Thursday was a disastrous day on the ASX as the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) recorded one of its worst performances in years.

The index crashed 2.99% to 6,990.6 on the market’s close after Russia invaded Ukraine and some of the exchange’s heavyweights posted disappointing earnings.

According to The Australian, the crash has seen $73 billion of value wiped from the market.

Let’s take a look at closer look at Thursday’s carnage on the market.

Did Russia’s invasion spark an ASX sell off?

The ASX 200 Index tumbled nearly 3% and the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) fell 2.95% after Russia officially begins military operations in Ukraine on Thursday.

According to live reporting by the ABC, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared in a televised announcement declaring that the nation would invade Ukraine just before the ASX closed for the day.

Expectations that tensions between the two countries could escalate likely weighed on the market for most of Thursday’s trade after Australia joined nations around the globe in placing sanctions on Russia in an effort to dissuade it from attacking Ukraine yesterday.

Prime Minister Scott Morison also announced that the government would be “fast track[ing]” Ukrainian visa applications ahead of the conflict’s commencement.

The Moscow Exchange suspended all trading for an undetermined amount of time shortly after Putin announced the invasion.

As The Motley Fool Australia reportedly earlier today, experts have previously said a Russian invasion could bring heightened volatility to global markets and cause some commodity prices to surge.

ASX giants tumble on earnings

Additionally weighing on the ASX today, the Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price plummeted 5% after it announced a $5.5 billion after tax loss for the first half of financial year 2021.

The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price also fell 10% on its half year results.

The tech sector was also hammered, with the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) tumbling 5.3% and the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) falling 6.4%.

Both Life360 Inc (ASX: 360) and Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) saw their share price fall 28% on the release of their respective full year results, making them the 2 worst performing ASX 200 shares on Thursday.

Meanwhile, stock in the ASX’s biggest company, BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) fell 6% as it traded ex-dividend.

The post ASX wipes out $73 billion as Russia invades Ukraine appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Russia was not the only thing that dragged the BHP (ASX:BHP) share price lower today
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• 5 ASX 200 shares tumbling to 52-week lows today
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday
• Why Appen, City Chic, Flight Centre, and Life360 shares are sinking

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Appen Ltd and Life360, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel 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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With the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) closing down 3% today, the kind of fall we haven’t seen for more than a year, it would be natural to expect at least a commensurate drop in the BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price. After all, BHP is now the largest share on the ASX 200 by market capitalisation, and by a mile too. That means it has an equally-large weighting and influence on the movements of the ASX 200 Index. 

But the BHP share price has today fallen by more than double the broader market. BHP shares have closed at a share price of $44.77 each. That’s a whopping drop of 6.92% against yesterday’s closing share price. 

It’s likely that the ASX 200 is losing so much steam today thanks to the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine crisis we have unfortunately seen. But that isn’t the only thing impacting the BHP share price. 

In what might come as some relief to BHP shareholders, the ‘Big Australian’ has (perhaps unfortunately in hindsight) selected today as the day its shares trade ex-dividend for its upcoming shareholder payment. 

Why has a dividend knocked 7% off the BHP share price?

When a company trades ex-dividend, it means that any new shareholders from that day onwards are not entitled to the upcoming payment. It also means anyone who held the shares prior to the ex-dividend date will receive the payment. That’s even if they sell the shares between the ex-dividend date and the date of payment. 

As such, the market usually ‘prices in’ this now-lost dividend into the company’s share price. It’s of no more value to new shareholders, and the share price fall reflects this. The drop is the value of the dividend leaving the company’s corporate bank account, never to return. 

That is what has happened to BHP shares today. 

It was only last week that BHP reported its half-year earnings results. These happened to include a record interim dividend of US$1.50. The Aussie dollar amount hasn’t been determined yet. But that dividend would be worth a payment of roughly $2.09 per share on today’s currency exchange rates. 

So today, we have likely seen roughly $2.09 come out of the BHP share price as a result of the ex-dividend date arriving. The other losses can be attributed to the normal swings of the market. 

