The share price of gold mining company Silver Lake Resources Limited. (ASX: SLR), inched 0.90% higher on Thursday to finish trading at $1.69.

Silver Lake shares have been on an upward trajectory this past month, posting a return of 30% in that time.

That’s a decent step ahead of the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (XGD) which has posted a return of about 10% in the same time, and even further ahead of the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s gain of just 0.5%.

Here we dissect what’s been fuelling this price action in the last month.

What’s up with Silver Lake Resources share price lately?

Silver Lake presented its quarterly earnings and activities report on 19 October, for the three months ended September 30 2021.

In its report, the company recognised record quarterly production at its Deflector site of 31,033 ounces and 251 tonnes of copper.

Sales on this production were of 28,074 ounces of gold and 212 tonnes of copper, with an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $1,249 per ounce.

In fact, the Group realised its overall gold sales on a price of $2,467/oz and an overall AISC of $1,562/oz.

Another personal record Silver Lake beat last quarter was in its ore reserves of 1.36 million ounces, signifying an 18% year on year increase, or “61% of the net FY21 mine depletion”.

As a result of strengths last quarter, Silver Lake exclaimed it was well-positioned to deliver its FY22 group gold sales guidance of 235,000–255,000 ounces and copper guidance of 600–1,000 tonnes.

It forecasts these results on an estimated AISC of $1,550–$1,650 per ounce.

It also sees a “three year ore reserve backed outlook…outlining sales growth of 255,000–275,000 ounces per year” supported by low costs and high margins at the Deflector site.

Perfect timing

The news of Silver Lake’s production is supported by a recent rally in gold spot and futures pricing.

As we rolled over into this month, the price of gold has popped and has climbed 4% or US$76/t.oz since it took off again from 30 September.

A stronger US dollar, coupled with a pullback in US Treasury yields has gold investors piling into the yellow metal this week, however, the rally is also on a backdrop of inflationary fears across global markets.

Gold has historically been viewed as a reasonable hedge against inflation and an adequate store of value over time.

So during times of market turbulence, investors tend to flock to more “safe-haven” type assets, of which gold is a constituent.

And with the unseen hands of supply and demand at play, pricing can tend to follow suite, increasing as demand for gold assets outmatches supply in the market.

Hence given these macro-economic factors, like inflation and changing bond yields, investors seem to have a love for gold once more, according to Trading Economics.

This appears to have weighed in positively for the Silver Lake Resources share price, as it climbed 26% in corresponding fashion to Gold’s latest upward move.

Silver Lake is an ASX resource share that produces gold, therefore it is considered a price taker of the yellow metal– it must accept the going rates of what’s offered in the market.

It is for this reason that its share price can and does fluctuate alongside volatility in the price of gold, typically following the yellow metal in suite whichever direction it goes.

With the summation of these factors in mind, especially the tight relationship between the price of gold and Silver Lake’s share price, it starts to form a picture as to what’s been driving the gold miner’s gains lately.

Silver Lake share price snapshot

Silver Lake Resources share price has struggled this year to date, having posted a loss of 6% since January 1.

This extends its loss over the last 12 months to around 25%, well behind the broad index’s return in that time.

The post Why has the Silver Lake (ASX:SLR) share price leapt 30% in a month? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Which shares are the biggest winners and losers on the ASX 300 today?
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Afterpay & Zip sink, energy shares rise
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Gold miners jump, Pro Medicus wins contract

The author Zach Bristow has no positions 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 Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX) share price took off today despite the broader market’s suffering.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) fell 0.25% on Thursday. Meanwhile, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) dipped 0.24%.

Fortunately for Novonix shareholders, the company’s stock dodged the carnage. As of Thursday’s close, the Novonix share price is $6.82, 3.65% higher than it was at the end of Wednesday’s session.

So, what drove the battery-focused graphite and graphite anode producer’s shares to gain on Thursday? Let’s take a look.

Novonix share price higher on Thursday

Novonix shares had a great day despite no news having been released by the company. And making the gain more unusual is the fact it’s actually not that unusual.

The Novonix share price has gained 30% in the last 3 weeks, but the company hasn’t uttered a word of price-sensitive news since August.

Also interestingly, there doesn’t seem to be a broader catalyst for Novonix’s movements today. In fact, many of its fellow battery technology shares spent the day in the red.

