The A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price will be one to watch closely on Thursday.

This follows the release of the infant formula company’s full year results this morning.

A2 Milk share price on watch after achieving downgraded guidance

• Revenue down 30.3% to NZ$1.21 billion
• Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 77.6% to NZ$123 million
• Stock write-downs of NZ$109 million
• Net profit after tax down 79.1% to NZ$80.7 million
• Cash balance of NZ$875.2 million
• Board decides against capital return
• Outlook: Tough year ahead in FY 2022

What happened in FY 2021 for A2 Milk?

All eyes will be on the a2 Milk share price today after it delivered a result in line with the guidance it downgraded four times during FY 2021. For the 12 months ended 30 June, the company reported a 30.3% reduction in revenue to NZ$1.21 million. This compares to its most recent guidance of NZ$1.2 billion to NZ$1.25 billion.

This reflects a 16.6% decline in China & Other Asia revenue to NZ$583.4 million, a 42% decline in ANZ revenue to NZ$559.7 million, and a 3% decline in North America revenue to NZ$63.6 million.

The company notes that its performance was impacted by sustained weakness in the daigou channel because of COVID-19, a contraction in the Chinese infant nutrition market, and heightened competitive intensity in China. Management highlights that local players in China continue to gain share against the traditional multinational brands. This is being driven both by the strength of local brands in domestic channels, as well as an overall mix shift from cross-border to domestic channels.

Things were much worse for its EBITDA, which fell 77.6% year on year. This includes the impact of a whopping NZ$109 million write-down of its inventory. This reduced its inventory to NZ$112.2 million at the end of the financial year. Management notes that channel inventory in CBEC and daigou/reseller channels are now at target levels. Whereas China label inventory is expected to reach target levels by the end of first quarter. Positively, these actions are proving to be effective, with early signs of price stabilisation in the CBEC channel and some recovery in the daigou/reseller channel.

One thing that could weigh on the a2 Milk share price today is news that the board has decided against returning funds to shareholders. Despite sitting on a cash balance of NZ$875.2 million and have a depressed share price, the board stated that it plans to preserve balance sheet strength, having regard to market volatility and potential opportunities to reinvest in growth and supply chain.

What did management say?

A2 Milk’s Managing Director and CEO, David Bortolussi, acknowledges that FY 2021 was a difficult year but remains positive on the future.

He commented: “It was a challenging year for The a2 Milk Company but we remain confident in the long-term opportunity that the infant nutrition market in China represents.”

“The actions taken from the fourth quarter to address excess inventory are proving effective with channel inventory levels reducing, product freshness improving and pricing increasing. Our brand health metrics remain strong overall with some improvements in our most recent tracking research following a significant marketing campaign in China in the fourth quarter.”

Mr Bortolussi also revealed that the company is reviewing its growth strategy in response to a rapidly changing China infant formula market and structural factors in the daigou channel.

“We recognise that the China market and channel structure is changing rapidly and we are undertaking a comprehensive process to review our growth strategy and executional plans to respond to this new environment.”

This review includes the company’s approach to driving infant nutrition growth in both China label and English label channels, its infant nutrition product portfolio and innovation strategy, adjacent growth opportunities, and its brand positioning to ensure continued resonance and distinctiveness amongst an evolving consumer base.

What’s next for A2 Milk in FY 2022?

Unsurprisingly after being heavily criticised for downgrading its guidance four times in FY 2021, management has decided against offering guidance for FY 2022.

Instead, it is providing current observations on key drivers and important issues that may impact its FY 2022 results.

This includes China’s infant nutrition market being materially impacted by a lower birth rate, especially recently due to COVID-19 and related vaccination programmes causing many people to delay pregnancy. Market share gains by domestic brands compared to international brands are expected to continue.

It also notes that the English label infant nutrition segment is targeting sales stabilisation in FY 2022 but a wide range of outcomes is possible. This is due largely to COVID-19 impacts on the daigou/reseller channel and associated impact on CBEC for English label products which are expected to be prolonged.