BHP shareholders will receive the dividend on 28 March. 

The post Why Russia was not the only thing that dragged the BHP (ASX:BHP) share price lower today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How BHP (ASX:BHP) has become ‘The Bigger Australian’ and why this might not be good news for the ASX 200
• Does BHP (ASX:BHP) really have a 14% dividend yield right now?
• The iron ore price outlook could be darkening amid China’s latest plans
• 2 ASX 200 dividend shares named as buys
• ASX 200 shares stage comeback amid Russia optimism

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 market was hit with a storm on Thursday as share prices across the boards tumbled. In the midst of the chaos several S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) favourites plunged to new 52-week lows.

The ASX 200 Index fell 2.99% over today’s session. The All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) also suffered a 2.95% drop.

Let’s take a look at some of the ASX big-wigs trading at their lowest point in 12-months.

5 ASX 200 shares that fell to long-forgotten lows today

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

The embattled Zip share price wasn’t able to escape today’s carnage despite delaying the release of its results for the first half of financial year 2022.

After close yesterday, the buy now, pay later (BNPL) company announced that, rather than releasing its earnings today as planned, it will be dropping them on Monday morning.

The BNPL giant – while not technically a tech share – may have been caught up in today’s tech tumble.

The S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) slumped 5.3% today while the S&P/ASX 200 Info Tech Index (ASX: XIJ) fell 6.4%.

As of Thursday’s close, the Zip share price is $2.08, 10.34% lower than it was at the end of yesterday’s session.

Earlier in the day, it hit its new 52-week low of $2.03.

Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP)

The Domino’s Pizza share price also had a rough trot today.

It followed on from yesterday’s 14% tumble, spurred by the release of the company’s first half earnings.

During the 6 months ended 31 December, Domino’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) and net profit after tax (NPAT) both fell 5%.

When the ASX closed today, the Domino’s share price was $80.52 – 6.51% lower than its previous close and the lowest its been in 52-weeks.

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)

Another ASX 200 stock that’s likely been caught up in the troubling day for tech shares is Xero.

It’s share price fell 5.47% today to close at $93.21.

In the meantime, it slumped to an intraday – and 52-week – low of $91.81.

Boral Limited (ASX: BLD)

This building products and materials company wasn’t luckily enough to dodge today’s drama.

The Boral share price fell to a 52-week low of $3.58 today, where it finished the session – representing a 1.65% fall.

Unfortunately, the company’s stock has been trading at and around 12-month lows since it tumbled 41% after a capital return and its ex-dividend date earlier this month.

Though, if investors could ever pick a good reason for their shares’ value to fall, a capital return is probably it.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

Finally, ASX 200 giant Wesfarmers saw its share price hit a 52-week low of $47.44 on Thursday.

Though, it bounced back slightly to close at $47.75, representing a 2.23% slump.

There’s been no news from the conglomerate this week. However, the market bid the company’s stock down 7% last Thursday after COVID-19 battered its half year earnings.

The post 5 ASX 200 shares tumbling to 52-week lows today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday
• Expert names 3 commodities set to boom from a Russian invasion
• These are some of the only ASX shares in the green today. Here’s why
• ASX tech shares have been smashed today as market hits 3-week low

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Xero and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Wesfarmers Limited and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Dominos Pizza Enterprises 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 Hipages Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: HPG) share price slumped today after the company released its half-year results.

At the close of trading, Hipages shares were swapping hands at $2.45 apiece, a 5.77% drop. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) closed down 2.99%.

Let’s take a look at what the online tradie platform and software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider reported today.

Hipages share price slips as profits slip

Highlights of the company’s H1 FY22 results include:

• 153% drop in net profit after tax (NPAT) compared to prior corresponding period (pcp) to record an $0.8 million loss
• 39% fall in EBITDA before significant items to $4.2 million
• EBITDA margin of 14%, a 12% drop on the pcp
• 12% boost in total revenue to $30.1 million
• 14% boost in recurring revenue to $28.8 million
• No dividend declared

What else happened in the half?

