The Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) share price has started the week strongly.

In afternoon trade, the energy producer’s shares are up 3.5% to $4.48.

This means Oil Search shares are now up a solid 19% in 2021.

Why is the Oil Search share price charging higher today?

The have been a couple of catalysts for the rise in the Oil Search share price today.

The first has been a rise in oil prices on Friday night, which has given the sector a lift.

In addition, a broker note out of Morgan Stanley this morning has given its shares a boost today.

According to the note, the broker has retained its equal-weight rating but lifted its price target by 22% to $5.50.

Based on the current Oil Search share price, this implies potential upside of almost 23% over the next 12 months. And if you include the broker’s 23.3 cents per share dividend forecast for FY 2022, the potential return increases to ~28%. Not bad for an equal-weight rating!

What is the broker saying?

The note reveals that Morgan Stanley has upgraded its earnings forecasts to reflect its belief that strong demand in Asia for LNG will drive prices higher over the long term. The broker now expects the long term LNG price to be almost a third higher than previously forecast at US$10 per Metric Million British Thermal Unit (MMBtu).

The broker commented: “We think Asia will consume significantly more natural gas in the early phases of the energy transition […] This will lead to higher LNG prices and better project return, improving investor sentiment towards these projects.”

This would be a big positive for Oil Search and could support solid earnings and dividend growth in the coming years (along with proposed merger partner Santos Ltd (ASX: STO)). As such, the Oil Search share price could be one to watch in the coming months.

The post Broker note sends Oil Search (ASX:OSH) share price charging higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Big banks’ forecast could mean extended tailwinds for ASX 200 energy shares
• ASX 200 energy shares take a breather, broker sees “lot of upside risk” for oil
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• This leading fund manager thinks these ASX shares might be buys
• Could the Oil Search (ASX:OSH) share price hit $5 by the end of 2021?

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 Tabcorp Holdings Limited (ASX: TAH) share price has outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) by a long shot over the last 12 months.

Since this time last year, the ASX 200 has gained 20.93%.

Meanwhile, the Tabcorp share price has soared 46.65%. It’s currently trading at $5.04.

So, what’s been driving the Tabcorp share price to perform better than most of its ASX 200 peers? Let’s take a look.

Why has the Tabcorp share price outperformed?

The last 12 months have seen the Tabcorp share price boosted numerous times. Interestingly, the company’s biggest daily gain came after it addressed media speculation on 6 November 2020.

Then, the company rebutted media reports that private equity firms and high-profile bookmaker Matthew Tripp were interested in acquiring Tabcorp.

Late on 5 November, The Australian reported a private equity consortium wished to purchase the then-struggling Tabcorp, valuing the business at around $9 billion. At the time, the company was reportedly worth $7.7 billion.

The publication also reported another group wanted to purchase Tabcorp’s wagering business.

However, Tabcorp hit back at the reports by simply stating, “Tabcorp is not aware of, and has not received, any proposal in respect of the company or its businesses”.

Despite the rumours being refuted, the Tabcorp share price shot 15.8% higher.

Then, on 2 February, the market heard more media speculation. This time, reports claimed a party was interested in purchasing Tabcorp’s wagering arm which is attached to its media business.

This time, Tabcorp responded positively to the rumours, saying, “Tabcorp confirms that it has received a number of unsolicited approaches and proposals in relation to a potential transaction involving Tabcorp’s Wagering and Media business”.

Once again, the company’s share price surged 8.7%.

Tabcorp did end up deciding to split its wagering and media segment from the rest of its business. However, it didn’t sell it.

As it stands, Tabcorp is planning to spin off its Lotteries and Keno segment and focus only on its wagering and media business next year.

The post The Tabcorp (ASX:TAH) share price has beaten the ASX 200 by 25% this last year appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why BHP, Propel, Silver Lake, and Tabcorp shares are falling
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: BHP’s Q1 update, CSL’S R&D update
• Tabcorp (ASX:TAH) share price slides after trading, demerger update
• Why Macquarie tips the Tabcorp (ASX:TAH) share price to jump 22%

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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has started the week positively and is on course to record a decent gain. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up 0.3% to 7,439.6 points.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market’s lead today are listed below. Here’s why they are falling:

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

The Core Lithium share price is down 8.5% to 57 cents. This is despite there being no news out of the lithium developer. However, with its shares up over 250% in 2021 prior to today, this decline could have been driven by profit taking from some investors.

