The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price is falling on Friday despite being given some good news.

At the time of writing, the conglomerate’s shares are down 1.5% to $52.56.

Wesfarmers share price lower despite acquisition update

The Wesfarmers share price is in the red this morning despite revealing that it has received confirmation from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that it will not oppose its proposed acquisition of Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (ASX: API).

Wesfarmers notes that ACCC clearance was a condition precedent for the transaction. This brings the transaction a step closer to successfully completing around the end of the first quarter of the 2022 calendar year.

What did the ACCC say?

The ACCC advised that its review primarily focused on the markets for the retail sale of over-the-counter pharmaceutical and beauty and personal care products.

Positively for Wesfarmers, the regulator didn’t see any issues with the transaction due to competition from the likes of Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) and Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW).

ACCC Commissioner Stephen Ridgeway explained: “Our investigation showed that there are many large and well-established retailers, including Chemist Warehouse, Woolworths and Coles, that will compete strongly with Wesfarmers after the acquisition in both the market for over-the-counter pharmaceutical products and the market for beauty & personal care products.”

“We consider that API’s competitors will continue to compete strongly with Wesfarmers after the acquisition,” he added.

The ACCC also considered the impact that owning the Priceline Sister Club and 50% of Flybuys could have on competition. This includes whether the acquisition would reduce competition by incentivising and locking customers into shopping at Wesfarmers-aligned pharmacies and providing it with access to increased customer data.

Mr Ridgeway said: “Wesfarmers acquiring the Priceline Sister Club loyalty scheme will not have a lock-in effect on consumers in any market. We also consider the benefits obtained from the additional customer transaction data do not appear to be so strong as to result in a substantial lessening of competition from the acquisition. Customers generally do not only join one loyalty scheme, and major competitors to Wesfarmers after the acquisition will have, or could start, their own customer loyalty schemes.”

The post Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price lower despite API takeover update 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 owns and has recommended COLESGROUP DEF SET and Wesfarmers 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 Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) share price has been trickling downwards recently.

Based on its current price of 78 cents, Paladin shares have dropped by 15.76% in a month. Within that time, the Aussie miner has given a number of updates on its uranium operations to shareholders.

Want to know what’s going on? Let’s dive in…

Here’s the latest on the Paladin share price

Last Friday, Paladin was one of the three most highly traded ASX 200 shares. The day before that, the company released its latest investor presentation.

In it, the company reported a cash position of US$38 million (as of 31 December 2021) with no corporate debt. The miner says this will allow it to extend its marketing potential.

Paladin was most concerned with updating investors on its West African uranium project — the Langer Heinrich Mine (LHM) in Namibia.

Plans are now in place to recommence operations at LHM — “a globally significant, long-life operation” — after pressing pause in 2018 due to low uranium prices.

There is no set date as yet for recommencing. The miner is looking for self-funded options to commence early works this year.

Comment from management

According to Paladin, uranium already accounts for 20% of electricity generation in the US and 25% in the European Union.

With demand growing for the “reliable baseload power source”, Paladin is passionately aiming to maximise the value of its 75% stake in LHM, and to process and export its explorations.

It has already signed an offtake agreement with CNNC Overseas Uranium Holdings Limited (a subsidiary of China National Nuclear Corporation) for 25% of its future production, and is looking for more customers.

Commenting on its December quarterly activities, Paladin CEO Ian Purdy said:

The Restart Plan Update is the conclusion of an extensive work stream that has reinforced our confidence in Langer Heinrich as a low-risk, robust, long-life operation.

We continue to engage with global nuclear energy utilities to secure long term contracts to underpin the restart of Langer Heinrich and ensure the project, when restarted, will deliver significant economic benefit to all of our stakeholders.

The improving structural outlook for uranium markets and the transition towards the decarbonisation of global electricity generation provides the platform for an exciting period ahead for Paladin and I look forward to updating you on our progress.

Paladin share price snapshot

The Paladin share price grew from 24 cents to 88 cents in 2021. That 266% increase made it one of the best performing ASX uranium shares of 2021.

The company has a market capitalisation of $1.98 billion and 2.68 billion shares on issue.

The post Why has the Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN) share price tumbled 15% in a month? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Alice de Bruin 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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Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) shares have been benefiting from a resurgent iron ore price.

