The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has recovered from a rocky start this morning, currently flat after falling 0.78% to a 3-month low of 7,191 this morning.

This follows a weak overnight performance from Wall Street, with its major indices the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq sliding 1.78%, 1.70% and 2.19% respectively.

The ASX 200 has managed to claw its way back into positive territory, supported by encouraging bounces from the depressed energy and materials sector.

Resources bump ASX 200 into positive territory

The ASX 200 is holding onto a small gain as the S&P/ASX Energy (INDEXASX: XEJ) and S&P/ASX Materials (INDEXASX: XMJ) bounce a respective 1.60% and 0.93%.

Iron ore bounces after Monday selloff

Today’s resilient performance is headlined by iron ore majors BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) and Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO), up between 1.28% and 1.91%.

The bounce-back has defied the overnight performance of iron ore, which plunged to below US$100 a tonne for the first time since July 2020.

Benchmark iron ore prices fell another US$8.98 a tonne or 8.8% to US$92.98 a tonne, according to Fastmarkets.

Smaller iron ore players are also catching bids, with the Mount Gibson Iron Ltd (ASX: MGX) and Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA) share price rallying 7.9% and 4.8% higher respectively.

Gold miners trade higher, but still around March 2020 lows

ASX 200 gold miners have struggled to find upside as spot prices trade at around March 2020 levels.

Despite going nowhere in the past 18 months, gold majors are propping up the ASX 200 materials index on Tuesday, with heavyweights Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM), Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NCM) and Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) up 1.44%, 1.86% and 1.62% respectively.

Oil shares lift ASX 200, eyes on Fed meeting

The energy sector is struggling to push above recent highs, despite OPEC forecasting oil demand will exceed pre-pandemic levels in 2022.

At the time of writing, ASX 200 oil and gas players are edging higher with Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) up 2.04% to $21.00, Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) up 0.65% to $6.16 and Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) adding 0.67% to $3.74.

Oil and gas investors should pay attention to the US Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting taking place over 21-22 September.

According to S&P Global, “Fed Chairman Jerome Powell signalled last month that it would be appropriate for the tapering to occur by the end of this year, which would buoy interest rates and strengthen the US dollar, putting downward pressure on energy prices.”

The post ASX 200 rebounds into positive territory led by energy and materials shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: APA makes AusNet bid, New Hope results impress
• New Hope (ASX:NHC) share price jumps on $337m profit turnaround
• Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price bounces higher despite iron ore sliding below US$100 a tonne
• The final BHP (ASX:BHP) dividend will be paid to shareholders today. Here’s what to expect
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun 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 Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price is flying breezy today despite a so-so market. At the time of writing, shares in the travel agency are trading for $5.90 – up 1.72%. For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is just 0.21% higher.

While the company hasn’t made any market sensitive announcements in 3 weeks, something is clearly getting investors excited.

Let’s take a closer look.

Webjet is in the skies

While it’s a mixed day across the market, one clear winner is the ASX travel sector. Besides the Webjet share price, Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN), Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT), and Helloworld Travel Ltd (ASX: HLO) shares are all higher too.

One reason for this may be increasing optimism about Australia’s international borders. Under the national roadmap to living with COVID-19, the federal government has promised to reopen Australia’s borders once 80% of the nation is fully vaccinated against the disease.

The NSW government recently began trialling home quarantine for some returning Australians as well. This is in anticipation of later in the year when borders are expected to reopen.

Qantas, for example, is already selling tickets to North America, the UK, and Fiji in anticipation of flights resuming in December. Only yesterday, Qantas announced a date for the resumption of flights between NSW and Victoria.

Another possible reason for rising investor sentiment (and the Webjet share price) may be news coming out of Washington DC.

As Reuters is reporting, the US government will reopen its borders in November to fully vaccinated travellers from 33 countries, including China, India, and the United Kingdom. For investors, this may be further optimism that we are heading towards the beginning of the end of the pandemic.

Webjet share price snapshot

Over the last 12 months, the Webjet share price has increased 54.9%. Year-to-date, Webjet shares are up 16.37%. Since the beginning of 2021, it has overperformed the ASX 200 by about 6 percentage points.