Overall, the company is expecting first half revenue to be marginally lower than the prior corresponding period. Though, this includes revenue from the acquired Matura Valley business.

Furthermore, dross margins are expected to be similar for the full year, excluding FY 2021 inventory write downs.

It concluded: “Overall, although a2MC believes the business will continue to make significant progress on many fronts, FY22 is expected to continue to be a challenging and volatile year. Due to the actions taken in 4Q21 to address channel inventory and improve product freshness, coupled with strong brand health, the business is well-placed to adapt its strategy and execution to drive growth in the longer term. However, recovery in English label channels is expected to be slow and market growth in China will be subdued for some time.”

A2 Milk share price performance

Given the company’s abject performance over the last 12 months, it will come as no surprise to learn that the A2 Milk share price is underperforming the market significantly.

The A2 Milk share price is down 62% over the last 12 months. Shareholders will no doubt be hoping for better over the next 12 months.

The post A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price on watch after 79% profit decline and weak outlook appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• The A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price crashed 16% last time it reported
• Here’s why the A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price is down 42% so far in 2021
• Here’s what has been moving the A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price in August 2021
• Here’s why the A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price is up 11% this week

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended A2 Milk. 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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On Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was on form again and recorded a solid gain. The benchmark index rose 0.4% to 7,531.9 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to fall

The Australian share market looks set to fall on Thursday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 13 points or 0.2% lower today. This is despite it being a positive night of trade on Wall Street. Overnight, the Dow Jones rose 0.1%, the S&P 500 climbed 0.2%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.15%.

A2 Milk results

The A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price will be on watch today when it releases one of the most highly anticipated results of the month. After downgrading its guidance four times during FY 2021, the struggling infant formula company is expecting to report revenue of NZ$1.25 billion with EBITDA of NZ$132 million to NZ$150 million. The latter will be down 73% to 76% year on year. An update on current trading conditions and its expectations for FY 2022 will also be of great interest.

Oil prices rise again

Energy producers such as Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could have a good day after oil prices rose again overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 1.1% to US$68.28 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has risen 1.6% to US$72.17 a barrel. Strong demand for US fuel gave prices a further boost.

Gold price falls

Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) could have a difficult day after the gold price tumbled lower. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 0.9% to US$1,792.6 an ounce. Traders appear nervous ahead of the next US Federal Reserve meeting.

Appen half year results

The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price will be on watch when it releases its half year results today. A recent note out of Citi has suggested that the artificial intelligence data services company could fall well short of expectations during the half. Citi is expecting EBITDA of US$27 million for the half, which is ~20% lower than consensus estimates. Nevertheless, Citi has a buy rating and $18.80 price target on the company’s shares.

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended A2 Milk. 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 tech sector is home to a number of companies growing at a rapid rate.

Three that have been standout performers recently are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about these growing tech shares:

Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (ASX: BTH)

The first tech share to look at is Bigtincan. It is a fast-growing sales enablement platform provider. In FY 2021, the company reported a 48% increase in annualised recurring revenue (ARR) to $53.1 million. Positively, it has just announced an agreement to acquire US-based Brainshark. It is an industry-recognised and multi-awarded leader in its field of sales coaching, learning and readiness. Management expects this to lead to combined ARR of $119 million in FY 2022. This will be up 124% year on year.

Morgan Stanley is very positive on the company. Earlier today it put an overweight rating and $2.10 price target on its shares.

Hipages Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: HPG)

Another ASX tech share to look at is Hipages. It is a leading Australian-based online platform and software as a service (SaaS) provider connecting consumers with trusted tradies. At the last count, there were over 34,000 tradies using the platform. Hipages was on form in FY 2021 and outperformed its upgraded full year revenue guidance with a 22% year on year jump to $55.8 million.

Goldman Sachs currently has a buy rating and $4.10 price target on its shares.

PointsBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)

A final tech share to look at is PointsBet. It is a sports betting and iGaming provider with operations in the ANZ and US markets. It has been growing quicker than all the companies mentioned, delivering a whopping 228% increase in full year turnover to $3,781.4 million in FY 2021. Underpinning this impressive result was a 117% increase in Australian active clients to 196,585 and a 661% increase in US active clients to 159,321.

Credit Suisse is bullish and has an outperform rating and $13.30 price target on its shares.

The post 3 rapidly growing ASX tech shares to buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Bigtincan (ASX:BTH) share price rockets 20% with capital raising update
• 2 rapidly growing ASX shares rated as buys
• Bigtincan (ASX:BTH) share price halted ahead of $116 million Brainshark acquisition

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 BIGTINCAN FPO, Hipages Group Holdings Ltd., and Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BIGTINCAN FPO. 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose 0.4% to 7,532 points today.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX:

WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)

The WiseTech share price was the best performer in the ASX 200, it rose 26% after revealing its FY21 result.

It said that total revenue increased by 18% to $507.5 million. This was at the top end of the guidance range. CargoWise revenue grew 26% to $331.6 million, reflecting growth in usage. Acquisition revenue growth was 6% up to $175.9 million.

WiseTech said that market penetration is gaining pace with six new global rollouts secured in FY21 and the sign up of FedEx after 30 June 2021.

It generated earnings before interest, tax, deprecation and amortisation (EBITDA) growth of 63% to $206.7 million, exceeding guidance. The EBITDA margin was 41%, which was an increase of 11 percentage points. This occurred because of enhanced operating leverage and cost reductions.

Organisation-wide efficiencies and acquisition synergies delivered $22 million of cost reductions in FY21.

Underlying net profit grew 101% to $105.8 million, with free cashflow rising 149% to $139.2 million.

The board decided to increase the final ordinary dividend by 141% to 3.85 cents per share.

WiseTech is expecting FY22 revenue to grow by between 18% to 25%, with EBITDA growth of between 26% to 38%.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

The Zip share price fell 2.6% after it reported its FY21 result.

Zip reported that revenue increased 150% to $403.2 million and total transaction volume increased by 176% to $5.8 billion.

Customer numbers increased by 248% to 7.3 million and merchant numbers went up 109% to 51,300.

Earnings before tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBTDA) was a loss of $22.9 million.

The buy now, pay later company said that it maintained strong unit economics while investing for growth. The cash transaction margin was 3.5%.

The ASX 200 business said that it has delivered a strong credit performance in light of COVID-19, driven by repeat customer usage and investments in its decisioning capabilities. Net bad debts as a percentage of transaction volumes were 1.28%.

Zip said it’s executing on its global strategy. It’s now operating across 12 months in five continents, with the official additions of the US, the UK, Canada and Mexico, plus regional market entry points in Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

The ASX 200 company also revealed that it has agreed to acquire the remaining shares in the South African buy now, pay later business, Payflex. Zip explained that Payflex has access to a “sizeable underbanked, young and fast-growing African population”.

Zip managing director and CEO Larry Diamond said:

The trend and shift away from the unfriendly world of credit cards that was the genesis of the Australian business has proven to be a global phenomenon, and Zip continues to accelerate in all our key markets. This global play supporting consumers and global retailers alike, provides a real point of difference as we strive to fulfil our mission to become the first payment choice everywhere, every day.

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

The Afterpay share price fell 1.2% after the ASX 200 buy now, pay later business reported its FY21 result.

Afterpay reported that underlying sales increased 90% to $21.1 billion. This was helped by a 63% increase of active customers to 16.2 million and 77% rise of active merchants to 98,200.

Group total income went up 78% to $924.7 million.

Some of its margins remained stable. The gross loss percentage of underlying sales was flat at 0.9%. The Afterpay income margin was also 3.9%.

However, the Afterpay net transaction loss as a percentage of underlying sales rose to 0.6%, up from 0.4%. Afterpay’s net margin as a percentage of underlying sales dropped from 2.3% to 2.1%.

Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 13% to $38.7 million.

On 2 August 2021, Afterpay and Square announced that they had entered into a scheme implementation deed where Square will buy Afterpay in an all-share offer. At the time of the offer, this valued Afterpay at $39 billion.

The post ASX 200 rises, WiseTech soars, Zip drops appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• The Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is down despite revealing major global growth
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• The ASX reporting wrap-up: WiseTech, Bravura, Seven Group
• Why Bravura, Nine, Reece, & Zip shares are sinking today

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. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, WiseTech Global, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO and WiseTech Global. 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 Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN) share price has been a very strong performer this week.

Since the start of the week, the infection prevention company’s shares have jumped 20%.

This means the Nanosonics share price is now up 32% month to date.

Why is the Nanosonics share price rocketing higher?

Investors have been bidding the Nanosonics share price higher this week following the release of its full year results and the announcement of an upcoming new product.

In FY 2021, Nanosonics reported a 3% increase in revenue to $103.1 million and a 15% decline in net profit after tax to $8.6 million. The latter was notably better than the market was expecting thanks to a strong second half.

But arguably giving the Nanosonics share price the biggest lift was the announcement of another new product – Nanosonics Coris.

This new platform, which is expected to be launched in calendar year 2023, is for cleaning flexible endoscopes.

Management notes that more healthcare-associated outbreaks have been linked to contaminated endoscopes than any other medical device. Each year there are over 60 million flexible endoscopy procedures being conducted across the United States and the five largest markets in Europe.

Is it too late to invest?

Unfortunately, the team at Goldman Sachs believe the Nanosonics share price is overvalued at the current level.

According to a note this morning, the broker has retained its sell rating and cut its price target to $4.40.

Based on the current Nanosonics share price, this implies potential downside of 37% over the next 12 months.

What did the broker say?

Goldman notes that the Nanosonics share price is trading on very lofty multiples based on its forecasts.

It commented: “FY22 revenue guidance for ‘double digit growth’ was not a material surprise against a heavily Covid-impacted year (consensus +27%). However, NAN now expects gross margins to decline meaningfully from 78% towards 75% as the sales mix continues to normalise (consensus 78%), and management confirmed that new opex guidance of $90m (consensus $80m) should be considered a structural increase.”

“We post FY22/23E sales upgrades of +6/+8% to factor the FY21 beat and FX gains, but incorporating new cost/margin guidance drives (19)/(25)% downgrades to our FY22/FY23E EBITDA forecasts, and a (11)% reduction in our TP to $4.40. Although this stock has not historically traded on near-term multiples, posting these downgrades drives 2022E trading multiples up to 125x EBITDA (180x P/E) valuations which would ordinarily be associated with much higher growth profiles (we now forecast sales/earnings CAGRs of +8%/+15 from FY22-25E),” it added.

Goldman also warned investors not to get too excited by the new product launch due to the potential for further delays. Particularly given the company’s track record.

It said: “Furthermore, whilst the market may re-calibrate launch expectations from FY22 to CY23, we would assume a low degree of confidence in that time frame given the amount of progress required and the company’s track record to date (7+ delays and currently 4+ years later than planned).”

The post Top broker gives its verdict on the Nanosonics (ASX:NAN) share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Nanosonics (ASX:NAN) share price up 28% after earnings beat and new product announcement

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 Nanosonics Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Nanosonics 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 Pointerra Ltd (ASX: 3DP) share price rebounded strongly today despite no recent news coming out of the company. It’s worth noting that the company’s shares fell 12.50% at the start of the week.

At Wednesday’s market close, Pointerra shares finished the day up 8.57% to 38 cents. In comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) closed 0.46% higher to 7,809 points.

What happened to Pointerra shares last reporting season?

When Pointerra last reported its half-year result for FY21, its shares descended around 20% within a matter of days. This came despite the company achieving robust growth across most key metrics.

Revenue came to $1.56 million, up 218%, and cash receipts to $1.14 million, up 132% over the prior corresponding period.