Hipages said the trade industry’s recovery has been delayed by the COVID-19 Omicron outbreak. The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) margin of 14% was in line with expectations due to greater investment.

The company supported tradie customers throughout COVID-19 restrictions and disruptions during the half.

Job volumes for the half jumped by 4% on the previous quarter, including record job volumes in the second quarter.

Hipages reported a robust balance sheet and positive operating cash flow with net cash of $15.4 million.

Tradie subscriptions improved by 19% on the pcp to 34,300.

Hipages acquired 100% of New Zealand tradie marketplace Builderscrack and gained a 25% stake in Australian property management technology platform Bricks and Agent.

Further, Hipages rolled out hew scheduling features on the Tradiecore platform, with a new payments product also on the way. The company management see this platform as important to the future of the company.

Management commentary

Commenting on the results which have seen the Hipages share price plunge today, chief executive officer Roby Sharon-Zipser said:

In a challenging period for the trade industry, we have continued to deliver growth in our key metrics, showing the power of our subscription model and strategy.

In the second half we expect revenues and margins to continue to improve, and we are seeing strong inbound demand from tradies, with registrations and yields increasing.

What’s next for Hipages?

Hipages is expecting a further moderate impact to FY22 revenue with slower growth in quarter three. In quarter four, it predicts a return to double-digit growth provided market conditions improve.

The company is already starting to see a rebound in the second half of the financial year. New tradie registrations are surging by 48% compared to the second quarter.

In FY22, Hipage is accelerating its investment to improve its market leadership position.

Commenting on this future outlook, Sharon-Zipser added:

We will continue to invest in our brand, product and people to strengthen our market leadership position in Australia and New Zealand, while exploring other opportunities to increase our TAM.

I look forward to updating the market on the next evolution of our product strategy later in the year, as we look to provide even more flexibility and value for our tradie customers

Hipages share price summary

The Hipages share price has climbed 4% in the past 12 months but it is down 36% year to date.

For perspective, the benchmark ASX 200 index has returned around 3% over the past year.

Hipages has a market capitalisation of about $319 million.

The post Hipages (ASX:HPG) share price plunges 6% on half-year loss appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• Why Champion Iron, Dusk, Hipages, and Imugene shares are charging higher
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Why Evolution, Cettire, Hipages, and Kogan shares are sinking

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Hipages Group Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Hipages Group Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) share price won’t be going anywhere for the rest of the day.

During late morning trade, the emerging lithium producer requested that its shares be placed in a trading halt.

As such, Sayona Mining shares are frozen at 11.5 cents apiece, down 2.6%. It’s worth noting that the company’s shares have sunk more than 13% in value in the past month.

Why is the Sayona Mining share price halted?

The company requested that the Sayona Mining share price be halted while it prepares an announcement.

According to the release, the company is planning to make a pending announcement. This is in regards to an updated resource statement in relation to its North American Lithium and Authier projects.

Sayona Mining has requested that the trading halt remains in place until the release of the announcement or the commencement of trade on Monday 28 February.

More on Sayona Mining’s Lithium projects

While at this stage, no further details have been about the company’s latest JORC resource update, let’s take a look at the projects.

Based in Québec, Canada, Sayona Mining’s Authier Lithium Project is a hard rock spodumene lithium deposit. It has been scheduled for development as an open cut mine, initially producing a 6% Li2O spodumene concentrate.

Sayona Mining acquired 100% of the Authier project back in July 2016. Management believes it will create significant share value-uplift for shareholders as the project is advanced towards development.

In addition, the nearby North American Lithium is an established lithium mine, which will integrate with the Authier Lithium Project.

Sayona Mining is supported by a strategic partnership with American lithium developer Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL).

Sayona Mining also holds a 60% stake in the Moblan Lithium Project.