Firefinch Ltd (ASX: FFX)

The Firefinch share price is down 8.5% to 59.5 cents. This morning the gold and lithium explorer announced a share purchase plan aiming to raise $25 million at a discount of 58 cents per share. The funds will be used to ramp up activities at the Viper and N’Tiola satellites and the Morila Super Pit.

Smartgroup Corporation Ltd (ASX: SIQ)

The Smartgroup share price has crashed 11% to $8.32. Investors have been selling this fleet management and salary packaging company’s shares after takeover talks with the TPG Global and Potentia Capital consortium collapsed. The consortium had tabled a $10.35 per share offer but after a period of due diligence lowered its offer to $9.25 at the weekend. This was rejected by the Smartgroup Board.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

The Zip share price is down over 2.5% to $6.78. This appears to have been driven by weakness in the tech sector following a poor end to the week on the tech-focused Nasdaq index. In addition, this morning UBS retained its sell rating and $5.40 price target on the company’s shares. It notes that BNPL surcharges may soon be allowed in Australia. The broker sees this as an incremental negative.

The post Why Core Lithium, Firefinch, Smartgroup, and Zip shares are falling appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Firefinch (ASX:FFX) share price sinks 7% amid $25m cap raise
• What do analysts think of the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price following the rebrand?
• Smartgroup (ASX:SIQ) share price crashes 16% amid takeover collapse
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) and other BNPL shares in focus as RBA looks to rein in regulation
• Why Aussie Broadband, Core Lithium, Cardno, and Nuix are storming higher

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. owns shares of and has recommended ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended SMARTGROUP DEF SET. 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) is having a pretty decent start to this week’s trading on Monday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is up a healthy 0.42% to 7,446 points. But let’s dive a little deeper and take a look at the ASX 200 shares that are currently topping the trading volume charts so far this Monday, according to investing.com.

3 most active ASX 200 shares by volume this Monday

Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)

ASX 200 coal digger Whitehaven is our first share to check out today. Whitehaven has seen a sizeable 11.19 million shares trade on the markets so far this Monday.

With no major news or announcements out of the company today, we can probably assume this high volume is the result of the share price tumble that Whitehaven has endured . Whitehaven is currently down a nasty 1.04% to $2.86 so far today, despite the advances of the broader market.

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

ASX 200 telco Telstra is next up today. Telstra has seen a hefty 14.68 million of its shares swap hands thus far on Monday. We do have some news out from Telstra that might explain this move. The telco confirmed this morning that it has agreed to purchase the Pacific-based Digicel telecom company for US$1.6 billion.

The wheels of this deal were liberally greased by the federal government, which has provided some financial backing as well. Shareholders seem to have given their blessing, seeing as Tesltra is presently up a healthy 2.68% today to $3.83 a share. All of these factors are probably behind this elevated trading volume.

Aurizon Holdings Ltd (ASX: AZJ)

Our final and most traded ASX 200 share today (so far at least) is the rail freight company Aurizon, with a whopping 24.5 million shares bought and sold. Like with Whitehaven, there is not much in the way of news or announcements out of Aurizon today.

However, Aurizon shares have been sold off today as well. The company is presently down a nasty 3.15% to $3.54 a share. This may be related to the announcement the company made last week, gazetting the purchase of One Rail Australia for a cool $2.35 billion. This might be still influencing investors of Aurizon today.

The post These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts this Monday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price on watch after announcing US$1.6bn Digicel acquisition

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Telstra Corporation 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 owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Aurizon Holdings Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) share price has been among the best performing large caps in 2021.

Since the start of the year, the banking giant’s shares have gained over 23% to trade at $28.38 today.

This is more than double the return of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) this year.

Can the ANZ share price keep rising?

Despite the ANZ share price rising strongly already this year, one leading broker believes it can keep rising.

According to a recent note out of Morgans, its analysts have an add rating and $34.50 price target on the bank’s shares.

Based on the current ANZ share price, this suggests there’s still over 21% upside ahead. And that’s not including dividends.

