crashes
• 2 Buffett stocks to buy for the long haul

Parkev Tatevosian owns Apple. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Apple. 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 Apple. 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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/Ya6O02g

Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) shareholders could be in for some positive news if one expert is on the money.

The Macquarie share price is flat today, currently trading at $206. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) is down 0.12% at the time of writing.

So why is this expert so optimistic about Macquarie?

Energy transition

Macquarie Group stands out to WaveStone Capital principal and portfolio manager Raaz Bhuyan. In an interview with livewire, he said the company has done an “incredible job” building a business around infrastructure. More recently, he highlighted Macquarie has put in a lot of work on the energy transition. He added:

With what’s going on with Europe with the Ukraine war, we think Macquarie’s going to have a cracker result because of what’s happened to gas prices in Europe and the US at their March year-end. 

Bhuyan also rates the company’s management team and tenure of its key executives. He commented:

And they have positioned themselves really, really well for the next five or 10 years, as we’ve seen this massive growth in funds under management in alternative assets. So they’ve become the biggest fund manager in alternative assets in the world.

Marcus Today portfolio manager Ben O’Leary recently named Macquarie as a stock he would hold if the market closed tomorrow for four years. Speaking to my Foolish colleague Tony, he said “they just have a track record of making money in almost any environment”.

Macquarie Group has recently modified its portfolio in response to the Ukraine crisis to capitalise on commodity market gains.

Macquarie share price snapshot

The Macquarie share price has rocketed 35% in the past year while it is up 0.13% year to date.

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

Macquarie Group has a market capitalisation of about $79 billion based on its current share price

The post Considering Macquarie shares? Here’s why this expert is predicting a ‘cracker result’ appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares in March
• Top ASX shares to buy in April 2022
• The ASX share that makes money no matter what: fund manager
• How did ASX 200 bank shares perform today?
• Macquarie calls ‘pens down’ on Uniti (ASX:UWL) takeover but more suitors possible

Motley Fool contributor Monica O’Shea has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/20utfw6

With so many shares to choose from on the ASX, it can be hard to decide which ones to buy. The good news is that brokers across the country are doing a lot of the hard work for you.

Three top ASX shares leading brokers have named as buys this week are listed below. Here’s why they are bullish on them:

Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE)

According to a note out of Morgans, its analysts have retained their add rating and lifted their price target on this lithium miner’s shares to $15.24. This follows the release of a pricing update last week which revealed expectations for materially higher lithium prices during the current quarter. Outside this, the broker is a fan of Allkem due to the diversification of its operations (geographically and production type). The Allkem share price is trading at $13.40 on Monday afternoon.

Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX: DHG)

A note out of Citi reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating and $6.15 price target on this property listings company’s shares. This follows news that Domain is acquiring campaign management platform company Realbase for $180 million. While the broker has concerns over the premium that Domain is paying and would have preferred it to be a scrip offer rather than cash, it acknowledges that the deal is in line with its marketplace strategy and expects it to boost its Agent Solutions business. The Domain share price is fetching $3.98 today.

Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC)

Another note out of Citi reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating but trimmed their price target slightly on this private hospital operator’s shares to $74.00. Citi suspects that Ramsay’s recent acquisitions have been holding its shares back given the high costs it has been paying. Nevertheless, with Ramsay’s earnings on the brink of normalising again after the pandemic, Citi sees enough value in them to maintain its buy rating. The Ramsay share price is trading at $64.67 on Monday.

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

More reading

• Why Allkem, Iluka, Pendal, and Sayona Mining shares are charging higher
• ASX lithium shares set to deliver next positive surprise to investors
• Why Air NZ, Bank of Queensland, Domain, and Perpetual shares are dropping
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO): Perpetual makes Pendal offer, Iluka hits record high
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns Allkem Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Ramsay Health Care Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3wqF5Mm

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.

Investors don’t need to panic when a market downturn hits. It’s important to figure out the best strategy for navigating a rough patch. As always, there will be winners and losers in this volatile period.

You can transform your long-term performance by adopting winning strategies and avoiding losing ones right now. Here’s how.