Lithium-sulphur battery technology company and ASX newbie Li-S Energy Ltd (ASX: LIS) saw its share price plunge 3.1% lower today. At the same time, that of lithium supplier, boron producer, and purchaser of formerly ASX-listed Galaxy Resources, Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE) fell 5.9%.

However, there are some happenings that could explain what went on with the Novonix share price on Thursday.

For one, its surge might be a delayed reaction to the lithium rally the ASX experienced this week.

Novonix doesn’t deal in lithium. Though, as a battery technology company, it tends to run in the same packs as lithium producers.

ASX lithium shares rallied earlier this week, boosted by the increasing price of lithium and news from electric vehicle giant Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA). Tesla saw its value surpass $1 trillion after Hertz decided to add 100,000 Tesla cars to its rental fleet.

Additionally, the Australian Government pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 earlier this week.

The government’s plan focuses heavily on developing new low emissions technology. Thus, market watchers might have assumed stocks like Novonix could benefit from it.

While there’s no guarantee that either of the above happenings helped boost the Novonix share price today, its shareholders will likely be glad to have dodged the ASX’s sluggishness on Thursday.

The post The market had a lousy day. So why did the Novonix (ASX: NVX) share price leap 4%? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why has the Novonix (ASX:NVX) share price rallied 32% in 3 weeks?
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
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• Why Bapcor, Cochlear, Novonix, and Zip shares are rising
• Why did the Novonix (ASX:NVX) share price leap 6% on Thursday?

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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

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As we close out the ASX trading day this Thursday, it’s clear the Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) share price has once again given investors a top day of returns.

Nearmap shares have closed at $2.20 each this afternoon, up a healthy 3.29% for the day. In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) ended up in the red today, closing at 7,430 points, down 0.25%.

But that’s not where the fun for Nearmap investors ends. This aerial mapping company is now up an impressive 20% over just the past 3 weeks alone.

So what’s been pushing Nearmap up so decisively in recent times?

Nearmap share price flies higher

The first thing to note is that while this recent performance is objectively impressive, it doesn’t take away the fact the Nearmap share price has been struggling over a longer timeframe.

In fact, even after the eye-catching run it’s been on over the past few weeks, it remains down around 3% year to date in 2021 so far. It’s also down by around 8% over the past 12 months, and 46% off of its most recent all-time high, which we saw way back in June 2019.

Longer-term investors would be ok with that though. Nearmap is still up nearly 190% over the past 5 years.

But back to the present. It’s not entirely clear why Nearmap has enjoyed such an enthusiastic sentiment from investors over most of October. There hasn’t been much in the way of news or announcements out of the company itself recently.

However, one possible explanation might be the opinions of some expert investors. As my Fool colleague James covered a few weeks ago, broker Morgan Stanley is very bullish on Nearmap. The broker rated this company as ‘overweight’, with a 12-month share price target of $3.20. That implies a potential future upside of about 45% on the current pricing.

Morgan Stanley reckons Nearmap’s shares are undervalued based on its growth potential and expects margin improvement to boost this company’s fortunes going forward.

It’s also possible some investors decided the pricing Nearmap reached at the start of October was simply too good to pass up.

Whatever the reasons for Nearmap’s recent run, it’s sure to have shareholders pleased.

At today’s closing Nearmap share price, this company has a market capitalisation of $1.1 billion.

The post The Nearmap (ASX:NEA) share price is up 20% in 3 weeks. What’s happening? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: ANZ result impresses, Fortescue higher
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today

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 shares of and has recommended Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Nearmap 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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With fears of inflation and the housing boom plateauing, the recent hot run for the ASX shares of the major banks is threatening to come to an end.

Investors can’t complain, though. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials (ASX: XFJ) has gained more than 46% over the past 12 months. And that’s not even including the dividends and one-off share buybacks.

So, is the party over for bank shareholders?

Not quite. A couple of experts are still bullish on one particular big bank, believing the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is ready to ascend.

Bursting through the price barrier

Westpac is due to report and hand out its latest dividend over the next few weeks.

Fairmont Equities managing director Michael Gable believes the stock wants “to rally” coming into that period.

“What’s interesting is that we had a share price peak in June,” he told Finance News Network.

“As it tried to recover, instead of it being sold back down … it’s just managed to head sideways. This is a good sign.”

Gable believes once the recent $25.74 resistance level is breached, Westpac shares could gain momentum upwards.