If we include the $1.65 per share fully franked dividend the broker is forecasting in FY 2022, the total potential return widens to a mouth-watering 27%.

Why is Morgans a fan?

ANZ has been the broker’s top pick among the big four for a while now. This is largely due to the valuation of the ANZ share price.

It also likes the bank due to its cost reduction plans and the work it has done reducing the risk of its loan book.

Morgans recently commented: “We believe ANZ is the most compelling of the major banks on a valuation basis. We expect ANZ to continue to focus on absolute cost reduction over the medium term. ANZ has de-risked its loan book over recent years – particularly its institutional loan book – such that the quality of its loan book has improved. While ANZ’s Australian home loan book has been growing below system over recent months, we expect a disciplined margin performance from ANZ.”

All in all, this could make the ANZ share price one to consider if you’re looking for options in the banking sector.

The post Here’s why Morgans is tipping 21% upside for the ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Aristocrat hits record high, Flight Centre sinks
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price on watch after revealing $129 million profit hit

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 Noxopharm Ltd (ASX: NOX) share price is edging higher this afternoon and is currently trading up 2.8% at 55 cents apiece.

Shares in the drug development company are on the move after it released a key announcement regarding its lead drug candidate Veyonda.

Here’s what we know out of Noxopharm’s corner today.

What was announced?

The company advised it had received “notices of allowance” from both the Australian and European patent offices covering use of the active ingredient in Veydona, idronoxil.

Veydona is the company’s lead drug candidate currently in Phase 2 safety and efficacy clinical trials. The company has the end goal of turning the drug into a label that’s indicated in all types of cancer treatment.

Specifically, the patent governs the use of Veydona to “allow dosages of chemotherapy to be lowered to safer levels without compromising their anti-cancer effectiveness”.

This involves a particular method where Veydona is supplied with a low dose of chemotherapy drugs in the treatment of various cancers.

Noxopharm is confident the combination therapy can “deliver an even stronger anti-cancer response at the same time as offering the same benefit”.

The end result will be that Veydona may be offered as a combination therapy to patients unable to undergo full-strength chemotherapy.

The need, Noxopharm says, originates from the wide-ranging side effects of the current care standard through the use of chemotherapy compounds known as “platinum drugs”.

This category ranks among the gold standard of commonly used chemotherapy drugs.

In the population taking these platinum drugs, Noxpharm explained that adverse side effects cause a reduction in therapy in around 30% of cases. They also result in 10% of patients having to stop therapy altogether.

The company says idronoxil, through the Veydona label, purportedly enhances chemotherapy “up to a magnitude of 1,000 times…without increasing the sensitivity to healthy cells to the damaging effects of the drugs”.

This concept was proved back in April in the company’s CEP-1 study which investigated Veydona’s effects when administered this way.

A new study, CEP-2, followed further building on the results obtained from the original clinical trial. Results will be available in due course.

The patent granted today builds on other patent positions it has filed for in both radiotherapy and immunotherapy earlier in the year.

What did management say?

Speaking on the announcement, Noxopharm’s CEO Graham Kelly said:

A high proportion of cancer patients are deprived of the benefits of chemotherapies because of toxic side-effects. The development of side-effects leads to drug dosages being lowered or stopped altogether. Other patients either are too ill or too elderly or just unwilling to even start chemotherapy. That is the gap that we see Veyonda filling by allowing the patient to still gain the benefit of the chemotherapy but at dosages that are much better tolerated. With an estimated US$150 billion spent globally each year on chemotherapy, that gap represents a very major medical need and commercial opportunity.

Regarding other patent filings and the company’s growth vision, Kelly added:

Allowance of these claims is a major milestone in the Company’s aim to see Veyonda become a standard of care companion drug in oncology for chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. With the radiotherapy (ASX Announcement 27 September 2021) and immunotherapy patent positions looking strong, the allowances announced today represent an important step towards achieving that eventual aim, something that we are confident will be attractive to major pharma companies with strong chemotherapy drug portfolios.

Noxopharm share price snapshot

The Noxopharm share price has had a difficult year to date, having posted a return of 12% since January 1.

As such, it has only climbed around 9% in the last 12 months and is in the red by around 2% in the last month.

