The WAM Capital Limited (ASX: WAM) share price hasn’t had the best year in 2021 to date. Since the start of the year, WAM Capital shares have gone backwards by roughly 0.22%.

Of course, there has been WAM Capital’s generous dividend to help ease the pain. WAM shares have paid out 15.5 cents per share in dividends this year. That would have added a good 7% or so to those returns (plus some with franking). But even so, that doesn’t take away from the fact that the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has eaten WAM Capital’s lunch, seeing as the index itself has gained more than 9.8% (plus dividends) in 2021 thus far.

WAM Capital is one of the largest Listed Investment Companies (LICs) on the ASX. As a LIC, it is a company that invests in other ASX shares for the benefit of its own shareholders.

So if you hold WAM Capital shares, what should you look out for in 2022?

This ain’t WAM’s last Christmas…

Well, to start with, here’s some of what WAM Capital founder and chair Geoff Wilson said on the company’s plans for FY2022 during WAM Capital’s annual general meeting last month:

In FY2022, we have positioned [WAM’s] portfolio into companies that can generate strong top line organic growth irrespective of the economic outlook. We are positive on the medium-term economic and earnings outlooks, despite the headwinds of new coronavirus variants. Our long-standing methodology of investing in undervalued growth companies with a clear catalyst for a share price rerating, remains the central tenet of our process.

Currently (well, as of 30 November), some of WAM Capital’s top holdings included Life360 Inc (ASX: 360), Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH), Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL), Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW), Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG) and ARB Corporation Limited (ASX: ARB).

But WAM Capital has recently been venturing into new territory as a LIC. Rather than just holding positions in individual shares, WAM Capital has stepped up its game over the past year or two. Over FY2021, WAM bought out the Concentrated Leaders Fund (ASX: CLF). As well as the Contango Income Generator Limited (ASX: CIE) and Amaysim Australia (ASX: AYS). It is also presently in the process of attempting to purchase the PM Capital Asian Opportunities Fund Ltd (ASX: PAF). Although, this is now caught up in what is arguably an increasingly messy bidding war.

So it seems that as WAM Capital’s size has grown (it’s now worth more than $2 billion), so too has its investing horizons. Perhaps investors can expect additional complete fund and company takeovers going into the 2022 calendar year.

 

The post Invested in WAM Capital (ASX:WAM) shares? Here’s what to watch in 2022 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. owns and has recommended Brickworks, Life360, Inc., and PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Brickworks and PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ARB Corporation 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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There are a lot of quality options for investors to choose from on the Australian share market. Two that analysts are particularly positive on are listed below.

Here’s why analysts rate these ASX shares as buys:

Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO)

The first highly rated ASX share for investors to look at this month is this mining giant.

It could be a top option due to its attractive valuation, production growth outlook, its exposure to aluminium, and strong free cash flow generation. The latter is expected to underpin a double digit dividend yield in FY 2022 according to the team at Goldman Sachs.

It is partly for this reason that the broker currently has a buy rating and $121.00 price target on its shares.

Goldman is also very positive on its aluminium business. It commented: “In addition to copper production growth, Rio has one of the highest margin, lowest carbon emission aluminium businesses in the world, with over 2.2Mt of Ali production powered by hydro, and we think ELYSIS inert anode technology could be worth billions of $.”

Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB)

Another ASX share that is highly rated right now is this online travel agent. Especially given recent weakness in the Webjet share price, which leaves it trading far closer to its 52-week low than its 52-week high.

The team at Morgans is very positive on the company’s outlook in a post-COVID world. This is thanks to its cost reductions and bold market share targets. The broker recently upgraded Webjet’s shares to an add rating with a $6.60 price target.

Morgans commented: “WEB is targeting to return to pre-COVID booking levels in the 2H23.Management continues to maintain its aspirational market share targets and wants to reduce the company’s cost base by 20% when it returns to scale. This means that WEB should be materially more profitable post COVID.”

The post Analysts say these ASX shares are buys 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 Webjet 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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Are you interested in small cap ASX shares? If you are, then you may want to look at the ones listed below.

Both these small cap ASX shares have been given buy ratings and are tipped for big things in the future. Here’s why they should be on your watchlist:

Adore Beauty Group Limited (ASX: ABY)

The first small cap to watch is Adore Beauty. It operates a beauty-focused integrated content, marketing, and ecommerce platform that partners with a broad and diverse portfolio of brands and products.

This strategy has worked wonders and led to Adore Beauty’s active customers growing strongly to almost 1 million, which is underpinning strong sales growth.