About the Sayona Mining share price

Since this time last year, Sayona Mining shares have gained more than 260% in value.

However, in 2022, the company’s shares are down by around 13% following heavy losses on the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO). The latter has fallen a tad over 6% year to date.

Based on valuation grounds, Sayona Mining has a market capitalisation of roughly $798.4 million, with approximately 7.1 billion shares on issue.

The post Sayona Mining (ASX:SYA) share price halted ahead of lithium news appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Own ASX shares? Expert reveals why uncertainty and risk are not the same
• Brainchip (ASX:BRN) share price sinks 7% as ‘Most successful year in history’ comes at a cost
• Top broker says it’s time to buy Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) shares
• Bad ATM? The ANZ share price was hammered more than any other ASX 200 bank today

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

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Today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) suffered its worst fall in nearly 18 months as Russia launches an invasion of Ukraine. At the end of the session, the benchmark index had plunged 2.99% to 6,990.6 points.

It was a devastating day for all sectors across the Australian share market today. Not a single one was able to evade the immense souring of sentiment amid Russia’s attacks. Investors responded with an abundance of selling pressure, with the tech sector falling 6% — making it the worst-performing.

However, the question is: which shares managed to stay in the green on the ASX today? Here are the top ten stocks that pulled through for investors:

Top 10 ASX shares countdown today

Looking at the top 200 listed companies, Cimic Group Ltd (ASX: CIM) was the biggest gainer today. Shares in the construction company skyrocketed 33.41% after receiving an off-market takeover offer from Hochtief Australia. Find out more about Cimic Group here.

The next biggest gaining ASX share today was Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST). The gold mining company rallied 5.90% as the precious metal gained appeal amid the destabilisation created by the Russia-Ukraine situation. Uncover the latest Northern Star Resources details here.

Today’s top 10 biggest gains were made in these ASX shares:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Cimic Group Ltd (ASX: CIM)	$22.00	33.41%
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST)	$10.59	5.90%
Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN)	$4.39	4.77%
Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM)	$25.60	4.02%
Zimplats Holdings Ltd (ASX: ZIM)	$24.88	3.67%
NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)	$10.55	3.43%
Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT)	$1.55	2.65%
Coronado Global Resources Inc (ASX: CRN)	$1.585	1.60%
Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC)	$2.74	1.11%
Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX: VEA)	$2.43	0.41%

Our top 10 ASX shares today countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to ensure you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check-in at Fool.com.au after the market has closed during weekdays to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday
• Why Cimic, Lovisa, NextDC, and Nine shares are charging higher
• Expert names 3 commodities set to boom from a Russian invasion
• ASX 200 gold shares shining bright amid market selloff
• These are some of the only ASX shares in the green today. Here’s why

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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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If you own ASX shares you’ll almost certainly be facing the twin concepts of risk and uncertainty today.

With news out that Russian forces have entered Ukraine’s separatist Donbas region, ASX shares are, broadly, taking a beating.

At time of writing, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 2.9% for the day.

That’s part of the inherent short-term risk that comes with investing in the stock market.

But as George Wong, a senior financial advisor at Kauri Asset Management, explains, we shouldn’t conflate risk with uncertainty.

A tolerance for uncertainty when investing in ASX shares

According to Wong, courtesy of Live Wire:

One of the common misconceptions in the market is that uncertainty and risk are the same thing. While they may be interconnected, given uncertain events tend to be risky in nature, there is an important distinction that often goes without observation.

First, risk is a probability of an undesirable outcome, which in the market would typically be a permanent loss of capital.

However, a decision mired in uncertainty may be beneficial to achieve a desirable outcome, provided you have done your due diligence in order to mitigate your risk.

Investors opting for for the potentially higher returns from ASX shares over a bank deposit can generally tolerate some uncertainty.

“This is why people invest in the stock market instead of putting money in the bank, as most have a tolerance for the uncertainty that may be required in order to generate what are typically higher returns compared with cash,” Wong said.

But that tolerance for uncertainty is likely to vary with age. For good reason.