The 52-week high is $6.33 and the 52-week low is $3.44.

Webjet has a market capitalisation of about $2.2 billion.

The post Why the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price is lifting off this Tuesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• How has the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price performed since reporting FY21 results?
• How have these 3 ASX 200 travel shares performed since reporting results?
• 2 ASX travel shares to consider buying

Motley Fool contributor Marc Sidarous 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 Helloworld Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Helloworld Limited and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price is not having a great day of it so far this Tuesday. Woolworths shares are currently down by 0.1% to $39.18. That’s a little worse than what the broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is doing today. It’s currently up by a decent 0.27% to 7,268 points.

But it’s a lot worse than its own arch-rival Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL). Coles shares, in contrast to Woolworths (and the ASX 200), are currently in the green today, up 0.44% to $17.02 a share.

So why are Woolworths shares down today when Coles shares are on the up? We actually saw a similar trend play out yesterday, with Coles shares also rising in the face of a falling Woolworths share price and the ASX 200 in the red.

So what’s going on?

Bricks and plastic weghing on Woolworths share price?

Well, there have been a couple of recent developments that have arguably not done Woolies any favours. Firstly, as my Fool colleague Brooke covered last week, Woolworths’ latest collectables program has run into some problems.

Woolworths Bricks, a collectable set of building blocks that “customers can use to build a miniature version of a sustainable Woolworths supermarket”, are reportedly in short supply. Shortages have resulted in many supermarkets running out of Bricks completely.

Woolworths has stated that “it has plenty of Woolworths Bricks left” and “will continue to restock stores that have run out of the collectables”. However, this may still be a factor in today’s share price performance.

Another issue that might be in play today is news of a capital raising. Not by Woolworths itself, but from one of its subsidiaries. According to a report in the Australia Financial Review (AFR) today, the private company Samsara is “eyeing a capital raising of up to $30 million”.

Samsara is a plastics recycling company that Woolworths owns a 25% stake in through its Woolworths 360 arm. Woolworths 360 was reportedly set up to “help accelerate sustainability practises across the group”.

Samsara also boasts the CSIRO’s venture capital arm Main Sequence as a shareholder, as well as the Australian National University (ANU).

Its technology enables plastics to be broken down and reused almost endlessly. Samsara’s founder and CEO Paul Riley calls it “infinite recycling”.

However, Woolworths 360 told the AFR that “we haven’t made a call on that yet” when asked if Woolworths would be participating in the capital raise. This could also be a factor in today’s Woolworths share price performance.

At the current Woolworth share price of $39.18, the company has a market capitalisation of $49.64 billion, a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 32.1 and a dividend yield of 2.76%.

The post Why is the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price underperforming Coles today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• How has the Woolworths share price performed since reporting results?
• 2 buy-rated ASX dividend shares with attractive yields

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The Western Areas Ltd (ASX: WSA) share price is wobbling today following confirmation the company has entered due diligence with IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO).

IGO is considering taking over the nickel producer. It has supposedly gained access to Western Areas’ books for the due diligence period.

At one stage in morning trade, the Western Areas share price climbed into the green. However, at the time of writing, shares are swapping hands for $2.93 apiece — 0.51% lower than their previous close.

Let’s take a closer look at news and rumours surrounding the potential takeover.

Western Areas’ talks with IGO resume

The Western Areas share price is in the green today after IGO announced it has entered due diligence regarding a “potential change of control transaction” for the company.

IGO noted the discussions are in their infancy and there’s no guarantee they’ll amount to a takeover bid. It’s the second time in as many months the market has heard IGO is interested in taking over Western Areas.

The Western Areas share price soared 12.9% when it confirmed IGO was interested in acquiring it in August.

Last night, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported IGO has been given access to Western Areas books.

Previously, the publication reported IGO put a $1 billion scrip-heavy bid to Western Areas. Presumably, the purported bid was denied.

Now, the AFR reports IGO has been given access to Western Areas’ books to allow it to consider producing a bid that’s more likely to be accepted.