The good news is that this has already happened since Gable spoke earlier in the week. The Westpac share price closed at $26.23 on Thursday afternoon.

A Westpac share buyback “likely”

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management head of research Nathan Lim currently rates Westpac shares as “overweight”.

“Westpac’s credible new cost strategy and targets should support earnings and a recovery in return on equity,” he posted on Livewire.

“The potential for further divestments on top of already announced asset sales will help to boost capital and simplify the business. The bank has taken sound provisioning measures and we observe falling loan losses.”

According to Lim, Westpac shares are going for a “discount” compared to the other major banks. 

He’s excited about the potential for returns to shareholders this year.

“We anticipate building excess capital, with shareholder-friendly buybacks a likely consequence,” said Lim.

“The payout ratio is sustainable and we forecast a strong, multi-year dividend rebound.” 

The Morgan Stanley team is expecting Westpac’s 2021 second-half cash profit to include about $1.3 billion of “notable items”.

“Morgan Stanley believes the key areas of focus regarding the result will be: Australian loan growth trends, the 2H21 margin decline and outlook commentary, an update on the Cost Re-set plan and any FY22 expense guidance, and a potential off-market buyback.”

The post This big bank ASX share is ready to break out appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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 Reece Ltd (ASX: REH) share price raced higher on Thursday following the company’s first-quarter sales update for FY22.

At Thursday’s closing bell, the plumbing parts company’s shares finished up 4.38% to $18.83.

How did Reece perform for Q1 FY22?

In today’s release, Reece said sales continued to accelerate from the momentum of FY21.

Sales revenue grew to $1,771 million for the first quarter, representing a 13.2% increase on the prior corresponding period. This was made up of ANZ and United States sales revenue lifting 9% and 18.6%, respectively. These figures seem to have impressed investors, given the jump in the Reece share price today.

Reece noted that tight labour markets and wage inflation impacted operating expenses across both regions. This is expected to run into the remainder of the financial year which will weigh on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) margins.

As such, EBITDA for the first half of FY22 is forecasted to be up between 8% and 11% on H1 FY21’s EBITDA ($349 million).

While the near term remains unpredictable, Reece will look at boosting both operating expenditure and capital expenditure. The company is planning a significant step-up in branch refurbishments as well as investing in market-facing digital tools.

Furthermore, management will focus on ensuring Reece’s stock position is strong, particularly on critical items.

Commenting on the update likely fuelling the Reece share price today, group CEO and managing director Peter Wilson said:

Sales revenue for the first quarter has been positive, reflecting momentum from FY21. We have continued to see growth in both regions which has exceeded our expectations. However, the future continues to be unpredictable with inflation dynamics, supply chain disruptions together with tight labour markets and wage inflation we are expecting to accelerate in Q2 and persist for the balance of FY22.

As an essential service we will rely on our adaptive and resilient business model to protect and preserve our business today, whilst creating a position of strength to accelerate our long-term strategy

Reece share price snapshot

Reece shares have moved on an upwards trajectory for most of the year, hitting an all-time high of $25.97 in August.

However, those gains have since been reversed with the Reece share price plummeting almost 30% in 2 months. Lately, Reece shares have stabilised and are up around 32% in the past year and 27% year-to-date.

Reece commands a market capitalisation of roughly $12.24 billion, making it the 40th largest company on the ASX.

The post Reece (ASX:REH) share price climbs on surging Q1 FY22 sales appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These 7 ASX shares are going ex-dividend this week

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) slipped lower following in the footsteps of last night’s Wall Street performance. At the end of the session, the benchmark index finished 0.25% lower at 7,430.4 points.

It was an underwhelming showing across all sectors on the market today. Though, the worst of the bunch could be found in the energy sector following weakness in oil and coal prices overnight.

However, the question is: which shares delivered the biggest returns to investors on the ASX today? Here are the ten stocks that rose to the occasion:

Top 10 ASX shares countdown today

Looking at the top 200 listed companies, Reliance Worldwide Corporation Ltd (ASX: RWC) was the biggest gainer today. Shares in the plumbing parts company gained a further 4.96%. This second consecutive day of significant gains comes as the company held its annual general meeting today. Find out more about Reliance Worldwide here.

The next biggest gaining ASX share today was Boral Limited (ASX: BLD). The construction supplies company rallied 4.75% following its latest announcement. It seems shareholders were pleased with losses for the September quarter coming in lower than previously expected. Uncover the latest Boral details here.