Take younger investors seeking to build their long-term wealth and beat inflation, for example.

“The certainty of a fixed-rate of return associated with investing in cash is unlikely to help a young investor achieve a desirable outcome,” Wong said. “On the other hand, someone nearing retirement would be well served by more certainty and stability in their investment environment.”

Embrace uncertainty

Understanding the difference between risk and uncertainty when investing in equities like ASX shares “is at the heart of being able to identify investment opportunities, even during a volatile period as we are witnessing right now,” Wong said.

“This is because uncertainty often presents itself as a risk to investors, prompting losses across the market to snowball,” he added. “When this momentum leads to mispriced outcomes, uncertainty provides investment opportunities for those with conviction to buy. This is why we should embrace uncertainty.”

The post Own ASX shares? Expert reveals why uncertainty and risk are not the same appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Brainchip (ASX:BRN) share price sinks 7% as ‘Most successful year in history’ comes at a cost
• Top broker says it’s time to buy Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) shares
• Bad ATM? The ANZ share price was hammered more than any other ASX 200 bank today
• EML Payments (ASX:EML) share price just hit a 52-week low, is it a buy?

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 Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN) share price is suffering a headache on Thursday following the release of the company’s annual report last night.

In afternoon trade, the artificial intelligence (AI) technology company’s shares are down 7.2% to $1.16. In light of the fall, ASX-listed Brainchip is now down 50% from its 52-week high.

Brainchip share price weakens on another year of losses

• Revenue from operations up 1,215% on prior corresponding period to $1.59 million
• Operating losses deepen to $19.52 million from $11.17 million
• Losses from continuing operations after tax improve 22% to $20.98 million
• Diluted loss per share of 1.22 cents per share, improving from 1.76 cents per share

What else happened during the year?

The Brainchip share price underwent an eventful year during the 12 months ended 31 December 2021. As pointed out in the annual report, it was a year of evolution for the chip developer. Crossing the barrier between research and development company, over to a supplier of AI technology.

Notably, Brainchip forged forth with its Akida neuromorphic AI architecture throughout 2021. In the process, shipping its first production chips in partnership with Socionext America and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE: TSM). Since then, preparations to manufacture at volume have commenced.

Importantly, the company has continued to work on protecting its intellectual property surrounding the Akida technology. In 2021, ten new international patents were filed and four previously filed patents were granted.

Additionally, Brainchip highlighted that it expects to significantly increase its patent portfolio throughout 2022. However, it seems the Brainchip share price is not benefitting from the ambitions.

What did management say?

Commenting on management changes in the year that has passed, Brainchip chair Emmanuel Hernandez wrote:

Mr Louis DiNardo stepped down as CEO in March, and Mr Sean Hehir was appointed as CEO in November, allowing interim CEO Peter van der Made to focus his attention on the ongoing technical development of Akida. Mr van der Made deserves our deepest gratitude for stepping up to manage the business while the Company secured the right candidate to guide BrainChip to full commercialisation of the Akida device IP.

Brainchip share price snapshot

The performance of the Brainchip share price has been nothing short of astonishing over the last year. Rising by more than 125%, the chip developer has far exceeded the returns of most companies on the ASX — making Brainchip a winner for shareholders.

A flurry of patents at the beginning of this year has also helped the Brainchip share price continue its streak in 2022. On a year-to-date basis, shares are up 48.7%, while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 7.6%.

The post Brainchip (ASX:BRN) share price sinks 7% as ‘Most successful year in history’ comes at a cost appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why is the Brainchip (ASX:BRN) share price tumbling 6% on Monday?
• Why Aussie Broadband, BrainChip, Talga, and Telstra shares are pushing higher
• What’s driving the BrainChip (ASX:BRN) share price 14% higher today?
• Own BrainChip (ASX:BRN) shares? Here’s some of the institutional investors which have also bought up big
• Why is the BrainChip (ASX:BRN) share price storming 12% higher?