These results have lagged the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s return of around 21% in the past year.

The post Why is the Noxopharm (ASX:NOX) share price up 4% on Monday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The author Zach Bristow has no positions in any of the socks 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 Andromeda Metals Ltd (ASX: ADN) share price is sliding today on the back of the company’s quarterly activities report.

Over the quarter ended 30 September 2021, the company worked to commercialise product from its Great White Kaolin Project, entered a new joint venture, and completed a $15 million share purchase plan.

However, the market has reacted poorly to Andromeda’s release. At the time of writing, the Andromeda share price is 18.8 cents, 10.71% lower than its previous close.

Let’s take a look at the quarter that’s been for the mineral exploration company.

Andromeda share price falls on quarterly report

The Andromeda share price has slipped despite the company releasing an outline of a seemingly productive quarter.

Great White Kaolin Project

The company’s 75%-owned Great White Kaolin Project is still pending approval, with its mining lease application under assessment by regulators.

Andromeda has been focusing on signing binding offtake agreements for the approximately 40,000 tonne per annum of product remaining from the phase 1 plant production capacity.

The additional product will go to the ceramic sector. The company has sent samples to potential customers and distributors for approval testing. The product received good results and negotiations are ongoing.

The project’s definitive feasibility study (DFS) is also continuing. The project’s trademarked PRM products, useful for making coatings, and CRM products, used in ceramics, are incorporated in the DFS.

Andromeda is continuing its studies to find other uses for Great White Kaolin products.

The company began a bulk sample drilling program at the Great White project. Once processed, the material from the program will provide around 1.5 tonne of high purity halloysite kaolin to Andromeda’s 50%-owned Natural Nanotech Ltd.

Natural Nanotech is partnering with the University of Newcastle’s Global Innovative Centre for Advanced Nanomaterials to research and develop new applications of halloysite nanotubes. Such applications could include carbon capture and storage, and energy storage.

The samples will also provide material for a cosmetics marketing exercise. Andromeda notes high-purity halloysite-kaolin is highly valued in the cosmetics industry. The product will also be tested to find if it can be used in the concrete industry.

The company’s kaolin is also undergoing testing that might see it used as a feedstock for high purity alumina.

Joint ventures

Additionally, Andromeda signed a binding heads of agreement with Peninsula Exploration Pty Ltd to form the Eyre Kaolin Project Joint Venture.

Peninsula holds four exploration licences covering around 2.8 square kilometres on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula. The licences are near the Great White project and contain halloysite kaolin targets.

Andromeda could earn an 80% interest in the Eyre Kaolin tenements by spending $2.75 million at the project over 6 years.

Further, the company’s joint venture partner, Cobra Resources PLC, met an expenditure commitment and earned a 65% interest in Eyre Peninsula Gold Project tenements over the quarter. Cobra plans to spend another $1.25 million to earn a 75% interest in the project.

Capital raise

Andromeda also completed a $15 million share purchase plan during the quarter.

It followed on from a $30 million placement completed on 30 July.

The funds are set to go towards purchasing equipment and product development.

Andromeda share price snapshot

The Andromeda share price gained 6.6% over the first quarter of financial year 2022.

However, this year has taken its toll on the company’s stock. Right now, it’s trading for 32% less than it was at the start of 2021.

The post The Andromeda (ASX:ADN) share price is sliding 10% today. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The Andromeda (ASX:ADN) share price rises on bulk sample update

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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With so many shares to choose from on the ASX, it can be hard to decide which ones to buy. The good news is that brokers across the country are doing a lot of the hard work for you.

Three top ASX shares leading brokers have named as buys this week are listed below. Here’s why they are bullish on them:

Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD)

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts have retained their conviction buy rating and lifted their price target on this agribusiness company’s shares to $15.65. The broker sees Elders as delivering a compelling combination of top line growth and margin expansion over the coming years. This is expected to be driven by market share growth and gross margin expansion as it backward integrates key rural product lines. The Elders share price is trading at $11.61 today.

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

A note out of Morgan Stanley reveals that its analysts have retained their overweight rating and $10.50 price target on this app maker’s shares. The broker notes that the Google Play Store has halved the commissions on initial subscriptions to 15%. Morgan Stanley believes this bodes well for Life360’s margins and supports its bull case. It also suspects that Apple’s App Store may follow suit in the near future. The Life360 share price is fetching $9.34 this afternoon.

Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE)

Analysts at Citi have retained their buy rating and $11.00 price target on this lithium miner’s shares. The broker believes Orocobre is a top option for investors in the lithium space. This is because it feels it is well-placed to benefit in the near term from very strong lithium prices and over the long term through its development program. The Orocobre share price is trading at $9.07 on Monday afternoon.

The post Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Life360, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Elders 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 Aeris Resources Ltd (ASX: AIS) share price is heading south during mid-afternoon trade on Monday. This follows a speculative media report that the copper miner is believed to be contending for Glencore’s CSA mine.

At the time of writing, Aeris shares are fetching for 19.5 cents apiece, down 2.50%.

What happened?

According to The Australian, Aeris Resources is believed to be competing with 29Metals Ltd (ASX: 29M) for the CSA mine.

Located in the town of Cobar, New South Wales, the CSA asset is one of Australia’s highest-grade copper mines. It produces around 50,000 tonnes of copper each year, with processing onsite for export to smelters in Asia.

Aeris Resources responded to the media speculation advising that its aware of Glencore seeking proposals for its CSA asset. As such, it reiterated that it has a clear-cut strategy for promoting organic growth and evaluating strategic opportunities.

The company noted that the latest developments do not indicate whether it will proceed with a particular transaction.

It’s worth noting that this is the third time that Glencore has tried to offload its copper mine.

In 2015, the company decided to sell the CSA mine in a bid to drive down its growing debt profile. However, after coal prices surged that year, Glencore quickly pulled its listing off the market. 

Four years later, Glencore recommenced its sales efforts after receiving offers to purchase the mine. Aeris Resources originally planned to acquire the asset for US$575 million but the deal fell through. Both parties were not able to ultimately agree on the terms of the sale.

Aeris Resources share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Aeris Resources shares have rocketed by more than 190%. When looking at this year alone, its shares have recorded gains of above 90%, reflecting continued positive sentiment among investors. 

Based on today’s price, Aeris Resources has a market capitalisation of roughly $429.25 million, with more than 2.2 billion shares outstanding.

The post Aeris Resources (ASX:AIS) share price slips on response to media article 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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When it comes to our famous ASX bank shares, it’s the accepted wisdom that most investors both come and stay for the fully franked dividends. But, as bank share investors would know, the past 18 months or so have been a tough time for banking dividends. No one would know that more than shareholders of Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC).

All four of the major ASX banks delivered nasty dividend cuts in 2020, mostly out of necessity. But Westpac was the only big four bank to scrap its interim dividend entirely last year. But now Westpac has restored its biannual dividend payments, let’s take a closer look at what its payout policy is looking like.

How is Westpac’s divided payout ratio looking?

So what did Westpac’s last two dividend payments look like? Well, we had a final dividend of 31 cents a share, paid out on 18 December last year. As well as a 58 cents per share interim payment that investors received back in June. Both came fully franked.

That’s 89 cents per share in total dividends over the past 12 months.

So we won’t get a look at Westpac’s FY21 numbers until the bank releases its full-year results next month. But we can infer what kind of payout ratio Westpac is currently employing for its dividends. The payout ratio is a metric that measures the proportion of a company’s earnings per share (EPS) that it pays out in dividends (and conversely, how much of its earnings the company keeps for its business).

Back in its FY20 results that we saw late last year, Westpac reported cash earnings of 72.5 cents per share. Therefore, the 31 cents per share dividend it paid out a month later represented a payout ratio of 42.76% of its cash earnings. That’s very low for an ASX bank, but makes sense when you consider Westpac skipped its previous dividend.

But what of its most recent interim dividend of 58 cents per share? In Westpac’s half-year earnings report that was released back in May, the bank reported cash earnings per share of 97 cents. That means its interim dividend of 58 cents per share represents a payout ratio of roughly 59.8% of its earnings over the period.

On the current Westpac share price of $25.73 (at the time of writing), this ASX bank has a dividend yield of 3.46%, as well as a market capitalisation of $94.4 billion.

The post What is the current Westpac (ASX:WBC) dividend payout ratio? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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