Early adopters of the electric vehicle (EV) and lithium-ion (li-ion) battery trend a few years ago are likely to have seen their holdings lunge forward exponentially in that time.

Just about every player along the li-ion value chain has seen lithium shares explode over the past 12 to 24 months. All while the battery metal itself has soared more than 265% in the last year.

For instance, miners like Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS), Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) and Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) are up 211%, 34% and 138% in that time respectively.

Meanwhile, battery materials and technology company Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX) has soared over 120% in the last year. Novonix shares now trade at $5.29 apiece. However, that’s after touching a closing high of $12.15 back in December 2021.

All of the talk around EVs and batteries includes the presumption that it is a ‘cleaner’ source of energy.

However, is that really the case? Are EVs and batteries really ’emissions free’, as the term goes?

Not everyone agrees with that statement. A quick check of the facts suggests our electrical and/or renewable alternatives for energy mightn’t be as ‘green’ as they appear on face value.

Are batteries ‘zero-emissions power sources’?

Not all those familiar with the subject totally agree that li-ion battery production is the key to a zero-emissions future.

However, the recent surge in oil and gas prices has sent shockwaves through global energy markets. A fact that “should only spur the renewables evolution as it becomes evident that Europe cannot rely on Russian supply,” according to the Australian Financial Review.

Brent crude has soared to near-record highs in the last few weeks. Brent now trades at US$117 per barrel on last check. Whilst United Kingdom gas futures thrust more than 1,300% higher in the 12 months to 7 March. They have now spiked 520% in the past year.

Not to mention, the price of lithium has set a series of consistently new all-time highs over the last year. Lithium now trades at 497,500 Chinese yuan (AU$103,700) per tonne. Trading of nickel futures, another battery metal, was suspended on the London Metal Exchange two weeks ago as traders went into meltdown from tensions in Ukraine.

All of these factors are certainly relevant for the cost of li-ion batteries to the end market. However, what about the makeup of these batteries? What are the other costs involved?

Experts weigh in

Says Michael Vail, principal of Tre Ponte Corporate:

To manufacture each EV auto battery, you must process 25,000 pounds [11.3 tonnes] of brine for the lithium, 30,000 pounds [13.6 tonnes] of ore for the cobalt, 5,000 pounds [2.27 tonnes] of ore for the nickel, and 25,000 pounds [11.3 tonnes] of ore for copper.

All told, you dig up 500,000 pounds [226.8 tonnes] of the earth’s crust for one battery.

A typical EV battery weighs one thousand pounds [450kg], about the size of a travel trunk. It contains twenty-five pounds [11.3kgs] of lithium, sixty pounds [27kgs] of nickel, 44 pounds [20kgs] of manganese, 30 pounds [13.6kgs] cobalt, 200 [90kgs] pounds of copper, and 400 [180kgs] pounds of aluminum, steel, and plastic. Inside are over 6,000 individual lithium-ion cells.

Vail is actually referencing notes from a thought-provoking essay from author Bruce Haedrich. Titled “How much do you know about batteries?”, the piece questions the validity of renewable energy’s greenness.

Where do green batteries get their energy?

One other point the author highlights is that batteries don’t actually make electricity. They store electricity that is produced somewhere else.

At the moment, the primary means of energy production on a global scale (Australia included) is by coal, uranium, natural gas or diesel-fuelled generators.

Since a good portion of global energy produced is from fossil fuels, this could mean that a good portion of the EVs on the road are also “indirectly powered by fossil fuels” he postulates.

“Einstein’s formula, E=MC2, tells us it takes the same amount of energy to move a five-thousand-pound gasoline-driven automobile a mile as it does an electric one,” Haedrich writes.

The only question again is what produces the power? To reiterate, it does not come from the battery; the battery is only the storage device, like a gas tank in a car.

Not-so-clean clean energy

In his essay Haedrich also extends critique to both solar and windpower. He encourages readers to think more deeply about the embedded and operational costs involved with each.

“Windmills are the ultimate in embedded costs and environmental destruction,” he writes.