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

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Reliance Worldwide Corporation Ltd (ASX: RWC)	$5.71	4.96%
Boral Limited (ASX: BLD)	$6.62	4.75%
Reece Ltd (ASX: REH)	$18.825	4.35%
Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX)	$6.84	3.95%
JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH)	$48.44	3.31%
Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR)	$1.8675	3.18%
Computershare Ltd (ASX: CPU)	$19.275	2.31%
Imugene Ltd (ASX: IMU)	$0.49	2.08%
BSP Financial Group Ltd (ASX: BFL)	$5.00	2.04%
Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX: VEA)	$2.365	1.94%

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

• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts this Thursday
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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. owns shares of and has recommended Reliance Worldwide Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Reliance Worldwide 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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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) isn’t having a great time of it on the ASX boards this Thursday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is down 0.32% to 7,425 points. That’s in stark contrast to the Australian Ethical Investment Limited (ASX: AEF) share price.

On the surface, Australian Ethical’s gain of 0.3% to $13.32 a share (at the time of writing) doesn’t look that momentous. However, when you consider that this company hit $13.59 a share around lunchtime today, you might want to break out the champagne, especially if you happen to be an Australian Ethical shareholder. That’s because $13.59 is a new all-time high for Australian Ethical Investment.

Yes, a new all-time high. That certainly doesn’t happen every day. But this development is just the latest in a long line of good news investors in this company have enjoyed in recent times. At today’s racing, Australian Ethical is now up an incredible 172% year to date in 2021 so far. It’s also up almost 206% over just the past 12 months, as well as a mind-boggling 1,381% over the past 5 years.

So what’s gone so right for Australian Ethical in 2021 so far?

Australian Ethical share price surges on higher FUM inflows

Well, it seems to be quite simple. This company is growing at breakneck speed.

Back in July, Australian Ethical announced that it had enjoyed a 56% increase in funds under management (FUM) over the financial year ending 30 June 2021, bringing its total FUM to $6.07 billion.

Fast forward to this month, and it was only last week that Australian Ethical declared that its FUM now stood at $6.54 billion, as of 30 September. That’s a 7.75% increase in 3 months. The company also announced that its net inflows for the quarter were $160 million, a record high.

Since Australian Ethical is in the business of funds management, these figures arguably bode very well for its profitability. Fund managers work on a ‘clip the ticket’ model, where they take a slice of the total FUM pie every year. The faster its FUM grows, the ‘ticket’ that Australian Ethical gets to clip gets exponentially larger.

This is probably the main reason we are seeing such strong share price appreciation for this company.

At the current Australian Ethical Investment share price, this company has a market capitalisation of $1.5 billion, with a dividend yield of 0.52%.

The post The Australian Ethical (ASX:AEF) share price just hit a new all-time high 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 shares of and has recommended Australian Ethical Investment Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Australian Ethical Investment 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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In late afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a disappointing decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.4% to 7,420.9 points.

Four ASX shares falling more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are tumbling lower:

Codan Limited (ASX: CDA)

The Codan share price is down a further 5% to $10.43. Investors have been selling the technology company’s shares since the release of its annual general meeting update yesterday. Investors may have been concerned with its valuation given its softer organic growth outlook. This morning Macquarie retained its outperform rating but trimmed its price target by 14% to $15.20.

IOOF Holdings Limited (ASX: IFL)

The IOOF share price has dropped 8.5% to $4.20 following the release of its quarterly update. IOOF revealed that its active advice services relationships stood at 1,883 financial advisers at the end of September. This was down from the end of June. In addition, the company revealed a net outflow of $1.4 billion for its funds under management.

Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE)

The Orocobre share price is down almost 6% to $8.88. This is despite there being no news out of the lithium miner. Though, there are a number of lithium shares are falling today. This could have been driven by profit taking after some strong gains recently.

Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)

The PointsBet share price has sunk 18% to $8.69. Investors have been selling the sports betting company’s shares following the release of its first quarter update. Although PointsBet’s turnover increased 42% year on year to $979.9 million, its spiralling costs appear to have spooked investors. PointsBet spent more than $46 million on marketing during the quarter. This led to a net operating cash outflow of $26.6 million for the period.

The post Why Codan, IOOF, Orocobre, and PointsBet shares are tumbling appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Codan (ASX:CDA) share price hits new one-year low
• PointsBet (ASX:PBH) share price slides 8% after Q1 trading update
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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Orocobre Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pointsbet 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 Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ) share price is down slightly today amid news that the regional bank will among the first financial institutions to introduce a new lending rule.