Pleasingly, while this is a large number, it is still only a small portion of an Australian beauty market worth $11 billion a year at present. This gives Adore Beauty a long runway for growth over the next decade.

UBS is a fan of the company. It currently has a buy rating and $6.00 price target on its shares.

BlueBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: BBT)

Another small cap ASX share to watch carefully is this mobile-first online wagering provider.

BlueBet allows users to bet on all Australian and international racing and sports through its website and app. Thanks to the increasing popularity of mobile sports betting, its sales and customer numbers have been growing strongly in recent years.

Pleasingly, though, BlueBet is still scratching at the surface of a huge market opportunity in both Australia and the United States. And while the latter market will not be easy to crack, BlueBet is forming partnerships with industry players in an attempt to gain access.

The team at Morgans is very positive on BlueBet. The broker currently has add rating and lofty $2.60 price target on its shares.

Morgans recently commented: “We remain attracted to BBT’s opportunity to increase its Australian market share (currently just ~1.2%) and significant, long-term growth potential from its US market entry.”

The post 2 quick-growing small cap ASX shares to watch 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 recommended Adore Beauty Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Adore Beauty Group Limited and BlueBet 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 Cimic Group Ltd (ASX: CIM) share price finished in the green today after the company announced it had settled a dispute.

At the close of trade, Cimic shares were swapping hands for $18.33, up 2.23%.

Cimic is a major construction, mining and services company with subsidiaries including CPB Contractors.

What was the update?

In today’s release, Cimic advised it has reached a commercial settlement on the West Gate Tunnel project in Melbourne. The tunnel is being constructed by CPB Contractors in a joint venture with John Holland.

Under the terms of the settlement, the Victorian state government will provide $1.9 billion while Transurban will contribute $2 billion to ensure the tunnel is built by late 2025.

However, the profit margin from the project will now be forgone and Cimic will see a reduction in revenue of $300 million. John Holland will also let go of $300 million of revenue.

Despite the revised revenue outlook, investors appeared to react positively to the news.

The settlement means tunnelling on the project will now be able to start early next year. Also, it resolves what the company described as a long-standing legacy issue that has taken up a lot of management’s time.

Furthermore, Cimic noted it would be able to offset the financial hit with existing provisions and additional non-recurring gains. The company expects to report a net profit after tax (NPAT) of $400-$430 million for the 2021 financial year.

In a statement signed by the Cimic board, the company said:

Cimic is pleased to have achieved this settlement, avoiding further potential legal and other costs, while being able to maintain guidance.

Settlement of West Gate also allows tunnelling to commence to the benefit of the project parties and, ultimately, the people of Victoria who will gain from this infrastructure.

Cimic share price snap shot

Cimic shares have been in the red in the past 12 months, plummeting almost 29%. Year to date, the company’s shares are down 26%.

In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned more than 8% to investors in the past year.

The company commands a market capitalisation of roughly $5.7 billion based on the current share price.

The post Here’s why the Cimic (ASX:CIM) share price popped today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• How might the Polynovo (ASX:PNV) share price perform in 2022?
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• Why Alkane, De Grey, Nufarm, and St Barbara shares are pushing higher

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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It’s likely a bittersweet end to the week for former owners of Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) shares as the company officially becomes history.

Oil Search’s merger with Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) has now been implemented, with Santos acquiring all of Oil Search’s stock.

As of Friday’s close, the Santos share price is $6.45.

Meanwhile, the Oil Search share price remains at its final resting place of $4.04, as it has been since it stopped trading on Monday.

Let’s take a look back at Oil Search’s time on the ASX and its now completed merger with Santos.

Oil Search’s highs and lows

Oil Search was established in 1929. It first earned its place in the S&P/ASX 50 Index (ASX: XFL) in 2008.

The company’s former CEO, Peter Botten, was awarded the title of the longest serving CEO of an ASX company in 2019, after serving 25 years at the helm. Botten retired from the company in 2020.

Oil Search’s stock faced one of its worst days in March 2020, when the price of oil plummeted from underneath it.

Conversely, one of the company’s best days on the market came in 2015 when, interestingly, Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) made a $12 billion takeover bid.

Interested readers can find a handy booklet on the company’s history, created for its 90^th birthday, here.

However, all good things must end.

Oil Search is officially no more

On Monday, the ASX will open without Oil Search. Instead, new Santos shares issued to former Oil Search shareholders will begin trading on a normal settlement basis.

The final takeover deal saw Oil Search shareholders receiving 0.6275 Santos shares for each Oil Search security owned.

As of today, all Oil Search directors have resigned. Dr Eileen Doyle and Mr Musje Werror joined the Santos board today.