Each weighs 1,688 tonnes (the equivalent of 23 houses) and contains 1,300 tonnes of concrete, 295 tonnes of steel, 48 tonnes of iron, 24 tonnes of fibreglass, and the hard to extract rare earths neodymium, praseodymium, and dysprosium. Each blade weighs 81,000 pounds and will last 15 to 20 years, at which time it must be replaced. We cannot recycle used blades. Sadly, both solar arrays and windmills kill birds, bats, sea life, and migratory insects.

According to the United States Geological Survey, “depending on make and model, wind turbines are predominantly made of steel (66%–79% of total turbine mass); fiberglass, resin or plastic (11%–16%); iron or cast iron (5%–17%); copper (1%); and aluminium (0%–2%).”

There are also extra carbon-costs associated with the transportation and processing of each of these metals and/or chemicals as well.

Contrasting this to output, statistics shared in the Statistical Review of World Energy 69th Edition show that wind power supplied over 5% of electricity generation globally in 2020. Having said that, it accounted for around 2% of global consumption.

Renewable energy floating in the breeze

This year, renewable energy indices are struggling. There’s been an approximate 7% decrease in the Wind Energy Index since the beginning of 2022. In the same time, there has been a 6% drop in the Solar Energy Index, per Trading Economics data.

Both indices have collapsed around 14% and 15% in the past 12 months, respectively.

More than meets the eye

There is a generally-held consensus that climate change is happening. What’s more, humanity has a role in ensuring that we look after the planet as best as we can.

A debate has emerged surrounding the best way to go about this. Renewable energy is often at the forefront of the argument.

Most of the debate centres around direct costs, mileage/wattage and the indirect costs associated with mining and producing these products.

Alas, the push into renewable energy in the first place, and inclusion of the latest technologies has started to take effect, per the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute.

The report, published in 2019, showed that carbon emissions from battery manufacturing range from 61kg to 106kg per kilowatt hour.

Converting that into kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2) per hour equals a range of 14.2kg to 24kg CO2/hour, at roughly 24 to 40 cents per minute.

Contrast that to CO2 emissions from driving petrol and diesel engines at around 2.4kg per litre on average, with diesel cars emitting around 20% less than petrol.

The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey 2019 showed that Australians are travelling 54 minutes per day on average, meaning the average car trip could surmount to 129.6kgs of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere, or $2.16kg/minute.

In America, the figure totals to an emission of 4.6 metric tonnes of CO2 per year for a typical passenger vehicle, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Using renewable energy to make renewable energy

The analysis highlights that many vendors are using 100% renewable energy in the production of their batteries, and recycling waste products, further reducing emissions.

There is also increasingly available data that shows electric vehicles are cheaper to run on average than internal combustion engines. What’s more, purchase costs are reducing substantially.

Noteworthy is that electric vehicle pioneer Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) opened its first European gigafactory in Germany last week, with the hope of driving new car costs down further.

The point is that everything comes with a cost. Even with the push into renewable energies, it appears we aren’t there yet in regard to completely offsetting emissions.

In other words, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to renewable energy.

Whilst the transition is ongoing, there are still plenty of kinks to be ironed out. As that occurs, there should be plenty of opportunities for Australian investors to join the race.

The post Buying ASX shares to cash in on the EV and battery metals craze? Read this appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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. owns and has recommended Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price could return to its glory days if experts are on the mark.

The biopharmaceutical company’s share price finished the day at $261.86, a 1.11% fall. On 21 February 2020, the company’s shares were trading at $336.40.

Let’s take a look at what analysts think could happen to the CSL share price.

Positive broker coverage

CSL will “find its mojo again”, expert FNArena founder Rudi Filapek-Vandyck has predicted. In fact, Filapek-Vandyck has recently bought more CSL shares himself, as my Foolish colleague Tony reported. He said:

The business model was disrupted because of COVID… If I look forward to the next two to three years, I see an environment where CSL will again come to the fore.

If we’re getting an environment where earnings forecasts are falling and companies are issuing profit warnings,… you want to go to the reliability and the safety of CSL

Citi analysts have also recently kept a buy rating on the CSL share price and a $335 price target. That’s 28% more than the current share price. As my Foolish colleague James reported, Citi expects plasma collection improvements to have the most significant impact on the company’s shares.