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. 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 Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price tumbled with the rest of the market on Thursday.

The mining giant’s shares fell almost 4% to end the day at $115.35.

Is this a buying opportunity?

One leading broker that sees the weakness in the Rio Tinto share price as a buying opportunity is Goldman Sachs.

According to a note, this morning the broker retained its buy rating and lifted its price target on the miner’s shares to $131.50. Based on the current Rio Tinto share price, this implies potential upside of 14% over the next 12 months.

But Rio Tinto is of course a big dividend payer, so the returns don’t stop there. Goldman has pencilled in a US$9.30 per share (~A$12.90 per share) fully franked dividend in FY 2022.

So, with the Rio Tinto share price fetching $115.35 at present, this equates to a massive yield of 11.2%, bringing the total return to over 25%.

What did Goldman say about the Rio Tinto share price?

Goldman commented: “Our 2022/2023/2024 EPS up 2%/4%/6% on incorporating our commodity team’s recent aluminium price upgrades, which has more than offset increases to our unit cost assumptions across most divisions due to our expectations of ongoing industry cost inflation.”

“Despite ongoing operational issues and concerns over future growth (Pilbara heritage and replacement mines, Simandou, Oyu Tolgoi, Resolution) and uncertainty over decarbonisation capex, we rate RIO a Buy.”.

The broker then highlighted five key reasons for its bullish view on the Rio Tinto share price.

These are its attractive valuation (1x NAV and 4x FY22 EBITDA), strong free cash flow and dividend yield, positive near term iron ore outlook, a return to production growth in FY 2022, and its compelling low emission aluminium exposure.

All in all, the broker sees Rio Tinto as a top option in the resources sector right now.

The post Top broker says it’s time to buy Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Appen and Life360 crushed, Flight Centre posts $188m loss
• Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) share price in focus today following record-breaking results
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• The iron ore price outlook could be darkening amid China’s latest plans
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday

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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Let’s get this out of the way first. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), well, it had a shocker today. At the closing bell, the ASX 200 was down by a very depressing 2.99%. That’s the largest one-day fall we have seen in quite a while. That’s never a good sign for the ASX bank shares.

The big four ASX banks make up four of the six largest companies on the ASX 200 Index by market capitalisation. Between them, they account for almost 20% of the entire ASX 200’s weighting. So the ASX 200 isn’t going to go down by a whopping near-3% without dragging the banks down with it.

The largest of the big four, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), ended the day down by 2.05%.

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)? It lost 2.49%. Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) was down a meaty 2.36%.

But it’s the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price that has copped it the worst today. ANZ shares fell by a very horrible 3.44% and at the close were going for $26.68 a share.

ANZ share price singled out for punishment today. But why?

ANZ shares have arguably not been on the right side of ASX investors for a while now.

NAB and CBA shares have both given investors returns exceeding 15% over the past 12 months. Yet ANZ is up just 0.1% over the same period. And the bank was even technically kicked out of the ‘big four’, albeit briefly, back in November last year. That was when the market cap of Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) exceeded ANZ’s, making it the fifth-largest ASX bank for a time.

Earlier this week, my Fool colleague Tony looked at some of the reasons why ANZ hasn’t seemed to be the pick of the ASX bank share bunch for a few years now. The bank’s falling share of the owner-occupied housing market may be to blame. That’s due perhaps to processing issues it has recently had with writing mortgages.

But investors don’t seem to be in a forgiving mood today.

This ASX 200 big four bank has a market capitalisation of $74.97 billion, with a dividend yield of 5.33%.

The post Bad ATM? The ANZ share price was hammered more than any other ASX 200 bank today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Should you be buying ASX 200 bank shares in February?
• Why ANZ (ASX:ANZ) shares have been punished, but experts are now bullish
• 2 big-cap ASX shares that even this small-cap expert recommends
• Is the ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price a buy for the 7.3% dividend yield?
• The Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price has leapt 10% in 3 weeks. How does this compare to the other big banks?

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

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