The Electro Optic Systems Hldgs Ltd (ASX: EOS) share price is plunging today amid the company’s 2021 full-year earnings results.

The defence, space, and communication technology company’s shares are currently trading at $1.83 apiece, down 12%. They fell as low as $1.77 earlier in the session. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 0.51% at the time of writing.

Let’s take a look at what the company reported today.

Electro Optic share price dives as profits slip

Highlights of the company’s FY21 results include:

• Net loss after tax of $16.8 million, 33.2% improvement on the loss in FY20
• Underlying EBIT declined 12.2% to $14.3 million
• 11.8% boost in revenue, including other income, to $212.8 million
• 17.5% increase in revenue from ordinary activities to $211.8 million
• Net cash outflow of $6.9 million
• No dividend was declared

What else happened in the half?

Electro Optic said the FY21 loss was due to deferral of revenue and EBIT into 2022. However, the company’s cash conversion improved in 2021.

COVID-19 had a significant impact on the business, the company said. This included supply chain costs, product delivery delays, contract negotiation and execution deferrals, less production, and restricted access to customers. This impacted operating performance and the awarding of new work locally and internationally.

The underlying EBIT loss of $14.3 million included investment of $27 million on critical product development.

The company’s space revenue fell 28% due to the end of contracts. There were also delays in the awarding of new contracts. Lower earnings from contracts ending and more investment in research and development impacted the Space segment’s EBIT.

Defence Systems revenue, including other income, surged 17.6%, while underlying EBIT strongly rebounded as profit delayed in 2021 was realised.

Electro Optic’s Communications business achieved a 20.4% boost in revenue and solid profit. However, underlying EBIT in this business fell significantly due to higher SpaceLink operating expenses.

The company invested $37 million in Spacelink in FY21 to spearhead engineering and business development.

Consolidated revenue fell just below the market guidance of $215 to $220 million.

What’s next for Electro?

Elecro Optic said it is well-positioned to support “allies” currently under intense national security pressure. It also said there remains a risk that new COVID-19 variants could impact suppliers, customers, employees, and operations. However, since the start of COVID-19, the company and its suppliers have improved resilience.

Electro Optic commented on “rising geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe, COVID-19 and the federal election creating uncertainty for future outlook in 2022. However, management expects revenue to grow in 2022.

In its preliminary final report to the ASX, Electro Optic said:

The Company enters 2022 with substantial positive momentum from 2021, as well as headwinds [which] emerged in 2021.

Revenue deferred from Q4 2021 is on track to be received in 2022, and provided Q4 2022 deliveries are maintained on schedule, could add momentum to 2022

Electro Optic share price summary

The Electro Optic share price has plunged almost 60% in the past 12 months, while it is down 22% year to date.

Electro Optic shares have shed nearly 13% of their value in the past week.

For perspective, the benchmark ASX 200 index has returned around 5% over the past year.

The company has a market capitalisation of about $277 million.

The post Electro Optic (ASX:EOS) share price plunges 13% on net loss 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 Electro Optic Systems Holdings Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Electro Optic Systems Holdings 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 A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price is pushing higher on Monday.

In afternoon trade, the infant formula company’s shares are up almost 2% to $5.50.

Can the A2 Milk share price keep rising?

As far as one broker is concerned, the A2 Milk share price could have a lot further to run from where it trades today.

According to a recent note out of Bell Potter, its analysts have responded to the company’s half year results by retaining their buy rating and lofty $7.70 price target on its shares.

Based on the current A2 Milk share price, this implies potential upside of 40% for investors over the next 12 months.

What did the broker say?

Bell Potter has run the rule over the company’s half year results and was pleased with what it saw. All in all, this appears to support its view that A2 Milk’s adjusted net profit can double in FY 2024 from FY 2021’s levels.

The broker continues to forecast an adjusted net profit after tax of NZ$167.8 million in FY 2024. This will be up from NZ$80.7 million in FY 2021.