However, IGO told investors not to get too excited yet. It said there’s no certainty the discussions will result in a takeover bid.

IGO is said to be particularly interested in Western Areas’ up-and-coming Odysseus Mine.

All eyes will be on IGO and Western Areas over the next month, as the market now reportedly has around 4 weeks to wait before IGO’s due diligence ends.

Western Areas share price snapshot

Western Areas’ stock has been performing well this year.

It has gained 9% since the start of 2021. It is also currently 30% higher than it was this time last year.

The post Western Areas (ASX:WSA) share price falls as IGO due diligence begins appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Western Areas (ASX:WSA) share price falls after last year’s $32 million profit turns to $8 million loss

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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Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are widely popular these days, with more than 600,000 Australians owning shares in them.

But as the October tax return deadline looms closer, they’re warned not to make any errors or omissions in their submission to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

Following the ATO’s 4 tips to first-time ASX investors earlier this month, H&R Block tax communications director Mark Chapman spoke to The Motley Fool about ETFs specifically.

“Whilst investing in an ETF might look similar to an investment into an individual share, the tax implications are very different,” he said.

“Basically, an ETF takes the form of a trust. The return paid by an ETF takes the form of a distribution from the trust.”

How ETF income reporting is a landmine

As far as investors are concerned, they just receive one income from an ETF — a distribution.

But because ETFs themselves invest in a wide variety of stocks, that distribution could come from many different sources.

Chapman named dividends, franking credits, interest, foreign income and capital gains, as just a few examples.

“Each of those individual elements then needs to be split out by you and entered into the correct boxes on your tax return,” he said.

“The potential for mistakes is considerable!”

Lucky for ASX investors, there’s one document that’ll save you

Fortunately, each year ETF providers will send to all shareholders what’s called a Standard Distribution Statement (SDS).

That document breaks down all the different sources of your ETF income, giving you the exact numbers to fill in for specific boxes in your tax return.

“Make sure you look out for — and keep — your annual tax statement because without it, completing your tax return accurately can be almost impossible,” said Chapman.

The ATO also reminded investors that the statement has another useful purpose.

“When an investor disposes of units, the SDS will show the capital gains or losses made from the sale of the units which also need to be included in tax returns.”

Chapman warned that the tax office now uses data matching to verify numbers, so accuracy is paramount.

“The fact that the ATO now receives pre-fill information about ETFs makes it even more important that the income and gain are disclosed and that the disclosures are correct,” he said. 

“The ATO can now match your tax return with the information received from funds and if there is a difference, you can expect a ‘please explain’ letter from the taxman.”

He added that a professional look over the tax return couldn’t hurt.

“The many different taxable elements of an ETF can be difficult to understand and including the information on your tax return — in the correct boxes — needs an expert eye.”

The post Warning to all ETF shareholders doing their tax returns appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Western Areas (ASX:WSA) share price falls as IGO due diligence begins
• The Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price has fallen in the last week. Here’s why
• CBA (ASX:CBA) share price lower despite latest ‘disruptor’ investment
• 3 experts pick 3 ASX shares to rocket in next 12 months
• Why this broker loves the current Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price

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 Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX: WBC) share price has slipped into the red over the last few days and, at the time of writing, is trading at $25.18.

Whereas the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has fallen 2.3% over the last week, Westpac’s shares have dipped 2.7% into the red.

Let’s take a look at what’s causing these selling pressures for the banking giant’s shares.

What’s up with the Westpac share price lately?

The big market mover for the Westpac share price has been the company’s announcement to trim its savings rates by 0.5%.

Specifically, it cut rates on its “life savings” products by 0.5% for account holders aged 18-29 and 0.1% for all other ages. The introductory rate on its “eSavers” account is also 100 basis points lower after the decision.

Westpac has carried the haircut through to each of its subsidiaries, St George, Bank of Melbourne and Bank SA.

The “Big 4” member’s decision marks its third rate cut within the last year, after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) adjusted the cash rate in November 2020.

Following this decision, the Westpac share price has plummeted from $26 and seems set on a southward course.