Morgans is also positive on the company. The broker has put an add rating and $327.60 price target on CSL shares. This broker also cited plasma collections, saying:

Promisingly, plasma collections continue to improve, although remain slightly below pre-pandemic levels, and while industry wide issues remain (eg Omicron; staffing; increase costs), the worst appears behind us.

While near term challenges remain, the ongoing recovery in plasma collections, coupled with management’s confidence, paints a favourable earnings picture.

CSL was also recently listed as an ASX “hall of famer” share by QVG Capital. CSL reported revenue growth of 4% in its half-year results in February and a net profit after tax (NPAT) of $1.76 billion.

CSL share price snapshot

The CSL share price has shed nearly 10% year to date, while it is down just over 2% in the past year.

For perspective, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained nearly 9% in the past 12 months.

CSL has a market capitalisation of more than $126 billion based on its current share price.

The post Why the CSL (ASX:CSL) share price will ‘find its mojo again’: expert appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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.

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If you have a penchant for investing in small cap shares, then you might want to look at the two listed below.

Here’s why these small caps are highly rated by analysts right now:

Bluebet Holdings Ltd (ASX: BBT)

The first small cap ASX share to look at is sports betting company, Bluebet.

It’s fair to say that 2022 has not been kind to the Bluebet share price. A selloff of sports betting shares globally has led to its shares losing almost 50% of their value since the turn of the year.

While this is disappointing, the team at Morgans remains positive and appears to see this a buying opportunity for long term focused investors. It currently has an add rating and $1.60 price target on its shares.

It commented: “BBT has materially de-rated (FY22 EV/Revenue of 1.6x) in recent months as online sports betting (OSB) peers have come under significant valuation pressure. We remain confident that BBT will retain a disciplined approach in its dual track growth strategy and think this differentiated model will support a re-rating as a track record is established.”

Nitro Software Ltd (ASX: NTO)

Another small cap ASX share to look at is Nitro Software. It is a global document productivity software company behind the Nitro Productivity Suite. Nitro’s core solution provides integrated PDF productivity and eSignature tools to customers through a horizontal, software as a service and desktop-based software suite.

As with Bluebet, its shares have fallen heavily in recent months and have lost 45% of their value in 2022.

Goldman Sachs sees this as a buying opportunity. It is positive on Nitro and believes the market is underestimating its growth potential as a challenger in a US$34 billion total addressable market across PDF, e-signing and workflows.

It commented: “Nitro is down ~50% since November with the market currently pricing in long-term growth and margin assumptions that understate Nitro’s potential, in our view. We are positive on Nitro’s structural growth opportunity, reflected in our DCF scenario analysis implying an attractive asymmetric risk/reward skew.”

Goldman Sachs has a buy rating and $2.60 price target on its shares.

The post Analysts name 2 exciting small cap ASX shares to buy with huge upside appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BlueBet Holdings Ltd and Nitro Software 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 Tempest Minerals Ltd (ASX: TEM) share price closed higher today after the company reported a huge copper discovery.

Tempest shares finished the day at 8.4 cents apiece, a 265.2% again. In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) closed up a modest 0.08% today.

Let’s take a look at what this ASX miner announced.

Significant discovery

Tempest made a “significant discovery” at the Orion target of the Meleya Project in Western Australia.

The company sees the exploration target as one of “Australia’s most exciting greenfields base and precious metal exploration opportunities”.

The first hole drilled to 709 metres was found to intersect visible copper and semi-massive sulphides.

The company said “multiple mineralisation horizons” were observed in the core, including geology resembling the nearby “world-class” Golden Grove polymetallic mine.

The Meleya project is located in the Yalgoo region of WA, an area that includes many gold and VMS [volcanogenic massive sulphide] projects, including Golden Grove.

A second drill hole is currently reaching a depth of 1,100 metres, more than the first drill hole.

Commenting on the results, managing director Don Smith said:

This is a spectacular outcome. To make a new discovery on our very first hole into an entirely untested region far exceeds our expectations.

The team and I are very excited and just itching to get on with analysing exactly what we have here, do more drilling and continue exploring the hundreds of square kilometres of untested ground along strike we have secured.