Commenting on the result, Bell Potter said: “Our Buy rating remains unchanged. We saw plenty to like in this result: (1) growth in stage 1 market share in the MBS [mother and baby store] channel from 2.1% to 2.5% (indicative of new customer recruitment); (2) a beat in China direct channels sales in 1H22 and a closer alignment of sell-in and sell-out levels in 2Q22; (3) reinvestment of outperformance into marketing, to support FY23-24e revenue growth; and (4) progress on articulating a margin capture strategy at MVM [Mataura Valley Milk].”

All in all, the broker appears to believe now could be the time to make a patient investment in this former market darling.

The post Why the A2 Milk share price can climb 40%: broker 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 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 InvoCare Limited (ASX: IVC) share price is jumping today after the funeral company reported its full-year results for the 2021 financial year (FY21). At the time of writing, InvoCare shares are up a pleasing 5.25% at $13.02 a share.

InvoCare share price jumps on solid full-year earnings

• Operating revenue of $527.1 million, up 11% from FY20
• Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $125.5 million, up 22% from the previous year
• Operating earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of $77.8 million, up 26% on previous year
• Earnings per share (EPS) of 31.6 cents, a rise of 51%
• Funeral case volumes of 45,781, a 2.2% rise
• Reported profit after tax of $80.16 million, coming after the loss of $11.54 million from FY20
• Final dividend of 11.5 cents per share, fully franked, an increase of 64% over FY20’s final payment of 7 cents per share. That brings the total dividends for FY21 to 21 cents per share.

InvoCare also reported a pet cremation case volume of 87,440, a 501% increase on FY20’s numbers. The company’s funeral case average came in at $8,156, a 3.8% increase from FY20.

What else happened over the year?

Over FY21, InvoCare reported $650 million in funds under management from pre-paid funerals, a rise of 6.03% over FY20. The company’s return on capital employed (ROCE) metric rose to 11.2%, an increase of 2.4% from the previous year. Last year, InvoCare announced that its reported profits after tax had surged into the black during the company’s half-year earnings. That was after the previous net loss of $18 million for the previous half. That helped the InvoCare share price jump meaningfully at the time.

What did management say?

Here’s some of what InvoCare CEO Olivier Chretien had to say on the results:

The Group has successfully navigated another COVID-disrupted year. Despite these challenges, we have seen increased customer satisfaction and material improvement in safety outcomes, we have delivered growth, returned the business to positive operating leverage, maintained our strong balance sheet and cash conversion and embarked on a bold change agenda…

Controlling cost growth has been a particular feature across the year and is reflected in some of the improved profit metrics, including 22% growth in Operating EBITDA to $125.5 million and a return to positive operating leverage (of 2.1x)…

As we move into the growth phase of our strategy, I am confident that we do so on more solid foundations. Whilst the COVID environment can change quickly and deliver shocks to consumer confidence, evident in the past two months, our first half 2021 result demonstrated the potential of the business under ‘normal’ conditions. 

What’s next?

The company did issue a warning for an uncertain 2022. InvoCare stated that the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic remain “difficult to predict and presents an ongoing risk in 2022” for the company’s workforce, supply chains and operations. However, the company “remains confident” for both the near- and long-term potential of the business. Management cited population and ageing trends, as well as rising rates of pet ownership, for this optimism.

InvoCare share price snapshot

Today’s InvoCare share price rise helps push the company’s 12-month share price performance to 14.8%. That includes a return of 10.43% across 2022 to date. However, InvoCare shares remain down by 7.6% over the past five years, a significant underperformance of the 22.5% return the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has enjoyed over the same period.

At the current InvoCare share price, this company has a market capitalisation of $1.88 billion, with a dividend yield of 1.27%.

The post InvoCare (ASX:IVC) share price jumps as earnings surge 22% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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A handful of ASX dividend shares are expected to pay very large dividend yields over the next year or two.