Mr Michael Utsler will also join the board after Santos’ 2022 Annual General Meeting.

And just like that, the ASX is home to one less oil and gas giant.

The post And just like that, Oil Search (ASX:OSH) shares are no more appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

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

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The Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) share price has had a year to forget in 2021. To say the performance of the dermal regeneration solutions company was disappointing would be an understatement.

Shares in Polynovo are down 63% since the beginning of this year. That is a difficult pill to swallow for any investor — especially when the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned a gain of 9.6% during that time.

The company might have started the year off on the wrong foot, setting the pace for what would be a challenging year. Mere days after hitting an all-time high at the end of 2020, the Polynovo share price ushered in the new year with a steep decline, falling ~35% in the first two weeks of trading.

Despite achieving record sales in FY21, it seems onlookers have been wary of business disruptions caused by COVID-19.

Could 2022 be the year the Polynovo share price springs back to life?

What does Polynovo have planned for the year ahead?

This year might have been a treacherous one for Polynovo shareholders. However, the company has a number of positive developments in its sights for 2022.

One of the plans for the new year could likely be essential to stabilising the Polynovo share price. This, of course, is the replacement for managing director and CEO, Paul Brennan. The sudden exit of Brennan followed seven years of service to the company, playing an instrumental role in commercializing Polynovo’s medical technology.

According to the company’s latest update, Polynovo has received incredible interest in the vacant permanent CEO position. As such, it expects to bring on a suitable candidate in the first quarter of 2022.

Simultaneously, the company has been building out its sales teams — which are integral to growing revenue. As of 14 December, Polynovo stated it was in the final stages of recruiting a further 4 United States sales representatives, with the board approving an additional 10 hires.

Shareholders will be hoping this additional sales force will drive increased revenue for FY22. For reference, the company recorded $29.16 million in revenue for FY21.

Analyst’s take on the Polynovo share price

The team at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) is undeterred by the shocker of a year for Polynovo’s share price. Earlier this week, analysts at the investment bank shared their expectations for the medical polymer technology company in a note.

In a good sign for shareholders, the broker tagged the Polynovo share price with an outperform rating and a $2.85 price target. At today’s closing price, this would imply an upside of more than 100%. Yet, it’s still a far cry from the share’s 52-week high of $4.08.

It appears a number of short-sellers have the opposite opinion to Macquarie’s analysts. Based on ASIC’s short report for last week, Polynovo is still in the top 10 most shorted ASX shares with a 7.5% short interest.

The post How might the Polynovo (ASX:PNV) share price perform in 2022? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended POLYNOVO FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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If you’re interested in adding some S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares to your portfolio this month, then the three listed below could be worth considering.

These three ASX 200 shares have been named as buys and tipped to generate strong returns for investors. They are as follows:

Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL)

The first ASX 200 share to look at is Aristocrat Leisure. It is a gaming technology company with a leading portfolio of poker machines and digital games. The latter includes gambling and non-gambling games such as RAID. The company has also just announced a deal to acquire London-listed leading global online gambling software and content supplier, Playtech, for $5 billion. All in all, this has analysts tipping Aristocrat to grow its earnings at a strong rate over the medium term

Morgans is positive on the company. It currently has an add rating and $52.50 price target on its shares. This compares to the most recent Aristocrat share price of $42.58.

NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

Another ASX 200 share to look at is NEXTDC. It is a leading data centre operator with a collection of world class centres across key locations throughout Australia. Combined with its potential expansion into Asia and Edge data centres and the structural shift to the cloud, NEXTDC appears well-placed for growth over the 2020s.

Citi is a fan and currently has a buy rating and $15.40 price target on NEXTDC’s shares. This compares to the latest NEXTDC share price of $12.25.

ResMed Inc. (ASX: RMD)

A final ASX 200 share that has been tipped to generate strong returns for investors is ResMed. It is a medical device company with a world class portfolio of products in the massive sleep treatment market. It has been tipped to grow strongly over the long term due to its leadership position, growing demand, and its patient-centric, connected-care digital platform. The latter is addressing the main pinch points across the healthcare value chain.

Credit Suisse is bullish on ResMed. So much so, it has an outperform rating and $43.00 price target on the company’s shares. This compares favourably to the latest ResMed share price of $35.56.

The post 3 ASX 200 shares with major upside potential in 2022 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns NEXTDC 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 ResMed Inc. 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) defied the steep losses in tech shares to deliver a green end to the week. At the end of the session, the benchmark index inched 0.11% higher to 7,304 points.