Tempest entered a trading halt on 24 March pending the release of the news. In early March, the company informed the market it had doubled the size of land at the Meleya Project.

The drilling project is receiving funding from the WA government’s Exploration Incentive Scheme.

Share price snapshot

The Tempest Minerals share price has gained 136% in a year, while it has surged 265% year to date.

For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) index has returned about 9% over the past year.

The company has a market capitalisation of about $33.4 million based on the current share price.

The post Tempest Minerals (ASX:TEM) share price explodes 265% on ‘significant discovery’ appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 ASX mining shares blasting more than 30% higher today

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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Today is a good day for ASX mining shares in general, but three sector participants are blowing their peers out of the water.

They’ve each gained more than 30% in intraday trade on Monday, with one surging by as much as 239%.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gained 0.3% today, while the S&P/ASX 200 Resources Index (ASX: XJR) ended 1.61% higher.

So, what’s helped send these ASX mining shares shooting for the stars today? Let’s take a look.

3 ASX mining shares that took off on Monday

Kalium Lakes Ltd (ASX: KLL)

The Kalium Lakes share price was going gangbusters today, reaching 12 cents at its intraday high – representing a 57.8% gain.

As at Monday’s close, the company’s stock had slipped slightly to trade at 10.2 cents, still 34.2% higher than it was at the end of Friday’s session.

While there’s been no recent news out of the potash-focused minerals developer, there have been plenty of headlines regarding its future product.

As the Australian Financial Review reported last week, the world is experiencing a fertiliser shortage.

Russia normally exports around 15% of the world’s fertiliser, according to the publication, while ally Belarus is a major source of potash-based fertiliser.

As both have been hit by sanctions amid surging gas prices, fertiliser is becoming rarer and more expensive.

While that might be bad news for food availability, it could provide a boost to the ASX miner’s bottom line and help drive its share price higher.

Tempest Minerals Ltd (ASX: TEM)

The Tempest Minerals share price was also on the up-and-up on Monday.

At its highest trading point of the day, shares were swapping hands a whopping 291% higher at 9 cents apiece.

At the market close, Tempest shares had gained 278% to trade at 8.7 cents.

Today’s gains come on the back of news the company has struck copper at its Meleya Project’s Orion Target.

Its maiden drillhole struck the visible mineralisation. Assays on the find are now pending.

The news saw the company break a 2-session trading halt.

Far East Gold Ltd (ASX: FEG)

The final ASX mining share recording gains of more than 30% on Monday is one that landed on the exchange only hours ago.

The Far East Gold share price reached a high of 32.5 cents on the day of its float, representing a 62.5% gain on its initial public offering (IPO) price of 20 cents.  

While that impressive gain didn’t last – the ASX mining share closed trading 27.5% higher at 25.5 cents – it likely left an impression on market watchers.

The junior explorer holds a portfolio of six gold and copper projects located in Queensland and Indonesia.

At its offer price, with approximately 215.82 million shares outstanding, the company had a market capitalisation of $43 million.

As of its first close, the ASX miner holds a valuation of around $55 million.

The post 3 ASX mining shares blasting more than 30% higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Tempest Minerals (ASX:TEM) share price explodes 265% on ‘significant discovery’

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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As any investor in A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) would know, whatever highs the company has seen, they haven’t been recent. A2 Milk shares are one of ASX’s most eye-catching fallen angel shares of recent years. It was only a few years ago that the A2 Milk share price was giving investors incredible returns. Between April 2015 and April 2018, the company rose an extraordinary 2,000% or so. 

But more recent history has been as equally brutal to investors as it was kind years ago. At the current (at the time of writing) share price of $5.33, A2 Milk is now down 4.5% in 2022 so far, and 33% over the past 12 months alone. 

I drink your milkshake…

So what was the A2 Milk share price’s last all-time high? And when did the company hit this high watermark? Let’s take a look. 

A2 Milk last saw an all-time high back in July of 2020. It’s hard to believe that was only a few months after the market lows of the 2020 crash. So back then, A2 Milk hit an all-time high of $20.05 a share. Yes sir, $20.05. 