With interest rates so low, most dividend-paying companies have higher yields than what someone can get from the bank. However, some have yields that are getting close to 10% (or even higher).

A big yield doesn’t automatically mean that it’s a good one for income, particularly if a dividend cut is just around the corner and that past yield is just an illusion.

But analysts believe that these two ASX dividend shares could pay very large yields:

Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO)

Rio Tinto is one of the ASX’s biggest resource companies. It generates most of its earnings from iron ore, though other commodities do make a contribution including bauxite, aluminium and copper.

It’s currently rated as a buy with a price target of $130. That’s around 10% higher than where it is right now.

After a huge year of profit and cash flow in FY21, Credit Suisse is expecting another year of good dividends for investors again. The broker is expecting in FY22 that the grossed-up dividend yield is going to be 11.3%.

Credit Suisse thinks that Rio Tinto can continue to benefit from the higher resource prices that the world is generally seeing.

In FY22, the ASX dividend share is expecting to spend around $8 billion on capital expenditure in 2022, which “considers potential increases of around 15% for the Pilbara replacement projects.”

Operating costs are expected to rise in 2022. Its Pilbara iron ore operations are expected to see the cost per wet metric tonne to rise from US$18.6 in 2021 to a range of US$19.5 to US$21 per wet metric tonne in 2022. This reflects higher input prices and labour costs, an increased mining work index and higher mine processing plant maintenance, offset by the ramp-up of Gudai-Darri and efficiency improvements.

GQG Partners Inc (ASX: GQG)

GQG is a large fund manager that offers investors a number of different investment strategies including US shares, global shares, ex-US international shares and emerging markets.

It’s currently rated as a buy by the broker Morgans with a price target of $2.27. That’s more than 50% higher than where it is today.

Morgans’ dividend expectations suggest a dividend yield of 6.75% for FY23 and 6.1% in FY22.

Whilst it’s pretty new to the ASX, it has been operating for several years. The FY21 result (which was the 12 months to 31 December 2021) showed growth. Average funds under management (FUM) rose 77% to $80.5 billion. Closing FUM at the ASX dividend share surged 36% to $91.2 billion. Net income after tax went up 81.6% to $304.9 million.

GQG says that it offers what it believes to be very attractive fees compared to competitors.

The fund manager continues to see strong business momentum in a variety of geographies and across channels. While its core strategies continue to represent the bulk of its FUM, it has launched some quality dividend income strategies as well. This gives clients the ability to utilise new services. It’s working on new opportunities for growth over the long term.

The GQG share price is valued at 16x FY22’s estimated earnings.

The post 2 high-yield ASX dividend shares for March 2022 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has 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 Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) price is down 2.5% over the past 24 hours, roughly equal to its 7-day loss.

One Ether is currently trading for US$2,643 (AU$3,784).

The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price is holding up a bit stronger than the Ethereum price. The world’s top crypto by market cap is down 1.3% over 24 hours, though it’s down 3.0% over the full week.

Both Bitcoin and Ethereum are in focus as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has begin to embroil the crypto world.

Ukraine’s call to crypto arms

Ukrainian officials have been asking crypto exchanges to freeze the accounts of Russian politicians and oligarchs linked to Vladimir Putin.

Yesterday, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov upped the ante, with this Twitter post:

I’m asking all major crypto exchanges to block addresses of Russian users. It’s crucial to freeze not only the addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also to sabotage ordinary users.

As Bloomberg reports, a Binance spokesperson said that to “unilaterally freeze millions of innocent users’ accounts … [would] fly in the face of the reason why crypto exists”.

The global crypto exchange added:

However, we are taking the steps necessary to ensure we take action against those that have had sanctions levied against them while minimising impact to innocent users. Should the international community widen those sanctions further, we will apply those aggressively as well.

If the Ethereum price rises, so will the value of donations to Ukraine

Atop its efforts to cut Russia out of cryptos, Ukraine has itself been asking investors to help fund its defence against the invaders.