The industrial metal is currently trading at US$152 per tonne, having dropped to lows of some US$87 per tonne in mid-November.

The surging price have helped propel Rio Tinto shares to a 19% gain this calendar year, even as the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has slipped 4%.

Of course to mine that iron ore you need skilled people in the field. And that, says Rio Tinto Iron Ore CEO Simon Trott, is “causing some challenges”.

What’s all this about a labour shortage?

Unemployment levels are falling across Australia.

But after 2 years of border closures to the rest of the nation and with COVID-19 now leaking into the state, the big miners like Rio Tinto are facing a particularly tight labour market in Western Australia.

And with 37 new local cases reported yesterday, by far the most in WA since the pandemic spread down under, those labour challenges aren’t likely to go away anytime soon.

In an effort to keep its own work force safe and free from week-long periods of isolation, Rio Tinto tests its workers before they fly out to the mine sites.

According to Trott (quoted by ABC News):

We have to be ready. We’re going to have to respond to the circumstances that we face each time, and we can’t stand here and predict exactly what will happen in the future. Certainly, we’re seeing greater cases in the community.

Rio Tinto tests some 12,000 of its workers at Perth Airport each week. Last month 2 of those workers tested positive before flying to the Pilbara.

While those workers were screened out before arriving on the mine site, Trott doesn’t expect this to last indefinitely:

A really big part is about making sure that we plan for having cases on site. As we’ve seen in other states in Australia, and across the world, we can’t imagine that we will be immune from it.

As ABC News reported, Rio Tinto is expanding its rapid antigen tests beyond just those working at the mine sites.

“We have, in the last week, stood-up screening for employees at our Perth office as well, where employees will be tested on their first day at work each week,” Trott said.

As for the labour crunch hitting miners in WA?

According to Trott:

Clearly that does have an impact in terms of our day-to-day operations and the activities that we do, and we need to work our way through that. It is certainly causing some challenges at the moment.

How could this impact Rio Tinto shares?

Higher labour costs and project disruptions could see some investors hitting the sell button when the quarterly activity reports come out.

Bell Potter Securities’ Giuliano Sala Tenna said:

Labour costs will rise and they won’t be able to get jobs done. There will be lots of dislocations within the projects, so we’re concerned that we’re going to see some weak quarterlies, which could see some knee-jerk reactions to some of the share prices [for] those miners.

The post Here’s what Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) boss says is ‘causing some challenges’ right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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’re looking for exposure to the lithium sector, then you may want to check out the two ASX shares listed below.

These lithium shares have been named as buys with huge upside potential from current levels. Here’s what you need to know:

Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE)

The team at Morgans believe this lithium miner is the best option in the space right now. Its analysts recently put an add rating and $13.25 price target on the company’s shares. This compares favourably to the current Allkem share price of $9.90.

The broker commented: “Our preferred stock for lithium exposure, Allkem. AKE announced a 68% qoq increase in revenue at Olaroz and a 7% CY21 beat of production guidance at Mt Cattlin with large increases in realised prices at both projects. AKE expects USD20k/t for lithium carbonate sales in 2HFY22 at Olaroz. Production growth continues with Naraha commissioning, progress on Sal de Vida and FID expected on James Bay in 2QCY22. Construction is expected to commence the following quarter.”

Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL)

This lithium developer could be the best value lithium share if the team at Germany-based Alster Research are on the money with their recommendation. The broker currently has a buy rating and $25.00 price target on the company’s shares. This is more than double the latest Vulcan share price of $9.70.

It commented: “At this point, Vulcan has marketed its initial production volumes for the first 5-6 years. We expect the upcoming definitive feasibility study (DFS) to create some leeway. In the near term, we expect the admission to FSE as a catalyst for the stock, as future capital increases will be accessible to a broader audience. Thus, liquidity and interest will most likely increase. We confirm our PT of AUD 25.00, equivalent to EUR 15.81, and reiterate our BUY recommendation.”

The post 2 ASX lithium shares with huge upside potential in 2022 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns Allkem Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has 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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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

What happened

Easy come, easy go. After two straight days of mind-boggling gains, shares of tiny, relatively unknown — at least up until this week — Australian electrical equipment stock Tritium DCFC Limited (NASDAQ: DCFC) are succumbing to gravity this morning.