That means that on today’s pricing of $5.33, A2 Milk shares have now lost a staggering 73.4% of their value since that date a little less than two years ago. 

Falling demand, the closure of many Chinese daigou trade routes and inventory issues have all arguably contributed to this loss. More recently, we also got the news that A2 Milk would have to contend with a new competitor product in the infant formula arena from fellow ASX dairy company Bubs Australia Ltd (ASX: BUB). 

Is the A2 Milk share price a buy today?

So with this steep fall, many an investor might be wondering if A2 Milk shares are a buy at these levels. Well, one broker who reckons they might be is Bell Potter. As my Fool colleague James covered last week, ASX broker Bell Potter has recently retained a buy rating on A2 Milk, with a 12-month share price target of $7.15. That would imply a potential upside of almost 34% on current pricing. 

The broker reckons A2 Milk will be able to double earnings per share (EPS) by FY2026 and sees a likely recovery in A2 daigou exports. 

No doubt investors who are still holding on to A2 Milk will have their fingers crossed that prediction turns out to be accurate. 

At the current A2 Milk share price, this ASX dairy company has a market capitalisation of $4.01 billion. 

The post What was the highest ever A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns A2 Milk. 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 A2 Milk. 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 Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price was in reverse today despite the company not releasing any new announcements.

At market close, the cloud accounting platform provider’s shares finished down 5.16% to $99.03 apiece.

What’s happened to Xero shares?

An impressive growth story stretching back from 2012, Xero shares have tumbled since the beginning of 2022.

A loss of 30% in the space of a few months is enough to wane investor sentiment. In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has largely remained unchanged over the same timeframe.

While it remains to be seen if the Xero share price has finally bottomed out, the company has been relatively quiet on the news front.

Its last financial update came back in November 2021 when Xero delivered its half-year results to the market.

Despite the company posting a net loss for the period, most key metrics lifted by double-digits.

Nonetheless, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) has been pounded this year, which could give cause as to why Xero shares are down.

The tech sector is currently down 18% year to date.

Is the Xero share price a buy?

A number of brokers have recently weighed in the company’s shares price with varying price points.

The team at Citi lowered its 12-month price target for Xero shares by 17% to $132.60 earlier this month.

However, analysts at Macquarie adopted a more bearish tone, cutting Xero’s rating by 23% to $100.00 a share. It appears investors believe that the current Xero share is in line with Macquarie’s estimates.

As the 28th largest company on the ASX, Xero has a market capitalisation of roughly $14.87 billion.

The post Why did the Xero (ASX:XRO) share price sink 5% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Xero. 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 JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) share price has started the week poorly.

In late trade, the retail giant’s shares are down 1.5% to $54.00.

Why is the JB Hi-Fi share price falling?

The catalyst for the weakness in the JB Hi-Fi share price on Monday appears to have been a broker note out of Goldman Sachs.

According to the note, the broker has downgraded the retailer’s shares to a sell rating and slashed its price target by 25% to $39.00.

This suggests there’s potential downside of almost 28% for the JB Hi-Fi share price over the next 12 months.

What did the broker say?

Goldman made the move on the belief that the tide is beginning to turn for JB Hi-Fi after a couple of very positive years.

This is due to rising competition from pureplay online retailers such as Amazon and Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN), the back-to-work trend, supply chain disruptions, and the softening housing market.

The broker explained:

“Over the last 2 years, JBH has enjoyed confluence of growth factors with COVID spurred work from home, positive housing cycle growth with low interest rates, high demand with low supply with benign competition leading to lower promotions and relatively stable COGS.

However, we see this reversing – global commodity inflation and supply chain disruptions out of China (due to COVID) providing further cost and supply pressure.

At the same time, Australia is increasingly seeing back-to-work trends (partially) and the higher interest rates are likely to put pressure on housing cycle. Intensifying competition from the likes of Amazon and Kogan (online pure-plays) will likely result in some price competition, in our opinion.”

All in all, Goldman believes this means the JB Hi-Fi share price is overvalued at the current level.

The post Sell rating: JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JHB) share price tipped to sink 28% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Kogan.com 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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Many Aussies are feeling the sting of inflation through the increased cost of living. So, it may not be a surprise that ASX dividend shares have come back into the spotlight as investors attempt to add to their income.