According to Bloomberg, “Ukrainian officials are directly soliciting crypto donations, adding to crowdfunding efforts that have raised more than $5 million in Bitcoin, Ether and other tokens since Friday.”

Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky reported that he’d sent another Ether donation, his second, to Ukraine over the weekend. Ukraine’s crypto wallet “held at least 126 of the tokens” on Saturday.

At the current Ethereum price, that works out to US$330,000.

Commenting on the Ukraine efforts, Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao said, “This is where blockchain shines, global fundraising.”

If the Ethereum price manages to regain its 16 November all-time highs of US$4,892, the value of Ether donations held in Ukraine’s crypto wallet over the weekend would climb to US$616,000.

The post How might the Ukraine crisis impact the Ethereum price? 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 Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Bitcoin and Ethereum. 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 Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) share price is edging forward today and is now trading 0.5% higher at $1.51.

The company’s share price has impressed so far in 2022, climbing 20% and outpacing the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) in that time.

But can the energy player climb higher after its spike earlier this year? One broker thinks so. Let’s take a look.

Diversified exposure to a suite of assets, this broker says

Analysts at JP Morgan are constructive on Beach Energy shares, noting the company provides numerous value streams in its offering.

“We think Beach provides good exposure to a diversified suite of assets in Australia,” the broker said. “Net debt is close to zero and therefore Beach has the strongest balance sheet of the large caps under our coverage.”

JP Morgan analysts also reckon that Beach Energy remains on track with its growth aspirations, especially now that issues at its Western Flank segment are largely resolved. This should lead to a material increase in production in the broker’s estimation.

“We forecast production of 22mmboe in FY2022 (at the midpoint of guidance) and 23mmboe in FY23 before stepping up to 29mmboe in FY24,” JP Morgan remarked.

It also forecasts $1.6 billion in revenue for the company this year, jumping to $1.66 billion in FY23 and $1.97 billion the year after.

However, analysts still view some risk surrounding Western Flank with its recent well interruptions – something investors should consider.

The broker also notes the Beach Energy share price performance has been largely underpinned by company-specific drivers, instead of sector strengths or market bullishness alone.

This could bode in well for its earnings profile and forward valuations, the broker says – something its analysts are constructive on, even with the embedded risks.

“Nonetheless, at the current valuation, we remain overweight,” the broker concluded.

Beach Energy share price snapshot

Over the last 12 months, the Beach Energy share price has fallen almost 8%. Yet, it has climbed more than 20% this year to date.

In the past month of trading, the company’s shares have gained another 7%, pushing Beach Energy well ahead of the major indices in 2022.

The post Up 20% this year, why the Beach Energy (ASX:BPT) share price can climb higher: broker 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. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Shares in Grange Resources Ltd (ASX: GRR) are charging higher today after the company released its financial results for the full-year ended 31 December 2021 on late Friday afternoon.

At the time of writing, the Grange Resources share price is trading at $1.01, a 37% spike from the open on Monday.

Grange Resrources share price jumps on earnings growth

Key takeouts from the company’s earnings results on Friday include:

• Revenues from operations of $781.7 million compared to $526.3 million for the prior year
• Pellet production of 2.60 million tonnes for the year compared to 2.35 million tonnes for the prior year
• Total iron ore product sales of 2.62 million tonnes for the year compared to 2.49 million tonnes for the prior year
• Profit after tax of $321.6 million for the year compared to $203.2 million for the prior year
• Average realised product price of $276.17 per tonne for the year compared to $196.77 for the prior year
• Unit C1 cash operating costs of $99.73 per tonne for the year compared to $99.77 for the prior year
• Cash and cash equivalents position of $443.9 million at the end of year compared to $183.4 million at the end of the prior year
• Fully franked special dividend for year ended 31 December 2021 of 10 cents per share

What happened this period for Grange Resources?