It was another bloodbath day for tech shares on the ASX today. This mirrored a similarly disappointing showing from US-listed tech companies overnight amid a more hawkish signal from central banks. Fortunately, it was a much better day for energy, miners, and financials — helping pull the Australian index into positive territory by the end of the day.

However, the question is: which shares delivered the biggest returns to investors on the ASX today? Here are the top ten stocks that came through for investors:

Top 10 ASX shares countdown today

Looking at the top 200 listed companies, Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) was the biggest gainer today. Shares in the gold mining company rallied 5.81%. This came amid a strong rise in the spot price of the precious commodity overnight. Find out more about Northern Star Resources here.

The next biggest gaining ASX share today was Virgin Money UK PLC (ASX: VUK). The full-service bank gained 5.76% despite there being no new announcements from the company. Uncover the latest Virgin Money UK details here.

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

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST)	$9.47	5.81%
Virgin Money UK PLC (ASX: VUK)	$3.12	5.76%
Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA)	$4.97	5.75%
Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR)	$1.595	5.28%
Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)	$2.52	5.00%
Endeavour Group Ltd (ASX: EDV)	$6.99	4.96%
Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd (ASX: CWY)	$3.00	4.90%
Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL)	$2.565	4.69%
Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN)	$3.95	4.50%
Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM)	$23.70	3.95%

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.

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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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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has just ended the week on a positive note. The benchmark index has risen 0.1% to 7,304 points.

Four ASX shares that climbed more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they were pushing higher:

Alkane Resources Limited (ASX: ALK)

The Alkane Resources share price is up 23% to 96 cents. This follows news that Alkane has intersected high-grade gold and copper mineralisation at its Boda prospect. Boda is located within Alkane Resource’s Northern Porphyry Project in central west NSW. The company believes this expedition could become a large tier 1 gold-copper project.

De Grey Mining Limited (ASX: DEG)

The De Grey share price is up 5% to $1.14. The catalyst for this was news that the company has reported strong gold results from its Diucon deposit at Hemi, located in Western Australia. Management advised that drilling at Diucon has increased the depth of mineralisation to approximately 550 metres below surface. Zones of higher gold grades, commonly associated with visible gold, continue to be intersected.

Nufarm Ltd (ASX: NUF)

The Nufarm share price is up 3% to $4.88. This follows the agricultural chemicals company’s annual general meeting this morning. At the event, management spoke positively about its outlook. It advised that it is experiencing continued strong demand for both its seed and crop protection products.

St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM)

The St Barbara share price is up 3% to $1.48. This appears to have been driven by a rise in the gold price overnight. It isn’t just the St Barbara share price which is rising on Friday. The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index has just closed a sizeable 4% higher.

The post Why Alkane, De Grey, Nufarm, and St Barbara shares are pushing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Macquarie (ASX:MQG) upgraded these ASX gold shares to ‘buy’ for 2022

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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The Dexus Property Group (ASX: DXS) share price is dipping during late afternoon trade on Friday. This comes after the real estate group announced it has externally valued its property portfolio.

At the time of writing, the Dexus share price is down 1.33% to $11.17 apiece.

Dexus’ property value increases

Investors are selling off their positions in Dexus shares regardless of the company providing a positive update.

According to its release, Dexus advised that 124 of its 189 property assets has been externally valued.

For the 6 months to 31 December 2021, the report indicated that Dexus’ book value increase by around $421 million. This represents a 2.4% lift on the prior corresponding period.

The assets valued consisted of 34 office properties, 89 industrial properties and one healthcare property.

Dexus noted that its office portfolio grew slightly by 0.6% from recent leasing deals. The industrial portfolio surged 8.7% in value followed by improved market conditions, and capitalisation rate compression across its assets.

As such, the weighted average capitalisation rate across the total portfolio tightened by around 15 basis points to 4.76%. This was broken down to the office portfolio reducing by six basis points to 4.85%, and the industrial portfolio by 50 basis points to 4.42%.

Dexus CEO, Darren Steinberg commented:

As evidenced by these latest independent valuations, the value of Dexus’s quality portfolio has remained robust in a COVID-impacted environment. We have continued to see growth in asset values for well-located industrial and logistics facilities, supported by strong investment demand.

We anticipate the post-lockdown environment will continue to see global capital attracted to Australia, benefiting quality assets across the core property sectors.

About the Dexus share price

The Dexus share price has gained around 13% over the past year, but is up almost 20% in 2021. The company’s shares reached a 52-week high of $11.50 yesterday, before treading lower today.

Dexus presides a market capitalisation of roughly $12.01 billion, with approximately 1.08 billion shares outstanding.

The post Dexus (ASX:DXS) share price edges lower despite valuation lift 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. 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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