Adding more fuel to the fire is a recent note out of leading broker Bell Potter Securities on Westpac’s shares.

In its analysis, the broker reiterated its hold rating and feels Westpac shares are trading on a rich valuation at the moment.

It also was dissatisfied to see the company’s approximate 90% sale of Westpac Bank PNG Limited was blocked by Papua New Guinean authorities.

As such, Bell Potter sees better value elsewhere – although, as The Motley Fool’s James Mickelboro notes, Citi has the opposite view of Bell Potter. It has a buy rating and a $30 price target on the Westpac share price.

The sum of these two events appears to be some of the fuel that is propelling the Westpac share price lower this past week.

Westpac share price snapshot

It’s not all doom and gloom for the banking giant’s share price.

Westpac shares have climbed ahead of the broad indices this year and have posted a return of 29% since January 1.

Over the last 12 months, the Westpac share price has gained a further 52%, well ahead of the broad index’s gain of 25%.

Despite this, Westpac shares are down around 3% over the last month as well.

The post The Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price has fallen in the last week. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How could a stock market correction impact ASX 200 bank shares?
• Climbing mortgage stress: Are the CBA, ANZ, NAB and Westpac share prices in danger?
• 2 buy-rated ASX dividend shares with 4%+ yields
• How has the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price performed since reporting results?
• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price slides amid further savings rates cuts

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 Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is currently down by close to 1% despite revealing a new investment.

What is CBA’s latest investment?

The major big four bank has made an investment in a fast-growing Australian property management company called “:Different” which has thousands of owners, tenants and properties under management.

CBA is making this strategic move with its venture-scaling entity called x15ventures.

Some of x15ventures’ other investments include Unloan, Payable, Doshii, CreditSavvy and Backr.

CBA will be taking a minority shareholding in :Different.

:Different was co-founded in 2017 by Mina Radhakrishnan and her husband Ruwin Perera. It was explained that they have experience at other tech companies including Google and Uber.

The idea of this business is to digitise many parts of property management to remove and reduce pain points, paperwork, admin and time consuming manual tasks faced by property owners, investors and renters. Some of the things that it does includes streamlining the process to report, quote and manage maintenance requests.

CBA said it planned to make :Different eventually available through the CommBank app to help people through the property buying process. This will work with one of CBA’s other investments, Home-In, which is a digital home loan conveyancing platform. CBA customers will get exclusive discounts and benefits.

Management commentary

CBA Group Executive Retail Banking Services, Angus Sullivan, said:

As the country’s biggest supporter of getting Aussies into homes, we aim to be the most trusted partner at the centre of our customer’s lives and be there for them at moments that matter. Today’s announcement to partner with such a disruptive business further differentiates and expands what we are able to deliver for our investor home loan customers.

Much like our recently announced investments in Amber and Little Birdie, this is an example of us carefully selecting a high-profile, high-growth tech enabled business and exclusively introducing them to CBA customers to offer an enhanced level of service. We see this partnership as an important part of our overall home buying strategy and one that will be core to the way we support our customers to manage their homes and grow their wealth.

So why might the CBA share price be falling?

It may be useful to think about today’s CBA movement in the context of the whole market. There have been concerns about a Chinese property developer called Evergrande, which analysts worry could possibly lead to economic contagion to other areas.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) fell around 1% in early trading, though it is now slightly up on yesterday. Other banks are also down – the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price is down around 1%, the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price is down 0.2% and the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is down around 0.6%.

However, the iron ore miners have seen a little rebound this morning. At the time of writing, the BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is up 1.6%, the Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price is up 1.7% and the Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price is up 2.4%.

The post CBA (ASX:CBA) share price lower despite latest ‘disruptor’ investment appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How could a stock market correction impact ASX 200 bank shares?
• Climbing mortgage stress: Are the CBA, ANZ, NAB and Westpac share prices in danger?
• Why is the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price outperforming its big four peers today?
• The next ASX 200 shares that could undertake a big capital return
• Why this fund manager sees limited growth potential for ASX 200 banks

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) sinks this month, it has never been more important to be selective about which stocks to buy.