At the time of writing, the Bank of Queensland share price is down 0.44% to $8.95 apiece.

Bank of Queensland set to implement policy change

The assessment criteria on home loan applications will tighten up as Bank of Queensland and fellow peer, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) become the first banks to implement the higher interest rate buffer recommended by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).

On 6 October, APRA announced a new policy requiring financial institutions to evaluate new borrowers at an interest rate that is 3% higher than the actual loan product rate. Originally, the prerequisite was 2.5%.

APRA’s aim is to reinforce the stability of the financial system and ensure customers can continue to manage their loan repayments should interest rates rise over the coming years.

The new loan buffer for both Bank of Queensland and Westpac will come into effect from tomorrow, 29 October.

In other banking news, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and ING recently cut their variable rates for new customers with larger deposits.

According to a report in The Age, 28 lenders have cut their variable rates in the past month. Some analysts say the trend in falling variable rates could nullify the impact of APRA’s newly increased interest rate buffer.

With mortgage competition expected to intensify, a price war between the major banks could loom.

According to the article, some analysts think APRA might have to bring in further rules to slow down the booming housing market.

Meantime, fixed interest rates are expected to rise as Australia moves into a post-COVID environment.

Bank of Queensland share price snapshot

Bank of Queensland shares have soared by more than 40% over the past 12 months. They are up almost 20% year to date.

While the Bank of Queensland share price has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, it is still a long way off its 2015 highs of $13.50.

Bank of Queensland commands a market capitalisation of $5.9 billion and has more than 640 million shares on issue.

The post Own Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) shares? Here’s what you should know about its home loans appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why is the Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price plunging today?
• The Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price will trade ex-dividend on Thursday. Here’s what you need to know
• Here are 5 ASX shares trading ex-dividend this week
• Why is the Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price underperforming the big four lately?
• Why have investors been selling off Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) shares lately?

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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The Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) share price is surging higher today after the company’s boss flagged the resumption of dividends.

During Corporate Travel’s annual general meeting (AGM), its chair Ewan Crouch noted the company expects to return to profitability during financial year 2022.

If expectations come to fruition, it will resume handing around 50% of its after-tax profits back to shareholders.

On Corporate Travel’s return to profitability and dividends, Crouch commented:

We have zero debt and sufficient cash to manage recovery… Subject to remaining travel restrictions lifting in accordance with announced timetables and our key travel markets remaining open, we are targeting continued improving profitability over FY22 enabling dividends to resume following the release of FY22 results.

At the time of writing, the Corporate Travel share price is $24.38, 1.63% higher than its previous close.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s got the market excited about Corporate Travel’s stock.  

Corporate Travel’s dividend hopes

The Corporate Travel share price is taking off after the company’s chair stated its already on track to continue improving its profits through financial year 2022.

Its Australian and New Zealand markets have been a drag through this financial year so far due to ongoing lockdowns. Though, the company expects travel in the region to bounce back fast once borders reopen.

Additionally, some of its overseas businesses have been outperforming.

A strong first quarter for the company’s North America and European legs has continued into the current quarter.

Its North American division is on track to achieve its biggest profit since the pandemic began for this month. The company’s now waiting for the United States’ international borders to reopen on 8 November. It’s currently selling more than 3,000 tickets for Transatlantic travel each week.

Meanwhile, its forward conference and events bookings in Europe are at an all-time high.

Now, the company is waiting for Australia’s vaccination rates to increase ahead of borders reopening. It’s expecting a rapid rebound in the second half of this financial year.

Corporate Travel also noted it will be reopening as a larger business than it was pre-COVID. It acquired United States’ travel management company Travel & Transport in October 2020.

The Corporate Travel share price gained 10% on the back of the acquisition.

Finally, the company believes its market in Asia will continue to struggle over the near future. It hopes it can return to profitability when China opens its borders to the rest of the continent.

Corporate Travel share price snapshot

Today’s gains included, the Corporate Travel share price is 41% higher than it was at the start of 2021.

It has also gained 52% since this time last year.

The post Corporate Travel (ASX:CTD) share price gains as dividends flagged to return appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX travel shares on watch as US border reopens
• Why ASX 200 travel shares are having a bumper day

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 owns shares of and has recommended Corporate Travel Management 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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