Winner 1: Investors with “dry powder”

It hurts to look at your portfolio value during a market downturn, but it’s not time to bury your head in the sand. Corrections are huge opportunities for investors who have cash to deploy, known as “dry powder” in the financial industry. Stocks have become much cheaper relative to the underlying companies’ sales, cash flows, and dividends. The downturn is like stocks have gone on sale, and it’s the best time to buy.

Of course, it takes a combination of luck and foresight to develop that pile of cash. Most asset managers keep some portion of their portfolio in cash. The amount of cash tends to rise and fall with the manager’s opinion on investment viability. Warren Buffett is holding an enormous amount of cash at Berkshire Hathaway because he determined stocks have been overvalued relative to their fundamentals.

Investors shouldn’t have been out of the market completely going into this latest downturn. However, those who kept themselves from getting caught up in the fervor should have some cash on hand to take advantage of more attractive pricing.

Winner 2: Dividend stocks

Dividend stocks aren’t immune from market downturns, but they tend to shine relative to other equities during tough times. Corrections and bear markets are signals that investor risk appetite has declined. Uncertain conditions cause capital to flow away from stocks and into other asset classes such as bonds and cash.

Those same forces are at work within the stock market as well. Growth stocks tend to take a beating, while dividend stocks hold up a bit better. Companies that pay dividends also tend to have more stable cash flows, and they often avoid catastrophic disruptions during economic turmoil. Importantly, dividend stocks still provide returns in the form of quarterly distributions, even if their share prices are temporarily down.

This is playing out as we speak. The Vanguard High Yield Dividend ETF is up about 2% year to date, while major stock indexes slumped. Growth stock valuations got a bit out of control, and investors are seeking safety as pricing falls back toward historically normal levels.

Data by YCharts.

Loser 1: Investors who sell

The only people who truly lose during a stock market downturn are investors who sell their stocks. Gains and losses are unrealized until they’re locked in through a sale. Any position with positive returns can still swing to a loss until that position is closed — the same is true for positions that are down.

In the history of the stock market, every single downturn has just been a temporary divergence from a long-term growth trend. If you sell during a downturn, you’re buying high and selling low. You’re losing your chance to capitalize on growth when the market recovers in the future.

But investors sell for all sorts of reasons. Some stocks are sold to cover distributions from retirement accounts. Sometimes, circumstances change in a financial plan, and assets have to be liquidated to meet cash needs. Or a portfolio has to be rebalanced to achieve a better mix of growth and volatility.

Too often, however, investors make fear-based decisions and exit the market due to the risk that losses grow even steeper. Selling in a downturn can help you avoid the impact of a full-blown bear market if it goes that far, but that’s nothing compared to the opportunity cost of missing out on all future gains.

The best investors understand volatility is inevitable, and they don’t throw out their whole investment plan when the market hits a rough patch.

Loser 2: Growth stocks

Growth stocks are usually great tools for long-term returns, but they come with extra volatility. They outperform when the market is up, and they underperform when the market falls.

Stock prices are theoretically based on expected future cash flows, and growth stocks have more uncertainty around those cash flows. It requires a bigger leap of faith to forecast the future earnings of a company that’s rapidly expanding but doesn’t produce any net profits today. The rewards are great if the story comes to fruition, but the risks are greater too.

Valuations peak at the top of market cycles, and growth stocks tend to have the most aggressive valuations when investor risk appetite is high. That leaves more room to fall when the market drops.

This doesn’t mean investors should avoid growth stocks. Instead, it suggests they shouldn’t be overexposed to this category, and they need to make sure they’re ready to ride out volatility when it inevitably comes up.

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

The post 2 winners and 2 losers during stock market downturns appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• What are the tailwinds behind BHP shares in April?
• Why is the Newcrest (ASX:NCM) share price having such a strong start to the week?
• Here are the 5 worst-performing ASX ETFs over the March quarter
• Why Allkem, Iluka, Pendal, and Sayona Mining shares are charging higher
• ASX lithium shares set to deliver next positive surprise to investors

Ryan Downie has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns and recommends Berkshire Hathaway (B shares) and Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2023 $200 calls on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), short January 2023 $200 puts on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), and short January 2023 $265 calls on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). 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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/1i6ZwdN

Shares in Aussie mining giant BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) are rangebound today, trading 0.27% higher at $52.53 apiece at the time of writing.