Grange noted that total sales for the year were 2.62 million tonnes, up from 2.49 million tonnes in 2022. The gain reflects “sustained production from maintaining access to high grade ore”.

This enabled Grange to recognise total revenue of $782 million for the year, a mammoth 144% gain from the previous year.

As a result, the company grew its after-tax profit from $203 million to over $321 million in 2021 and the company left the year with $444 million in cash on the balance sheet.

Curiously, Grange reports no impact to its earnings profile from COVID-19 lockdowns, a clear distinction from most other ASX players in 2021.

“To date, the Company has had no material production impact due to COVID-19”, it said. “The impact of the pandemic continues to be well managed across our operations”.

Grange also announced it has adopted an “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) framework with 21 core metrics and disclosures as created by the World Economic Forum (WEF)”.

It has subsequently engaged “impact monitoring technology platform Socialsuite” to streamline the process.

“The Company’s goal is to demonstrate commitment and progress on making ESG disclosures, but more broadly, aims to progress a range of ESG benchmarks as set out by the WEF’s ESG White Paper”, Grange said.

What’s next for Grange Resources?

Grange says that its focus is to “generate shareholder value by safely producing high quality iron ore products from its Savage River and Port Latta operations in Tasmania”.

Not only that, but it is also going to “assess the feasibility of a major iron ore development project at Southdown, near Albany in Western Australia”.

It also intends to manage its business risks with prudence by focusing on fluctuations in the iron ore market, monitoring geotechnical risks and “optimise timing of sales to the fluctuations in iron ore prices and demands from different markets”.

Grange Resources share price snapshot

In the last 12 months, the Grange Resources share price has spiked 124% and is up 34% year to date.

During the past month of trading, shares have jumped 34% and hence Grange is thus leading the broad indexes this year.

The post $120m profit jump sends Grange Resources (ASX:GRR) share price 37% higher 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. 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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With this earnings season all but wrapped up, it’s probably a good time to survey the spoils and dig deeper into what the ASX’s most-watched shares have given investors.

For a large chunk of the investing community, all eyes were undoubtedly on what kind of dividend payments will be arriving in the metaphorical mailbox in coming weeks.

Since we saw some dramatic dividend announcements indeed over the past month or so, let’s check out the ASX dividend shares that have delivered the biggest payout increases this earnings season.

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

BHP made headlines with its monster dividend announcement when it reported its earnings back on 15 February. 

Most investors expected another hefty interim dividend from BHP after the rebound in iron ore prices we have seen over the past few months. But it’s probably fairly safe to say not too many investors were anticipating the largest interim dividend in BHP’s history.

The miner announced a whopping payout of US$1.50 per share, fully franked. As my Fool colleague covered at the time, broker Goldman Sachs was expecting a dividend worth US$1.27, so this one was a very pleasant surprise for income investors. At today’s pricing, BHP shares offer an eye-popping dividend yield of 10.62%

Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO)

BHP’s resources rival Rio also impressed with its own dividend announcement when this miner delivered its earnings report last week. Rio announced a record final dividend of US$4.17 a share that will be distributed to investors in April. On top of that, shareholders will also receive a special dividend worth 62 US cents per share at the same time.

That takes Rio’s full-year dividends to US$10.40 per share, including last year’s interim dividend of US$2.76 per share and the accompanying special payout of US$1.85. On the latest pricing, Rio shares now have a dividend yield of 9.26%.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)

It might be remiss to mention ASX dividends without including at least one ASX bank share. CBA was one of the first ASX blue-chip shares to report this earnings season when it dropped its results on 9 February.

And income investors weren’t disappointed. CBA announced an interim dividend of $1.75 per share. Fully franked of course. This payment will be sent out on 30 March. The $1.75 per share payment is a 17% increase from last year’s interim payout of $1.50 per share.