By market close, the maker of charging stations for electric vehicles saw its stock slide 15.1%.

So what

Let’s recap, shall we? On Tuesday, Tritium stock soared on an announcement that it is building a new factory in Tennessee. One day later, Tritium stock was off to the races once again, this time because President Biden stood on a stage and praised the company (and its new Tennessee factory) by name.

To an extent, this was a logical reaction: After all, President Biden’s trillion-dollar infrastructure bill, which passed late last year, contains some $7.5 billion worth of federal funding to support companies working to create a network of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations in the U.S. And Tritium will almost certainly share in this loot, now that the president has put his imprimatur of approval upon it.

Now what

It’s logical, therefore, to assume that Tritium is now in line to receive millions (or even tens of millions) of federal revenue dollars on its top line. For a company that did barely $56 million in sales over the last 12 months, this is a big deal.

That being said, Tritium has not yet shown itself capable of turning any level of revenue into real profit on the bottom line. Subsidies from the government will certainly help with that — in fact, I’d go so far as to say it’s now more likely than not that Tritium will turn profitable over the next several years. But will it be profitable enough to justify the $2.1 billion market capitalization that the company has amassed over the past couple of days?

That remains to be seen — and until it is seen, investors are right to be cautious. 

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

The post Why Tritium shares dropped 15% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Zap! Tritium (NASDAQ:DCFC) share price rockets another 65%. What’s next?
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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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ASX buy now, pay later (BNPL) shares could be the focus of attention on Friday after the share price of BNPL giant Affirm Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: AFRM) plunged 21% amid an accidental tweet.

Astonishingly, Affirm was forced to release its earnings for the December quarter early after a human error saw it post some of its results to Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR).

The Affirm share price plunged to close at $58.68 – 21.42% lower than its previous close – during yesterday’s session in the United States (US).

That’s despite the stock trading up to 11% higher prior to the release of its quarterly results.

The international BNPL giant’s dip has likely put ASX BNPL shares on watch today. Let’s take a closer look.

Affirm share price tumbles on early release of quarterly earnings

ASX BNPL shares like Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P), Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL), and Block Inc CDI (ASX: SQ2) – now the home of Afterpay – will be watched closely when the market opens this morning after Affirms’ dramatic and disappointing quarterly results.

Affirm – with its market capitalisation of around US$16 billion – reported a US$159.7 million loss for the 3 months ended 31 December.

That meant its earnings per share (EPS) for the period equated to a US$0.57 cent loss.

According to my Foolish colleagues in the US, analysts had been predicting EPS would come to a US$0.34 cent loss.

It was also a far greater impact than the US$26.6 million loss it recorded in the same quarter of the previous year.

However, Affirm saw a 77% increase in revenue over the December quarter, reaching US$361 million. Its gross merchandise volume also grew 115% to US$4.5 billion.

Finally, the number of active customers using Affirm increased 150% on the prior comparable quarter and 29% quarter-on-quarter.

Affirm conceded to Twitter the previously tweeted results were a result of “human error”.

Due to human error, a small portion of Affirm’s fiscal Q2 results were inadvertently tweeted from Affirm’s official Twitter account earlier today. Affirm has since issued its complete fiscal Q2 results, which are available at https://t.co/kQLTu8O9Vv.

— Affirm (@Affirm) February 10, 2022

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

What could be in store for ASX BNPL shares on Friday?

Plenty of eyes will be on the Zip share price on Friday morning, as well as those of Sezzle and Block.

Particularly as the Affirm share price’s slump helped drive the tech-heavy Nasdaq Index down 2.1% in Thursday’s session.

The index’s falls generally weigh on the S&P/ASX 200 Info Tech Index (ASX: XIJ) and the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX).  

The share price of US-listed Block Inc (NYSE: SQ) also slumped overnight, ending 3.4% lower.

Meanwhile, shares in payment service providers Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL) and Visa Inc (NYSE: V), which each offer a BNPL service, ­fell 3% and 2% respectively.