The world’s largest mining company has seen a 26% jump in its share price this year to date. It’s also up almost 5% over the previous month.

What’s the outlook BHP shares?

Analyst sentiment is fairly widespread, according to Bloomberg data. The list of buy calls has dropped substantially these past few months with 52% of analysts now neutral on the stock.

Currently, 32% of coverage advocates to buy – down from nearly 70% in November 2021 – while the remaining 16% of analysts urge their clients to sell BHP shares, Bloomberg data shows.

According to JP Morgan, BHP offers a “low risk jurisdictional exposure [with] a competitive advantage” to diversified mining, especially those seeking to keep it local in Australia.

“BHP is the world’s largest mining company, with key exposures to iron ore (50-60% 2022 earnings), copper (20-25%) and met [metallurgical] coal (15-20%),” the broker said in a recent note.

“BHP is [also] headquartered in Australia, and >80% of its earnings exposure is generated from operations in Australia. Australia offers a stable operating environment, clear fiscal regime and well established rule of law,” it added.

Other investigations reveal that BHP’s underlying markets are each roaring in 2022 with iron ore and copper, in particular, each posting strong rallies.

With tightening geopolitics and mounting inflation pressures, these aren’t the only commodity markets charging north in 2022.

Meanwhile, analysts at Macquarie, Barrenjoey, BMO Capital Markets, and Morgans are constructive on BHP and rate it a buy right now.

According to Bloomberg data, the consensus price target on BHP is $48 per share at the moment, well below the current share price.

BHP shares have spiked 15% in the last 12 months and are now up 5.57% in just the previous week of trade.

The post What are the tailwinds behind BHP shares in April? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the performance of ASX 200 shares is smashing the S&P 500
• The BHP share price went up over 10% in March
• The ASX 200 just had its longest winning streak since 2017. What’s doing?
• Why BHP, Core Lithium, Tabcorp, and Talga shares are racing higher
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Tabcorp demerger update, BHP higher, Block tumbles

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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/T8PkMq7

The Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) share price is in the green on Monday despite no news having been released by the company.

Additionally, the price of gold has been slipping, creating more mystery around Newcrest’s gains.

At the time of writing, the Newcrest share price is $27.20, 1% higher than its previous close.

However, earlier today, it was trading for as much as $27.43 – representing a 1.85% rise.

For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained 0.27% on Monday.

Let’s look at what’s going on with the market and the gold miner’s shares today.

What’s driving the Newcrest share price on Monday?

The Newcrest share price is outperforming the broader market on Monday despite the price of gold slipping.

As The Motley Fool’s James Mickleboro reported this morning, the golden metal’s spot price slipped 1.6% on Friday.

Its slip was driven by United States jobs data, which found the country’s employment rose by 431,000 in March while its unemployment rate dropped to 3.6%.

Right now, June gold futures are trading at US$1,923.80 an ounce, according to data from CNBC.

Still, the Newcrest share price isn’t alone in being in the green on Monday. It’s joined by fellow ASX 200 gold miner Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST).

Right now, the Northern Star share price is 1.48% higher than it was at Friday’s close.

Additionally, both the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) and the S&P/ASX 200 Resources Index (ASX: XJR) are outperforming today. They’re currently up 0.87% and 0.88%, respectively.

The last time the market heard from Newcrest was back in early March. Then, the company announced the completion of its acquisition of Pretium Resources Inc.

Today’s gains included, the Newcrest share price is 10% higher than it was at the start of 2022. It has also gained 6% since this time last year.

The post Why is the Newcrest (ASX:NCM) share price having such a strong start to the week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• The Newcrest (ASX:NCM) dividend is hitting bank accounts today. Here’s the lowdown
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2u7K6vW