However, this one was far from being a record high payment for Commbank. Its March 2020 interim dividend of $2 per share. However, CBA also complemented this dividend with the announcement of a $2 billion on-market share buyback program. At the current pricing, CBA shares have a dividend yield of 4%. 

The post Which ASX 200 shares have delivered the biggest dividend payout increases this earnings season? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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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 Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is marching downwards in afternoon trade today.

At market open, Westpac shares walked out of the gate and peaked at a daily high of $23.03 before retreating. At last check, Westpac shares are trading at $22.68.

After a strong start to the year and even healthier gain over the past month, Westpac is now outpacing most of its ASX banking peers in 2022 so far.

However, not all are rosy on Westpac shares. Let’s take a look.

Why is this top broker neutral on Westpac?

JP Morgan is uncertain on the outlook of Westpac shares amid a wave of headwinds the bank is set to face in 2022.

According to JP Morgan analysts, Westpac’s “outlook is highly uncertain, with weak customer franchise metrics and
revenue under pressure driven by 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 [sic] on achieving this,” the broker said.

Even the bank’s strong capital surplus is not enough to differentiate it from other names in the banking basket. That’s because all banks are in a similar position, JP Morgan notes.

The broker is forecasting earnings per share (EPS) of 78 cents in 2022 and then 85 cents in 2023. And dividends per share of $1.20 and $1.23 per Westpac share modelled in FY22 and FY23 respectively.

Should this play out, these payouts represent a 5% and 5.2% dividend yield respectively. This is not unattractive in the current yield climate.

However, too many uncertainties exist for the broker to get fully on board with Westpac’s case. Especially now that the bank’s collective provision coverage is at the bottom end of the peer range in JP Morgan’s eyes.

The broker is also folding in a substantial downstep to net interest income for FY22 from $16.714 billion to $16.022 billion. And it sees a decline to net interest margins (NIMs) by 25 basis points in FY22 and then another 4 basis points in FY23.

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

As such, it values Westpac at $23.30 per share whilst retaining its neutral stance on the direction of its share price.

Summary of Westpac shares

In the last 12 months the Westpac share price has fallen 4.8%. Although, it has gained 6.2% this year to date.

During the past month of trading, Westpac shares have spiked over 12%. The bank is leading the broad index so far this year.

The post What’s keeping this top broker neutral on Westpac (ASX:WBC) shares? 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. 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.

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The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price has started the week in the red.

In afternoon trade, the banking giant’s shares are down almost 1% to $93.20.

Is the weakness in the CBA share price a buying opportunity?

One leading broker that is likely to see the weakness in the CBA share price as a buying opportunity is Bell Potter.

Earlier this month, in response to the bank’s half year results, the broker upgraded its shares to a buy rating with a $108.00 price target.

Based on the current CBA share price, this implies potential upside of 16% for investors over the next 12 months.

And if you include the fully franked dividend of $3.87 per share Bell Potter is expecting in FY 2022, the total return increases by an additional 4.1% to over 20%.

‘On its way back’

Bell Potter is positive on the CBA share price due to its belief that the banking giant is on its way back to delivering revenue growth again.

The broker commented: “Despite the misgivings of the market and especially COVID-19’s Omicron strain, CBA sees FY22 as a strong year. The unemployment (and underemployment rate) are the lowest since 2008 and Australian household accumulated savings are stronger than ever (likewise the rate at which wage growth in anticipated). Inflation is likely to increase in due course (and that’s a good thing for all banks) while non-mining investment including infrastructure continue to hold up reasonably well. The bank has again bounced back from its lows and is on its way back to its usual top line growth potential.”

Bell Potter expects this to underpin growing dividend payments in the coming years. It has pencilled in fully franked dividends per share of 387 cents in FY 2022, 407 cents in FY 2023, and 423 cents in FY 2024.

All in all, this could make the CBA share price a good option for investors looking for exposure to the banking sector.

The post Top broker says CBA (ASX:CBA) is ‘on its way back’ 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 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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