The post ASX BNPL shares in focus after Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) share price tumbles 21% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• After a disastrous 2021, the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price has tumbled another 30%. What’s going on?
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• The week ahead: Confidence, ASX earnings, tech in focus. Scott Phillips on Nine’s Late News
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
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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 Block, Inc. and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended PayPal Holdings. 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 Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) share price has continued to decline despite the company reporting positive numbers in mid-January.

While the medical device company’s shares rose 2.33% to $1.315 yesterday, it hasn’t been so great in 2022. In fact, for the past 6 weeks (year to date), Polynovo shares have tumbled by almost 14%.

Below, we take a look at what is impacting the company’s share price of late.

Polynovo shares in top 10 open ASX short positions

The investor sentiment on the Polynovo share price has been negative due to the inconsistent performance of the business. This has ultimately attracted a large number of short sellers to the company’s registry.

Short-selling is a common trading strategy that aims to profit from the fall in the price of a security. The goal is for an investor to first borrow and sell the shares, and then buy them back at a lower price for a profit.

Last week, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) released its short position report revealing the level of short interest within companies.

As such, Polynovo remained in the top 10 list with 8.89% of its shares being heavily shorted by investors.

In comparison, the government body had a short interest of 3.65% in Polynovo last year on 4 February.

Given the large increase in short positions being taken up, it appears investors believe the company’s performance will be underwhelming.

Polynovo is scheduled to release its FY22 half-year results within the next two weeks.

Polynovo share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Polynovo share price has continued its downward trend to post a 50% loss.

In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare (ASX: XHJ) sector has lost around 5% in the same time frame.

It’s worth noting that Polynovo shares hit a multi-year low of $1.185 late last month. This is a huge difference from when its shares were trading above the $4 mark in December 2020.

Polynovo presides a market capitalisation of about $870.12 million and has approximately 661.69 million shares outstanding.

The post The company’s last update was positive, so why are Polynovo (ASX:PNV) shares still among the most shorted on the ASX? 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 POLYNOVO FPO. 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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It’s funny how when we have a market downturn, everyone suddenly starts talking about value investing and ASX value shares. Value investing is often touted as one of the great investing strategies to follow, together with ‘growth investing and even ‘dividend investing’. But what exactly is value investing, and why does it suddenly seem all the rage?

Value investing is perhaps most closely associated with the legendary investor Warren Buffett. It’s a strategy that Buffett has used and honed over decades, and one he credits with building his vast fortune through the now-gigantic investing conglomerate that he runs, Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B).

We’d probably all be familiar with some of the famous quotes Warren Buffett has given investors over the years. But some sum value investing up quite nicely. “Price is what you pay, value is what you get” is one. “Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful” is another.

At its core, value investing involves assessing the value of a company (using fundamental analysis) through your own lens. Then comparing it to the value that the market is placing on it. If your valuation is far higher than what the market thinks, you might be onto a winner. Conversely, if the market is pricing a share well above your own valuation, it might be time to sell under a value investing framework.

What would Buffett do?

Indeed, Buffett’s right-hand man at Berkshire, Charlie Munger, once described value investing as ‘the only type of successful investing’:

I think all successful investment is value investing in the sense that you’re trying to get better prospects than you’re paying for… There’s no great company that can’t be turned into a bad investment, just by raising the price.

That contrasts to growth investing, which many investors might define as buying a fast-growing company and holding on (apologies for the gross oversimplification). This has been the style of investing that has arguably been the most popular over the past decade. Many investors have enjoyed eye-watering returns from ‘growth shares’ such as Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA). And, here on the ASX, companies like Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME).

Indeed, over the past 10 years, S&P Dow Jones Indices tells us that the S&P/ASX 200 Growth Index has returned an average total return of 11.28% per annum. In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Value Index has managed a total return average of 8.36% per annum over the same period.

Growth Investing vs. Value Investing…

As my Fool colleague Bernd covered earlier this week, this was probably assisted by the descent into a near-zero interest rate environment that we’ve seen over the past few years. He covered how a couple of expert investors are seeing the return of higher rates as an opportunity to get back into ASX value shares and fundamental analysis territory.