The ASX 200 has dipped 3.9% in September, and no one knows whether this is the start of a larger correction or if it’s a temporary hiccup.

Fortunately, 3 experts have each revealed one ASX share that they think will go gangbusters over the next 12 months.

The quality of these businesses, they say, could prove to be more resilient against market corrections than more speculative, momentum-reliant stocks.

The ASX share that ‘consistently outperforms’

Switzer Financial director Paul Rickard rates CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) as “Australia’s best healthcare company”.

“I just love CSL for all the right reasons,” he told Switzer TV Investing.

“It consistently outperforms. In other words, it tells the market one thing then delivers results that are better.”

CSL’s massive plasma collection business in the US took a hit after COVID-19 arrived due to lower numbers of donors coming forward.

But, in the long run, the coronavirus might have had a positive impact on CSL and its peers.

“The pandemic has got to be good longer-term for health companies. I think we’re all going to be a lot more conscious of these things,” he said.

“My guess is CSL is going to be one of those companies that’s going to be well-supported even in a bear market.”

CSL shares were trading at $306.78 on late Tuesday morning, which is 7.6% up so far this year.

‘Oversold’ and ready to ‘bounce back’

A fertiliser producer is Burman Invest chief investment officer Julia Lee’s pick.

“If you’re talking about the next one year, probably Nufarm Ltd (ASX: NUF). I think it’s oversold at the moment. The market’s too pessimistic,” she said.

“It’s already started to bounce back but I think that bounce is going to continue.”

The sector is in the midst of a structural shift, Lee believes.

“Fertilisers in Europe are reaching a record price and a part of that story is because of the electricity price over there, which is at record highs,” she said.  

“Fertiliser companies here in Australia are in a good spot.”

Late Tuesday morning, Nufarm shares were going for $4.62 which is 11.7% up for the year thus far.

‘Cheap’, ‘defensive’ and ‘premium’ ASX share

Tribeca Investment Partners portfolio manager Jun Bei Liu likes the look of Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC).

She said Ramsay’s already the leader in private hospitals in Australia but has plenty going on elsewhere too.

“Many years ago it went offshore — so it went to France, the UK. In those markets, it’s gradually building a very strong market share.”

The stock was trading for $69.74 late Tuesday morning, which is already up 11.3% for the year.

But with the stock below pre-COVID highs of around $80, Liu reckons it’s still good value as a “premium” and “defensive” business.

“It is very cheap compared to its healthcare peers. Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH) or Resmed CDI (ASX: RMD) — they’re all trading on an average of about 40 times earnings,” she said.

“Whereas Ramsay is trading on just over 20.”

The post 3 experts pick 3 ASX shares to rocket in next 12 months appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why is the ASX All Ordinaries (ASX:XAO) struggling lately?
• The CSL (ASX:CSL) share price has had a good 6 months. Is it a buy?
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• 2 high quality ASX 50 shares named as buys
• CSL (ASX:CSL) share price lifts amid ASX 200’s best day in 8 weeks

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns shares of CSL Ltd. and ResMed Inc. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended CSL Ltd. and Cochlear Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended ResMed. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cochlear Ltd., Ramsay Health Care Limited, and 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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The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price is having a pretty decent day so far this Tuesday, all things considered. Telstra shares are currently trading at $3.90 each, up 0.64% for the day so far. That stands in pretty stark contrast to the broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) today, which is currently down 0.05% so far to 7,244 points.

Telstra shares have been pipping the ASX 200 over some other metrics too. Over the year to date in 2021, Telstra shares are up a healthy 29.7% so far. Over the past 12 months, Telstra has managed an even more impressive 38%. In contrast, the ASX 200 has returned around 8.1% year to date so far. As well as 24.07% over the past 12 months.

Telstra beats out the ASX 200

Why all of this rather solid outperformance from the Telstra share price? Well, investors seem to have been impressed time and time again about what Telstra has had to say over the year so far.

Back in late June, Telstra surprised most of us with its announcement that it will be selling half (well, 49%) of its mobile towers infrastructure business to a consortium of investors, which included the Future Fund.