Unlike the US market, the Australian share market’s dividend payers tend to be dominated by big mining companies and banks. Whereas, on Wall Street, it is the tech behemoths — such as Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) — that rock the passive payout stage.

Though, with the tech sector still being the worst performing of all sectors on the ASX so far this year, what kind of outlook is there for its dividend prospects?

How ASX tech shares stack up on dividends

This month Janus Henderson Group (ASX: JHG) released the 33rd edition of its Global Dividend Index report. In addition to revealing BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) as the world’s biggest dividend payer in 2021, the report provided sector-specific insights into the passive income component of shareholder returns.

Notably, global dividends reached a new record of US$1.47 trillion in 2021. This represented a staggering 14.7% increase on an underlying basis. While miners and banks constituted the lion’s share of the increase in global dividends, other sectors helped chip in towards the gain.

For instance, Janus Henderson highlighted the technology sector as one that has been easy to overlook despite its consistent increase in contributions over the years. On a global level, the tech sector made up 11% of dividends with an increase of 8% year on year.

However, these figures are largely skewed towards the payments made by the likes of Microsoft and Apple. So, what does the field look like for ASX dividend shares in the tech sector?

Of the 15 companies in the information technology sector, 8 of them currently provide a dividend — or 53%. Additionally, ~63% of these companies increased their dividend on a dividend per share basis compared to a year ago.

Furthermore, on average an ASX share in the tech sector has a dividend yield of 1.05%. Currently, the highest dividend yield offered by one of these companies is metal detector and communications equipment manufacturer Codan Limited (ASX: CDA) with a yield of 4.06%.

Looking beyond the yield

While the dividend yield of ASX tech shares trails that of its mining and banking counterparts, there might be another component to the equation.

Co-portfolio manager of First Sentier’s Equity Income Fund, Rudi Minbatiwala points out the growth potential within Australian technology players.

For instance, WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) currently holds a minuscule 0.17% dividend yield. However, the logistics software company has managed to push revenues 19% higher year on year and increase its dividends per share by 120%.

As Minbatiwala says:

I know this may sound counterintuitive to some, but thinking about dividend income on a ‘yield’ basis can deliver poor income on a ‘dollar’ basis over the long term.

The comment may prompt investors to look beyond the low dividend yield from ASX tech shares on average. Instead, the potential for future and consistent earnings growth that could translate into greater dividends could be more of a focus.

The post What is the outlook for ASX dividend shares in the tech sector? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns Apple. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Apple, Microsoft, and WiseTech Global. 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 owns and has recommended WiseTech Global. 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.

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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 UBS, its analysts have retained their buy rating and lifted their price target on this lithium miner’s shares to $13.80. This follows positive revisions to the broker’s commodity forecasts to reflect rising prices since Russia invaded the Ukraine. Overall, UBS is very positive on lithium and particularly Allkem. The Allkem share price is trading at $11.20 on Monday afternoon.

Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN)

A note out of Goldman Sachs reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating but trimmed their price target on this retail giant’s shares to $5.80. Goldman likes Harvey Norman due to its unique position within the electronics and appliances retail industry. Overall, it believes the retailer is a more defensive option that is undervalued in the home category. And while the broker’s price target doesn’t offer significant upside from the current Harvey Norman share price of $5.55, Goldman highlights that its 7.8% fully franked FY 2022 dividend yield estimate sweetens the deal.

Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV)

Analysts at Macquarie have retained their outperform rating and $35.00 price target on this retail giant’s shares. This follows the release of a half year result last week that was in line with the broker’s estimates. Overall, Macquarie was impressed with Premier’s performance in a challenging environment and appears optimistic that its solid form will continue. The Premier Investments share price is trading at $28.69 today.

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

More reading

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• Why Atlas Arteria, Core Lithium, Premier, and Telix shares are dropping
• The Premier Investments (ASX:PMV) dividend just jumped 35%. Here’s what you need to know
• Why Allkem, Firefinch, JB Hi-Fi, and Piedmont Lithium are charging higher
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Premier’s record dividend, BHP upgraded

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns Orocobre Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Premier Investments 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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