So it might be for that reason that many investors’ attention is now turning to the value side of life. Most investors agree that the period of near-zero interest rates is rapidly drawing to a close. Our own Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is estimating a rate hike in 2023. But many expect one later this year. And we’ve already seen a savage selloff in many winners-until-recently companies that could be described as ‘growth shares’. Think Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) or WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC). Or perhaps REA Group Ltd (ASX: REA).

Perhaps we’re in a Brave New World here in 2022.

The post What exactly is an ASX value share and why is everyone talking about them? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Block, Inc., Pro Medicus Ltd., and WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Pro Medicus Ltd. and WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), and REA 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 National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price was a strong performer on Thursday.

The banking giant’s shares rose 4.5% to finish the day at $29.67 after the market responded very positively to its first quarter update.

This leaves the NAB share price trading within sight of its 52-week high of $30.30.

Can the NAB share price keep rising?

The good news for shareholders is that a couple of leading brokers believe the NAB share price can keep rising to a new high.

According to a note out of Bell Potter, its analysts have retained their buy rating and lifted their price target on the bank’s shares to $32.50.

Based on the current NAB share price, this implies potential upside of 9.5% over the next 12 months. In addition, the broker is forecasting a 4.3% dividend yield over the period, which brings the total potential return on offer to almost 14%.

Who else is positive?

Another broker that is positive on the NAB share price is Goldman Sachs. This morning its analysts retained their conviction buy rating and lifted their price target to $31.33.

Goldman was impressed with NAB’s performance during the quarter and notes that its result was ahead of expectations.

The broker explained: “NAB’s 1Q22 cash earnings from continuing operations were up 12% on the previous period average to A$1.80 bn, 6% ahead of what was implied by our previous 1H22E forecasts (stronger revenues and lower BDDs), with PPOP coming in 2% ahead. CET1 ratio of 12.4% was broadly consistent with our forecasts.”

Goldman also notes that NAB remains its preferred sector exposure. This is due to its strong position in business banking, good balance sheet momentum, and the progress of its cost management initiatives. Its analysts believe that as the latter “seem further progressed relative to most of its peers, [they] have freed up investment spend to be more directed towards customer experience.”

All in all, both brokers don’t appear to believe it is too late to invest in NAB’s shares.

The post Brokers tip NAB (ASX:NAB) share price to storm to a new 52-week high appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Why AMP, AVZ, Megaport, and NAB shares are pushing higher
• NAB (ASX:NAB) share price jumps after scintillating quarter
• Shareholders are happy with the NAB (ASX:NAB) earnings beat. But what do analysts say?
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: NAB impresses, ASX CEO to retire before CHESS replacement completes

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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Listed below are two ASX dividend shares that analysts have recently rated as buys.

Here’s why they could be top options for income investors right now:

Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT (ASX: CQE)

The first ASX dividend share for income investors to consider is the Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT. It is the largest Australian ASX-listed real estate investment trust (A-REIT) that invests in social infrastructure properties such as government facilities, healthcare buildings, and childcare centres.

The company has been adding to its portfolio again in FY 2022, which is strengthening its offering and positioning it perfectly for long term rental growth. Especially with its ultra long leases and high portion of fixed rent reviews.

In addition, the company has been tipped to reward shareholders with generous dividends in the coming years. A note out of Goldman Sachs reveals that its analysts expect dividends per share of 17.1 cents in FY 2022 and 17.5 cents in FY 2023. Based on its current share price of $3.93, this implies yields of 4.35% and 4.45%, respectively.

Goldman currently has a conviction buy rating and $4.17 price target on its shares.

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

Another ASX dividend share that could be in the buy zone is Westpac. Although its shares have recovered strongly from their recent lows following a series of decent updates in the sector, the team at Morgans doesn’t believe it is too late to invest.

According to a recent note, the broker has reiterated its add rating and $29.50 price target. This compares favourably to the latest Westpac share price of $22.62.

Morgans believes the market is being too negative on Westpac’s outlook and expects it to re-rate higher as things improve and its cost base reduction plans start to take shape.

As for dividends, the broker has pencilled in fully franked dividends per share of $1.19 in FY 2022 and then $1.60 in FY 2023. This will mean yields of 5.25% and 7.1%, respectively.

The post 2 buy-rated ASX dividend shares with 4%+ yields appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns Westpac Banking Corporation. 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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