It was the price that Telstra was able to command for these assets – $2.8 billion or 28x earnings – that really got investors excited. The company has a lot more infrastructure assets that could be sold in the future, so this was clearly good news for the the telco.

Then, Telstra delivered its FY21 earnings report last month. This report once again reaffirmed Telstra’s annual 16 cents per share dividend for FY21. It also announced a new $1.35 billion on-market share buyback scheme.

This also gave the Telstra share price a boost. As did Telstra’s announcement just last week that it would be implementing a new cost-cutting program called ‘T25’.

But that gets us to the current Telstra share price. So where to from here for this ASX 200 telco?

Could the Telstra share price be a buy today?

One broker who thinks it could be is investment bank, Goldman Sachs. Goldman currently rates Telstra shares as a ‘buy’ with a 12-month share price target of $4.40 a share. That implies a potential future upside of around 13.1% on current pricing. Goldman recently bumped up this price target to $4.40 earlier this month, from $4.30 previously.

The broker remains bullish on Telstra due to the additional new free cash flow the T25 program will unlock, which Goldman thinks will be allocated towards more share buybacks. Goldman also sees healthy dividend returns from Telstra shares going forward. As well as solid returns from the further “infrastructure monetisation over time”.

At the current Telstra share price of $3.90, this company has a market capitalisation of $46.44 billion. It also has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 25 and a dividend yield of 4.1%.

The post Why this broker loves the current Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 ASX shares rated as strong buys by brokers
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• Zoom2u (ASX:Z2U) share price soars 19% amid Telstra contract news
• Why Adore Beauty, ALE Property, Ausnet, & Zoom2u shares are charging higher
• Why the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price is outperforming the ASX 200 today

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 has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) share price has underperformed the broad ASX indices lately.

Whereas the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO) has slipped 3% into the red over the last month, Boral shares are down 10% over the same period.

In fact, the Boral share price has tanked by more than 17% since control of the company was passed over to Seven Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SVW) back in July. Boral shares are currently trading at $6.04 — down 0.82% on the day.

There’s a lot of moving parts here, so let’s investigate a little further.

What’s happened since Seven took over?

Since Seven gained control of the company back in July, it hasn’t been a nice ride for the Boral share price.

Seven Group ended the takeover bid with 69.5% of Boral’s shares and therefore obtained majority voting rights for the company.

The takeover was a saga in itself. But perhaps what capped it off for investors was the appointment of Seven Group’s CEO, Ryan Stokes, as chair of Boral’s board, immediately after the takeover bid was finalised.

Seven’s chief financial officer Richard Richards was also appointed to Boral’s board, and the former chair, Kathryn Fagg, has stepped aside.

Since this announcement, the Boral share price has come off a high of $7.34 on 29 July. Shares are currently trading at $6.04 apiece — that’s a fall of more than 17%.

Perhaps not helping Boral’s situation is its lacklustre FY21 results that were released last month. In its report, Boral recognised a 6% year-on-year decrease in revenue to $2.9 billion.

It also stated it will see a headwind of around $50 million next quarter as a result of lockdowns. This was compounded by management’s decision to withhold the final FY21 dividend.

As a result of its recent underperformance, Boral’s shares have been removed from the ASX 100 index, following S&P Dow Jones Indices’ rebalancing of ASX indices this quarter.

Some might argue that Seven’s takeover manoeuvre hasn’t benefitted Boral shareholders in the short term – but Seven Group’s share price has also dropped 16% off highs of $24 in August.

Boral share price snapshot

Despite its recent underperformance, it’s not all doom and gloom for Boral shares.

The Boral share price has climbed 22% this year to date and has gained 45% over the past 12 months.

These results have outpaced the broad index’s return of around 25% over the past year.

The post The Boral (ASX:BLD) share price has fallen 17% since Seven took control appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• This year’s ASX 200 Santa Rally to get a whopping $84bn cash boost
• Boral (ASX:BLD) share price lifts amid latest business sale
• Why the Boral (ASX:BLD) share price is down 17% in a month
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares in August
• Boral (ASX:BLD) share price on watch as revenue falls

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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