In addition, Annual Contract Value (ACV) surged to US$6.88 million, up 139% against H1 FY20’s result.

Pointerra attributed the step-change improvements to solution development in its service offering, which drove new customer acquisitions. This included Data-Protection-as-a-Service (DPaaS), Data-as-a-Service (DaaS), and Analytics-as-a-Service (AaaS).

The soft launch of the 3Dinsight.ai cloud marketplace also provided additional revenue to the company’s coffers.

Notably, Pointerra highlighted that it increased its headcount from 12 full-time employees to 20 full-time employees to meet increasing demand.

However, while the results seemed positive, the company did post a loss after tax of almost $1 million, down 25%. This was mainly driven by research and development expenses as well as administration costs.

Undoubtedly, investors were unimpressed, selling Pointerra shares to a low of 67 cents on 9 March 2021.

The company is scheduled to report its FY21 full-year results on Tuesday 31 August 2021.

About the Pointerra share price

Over the last 12 months, the Pointerra share price has travelled 40% higher, but fallen year-to-date, down 25%. The company’s shares are at the lower end of its 52-week range of 25.5 cents and 92.5 cents.

Pointerra presides a market capitalisation of roughly $257.5 million, with more than 677 million shares on its registry.

The post Pointerra (ASX:3DP) share price leaps 8% ahead of next week’s earnings appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Pointerra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pointerra 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 Australian share market is home to a good number of promising small caps that have the potential to grow strongly over the 2020s.

Three that could be worth watching closely are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Adore Beauty Group Ltd (ASX: ABY)

The first small cap to watch is Adore Beauty. It is Australia’s leading online beauty retailer with ~700,000 active customers. While the company has been growing very strongly during the pandemic, it still has a very long runway for growth. This is due to the relatively low penetration of online beauty sales relative to other Western markets and categories. This puts Adore Beauty in a great position to continue growing strongly in a post-pandemic world.

Over The Wire Holdings Ltd (ASX: OTW)

Over The Wire could be another small cap to watch closely. It is a telecommunications, cloud and IT solutions provider that has a national network with points of presence in all major Australian capital cities. The company offers an integrated suite of products and services to business customers including Data Networks and Internet, Voice, Data Centre co-location, Cloud and Managed Services. It recently released its full year results and revealed a 38% increase in recurring revenue to $103.2 million and a 35% lift in EBITDA to $23.5 million.

Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO)

A final small cap share to watch is Serko. It is a travel technology company that offers a number of solutions to businesses. These include AI-powered end-to-end travel itineraries, cost control, travel policy compliance solutions, and fraud prevention. Combined, its technology makes the process of booking, managing and reconciling business travel and expenses, a better experience for everyone involved. Demand for its offering softened during the pandemic but is rebounding strongly now. This will be supported by a game-changing deal with travel booking giant Booking.com in FY 2022.

The post 3 stellar small cap ASX shares for your watchlist appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Over The Wire Holdings Ltd and Serko Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Adore Beauty Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Over The Wire Holdings Ltd and Serko 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) enjoyed a comfortable day of trading this Wednesday. At market close, the ASX 200 finished up a healthy 0.39% to 7,531.9 points.

So let’s dig a little deeper and see which ASX 200 shares topped the charts today in terms of raw trading volume.

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares this Wednesday

Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)

ASX 200 real estate investment trust (REIT) Scentre Group is our first ASX 200 share to check out today. By market close on Wednesday, an impressive 26.58 million Scentre units have changed hands.

Although there were no major news or announcements out of the Westfield owner today, Scentre did report its FY21 earnings yesterday, which caused a bit of a stir. Scentre shares finished up another 2.21% today, and are now up more than 8% over the past week. As such, we can point to these earnings as the probable cause for the relatively large trading volume we saw today with this REIT.

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

ASX 200 telco Telstra is next up here, with a very robust 34.55 million shares changing hands today. Again there was no major news or announcements out from Telstra. However, the telco’s share price has taken quite a nasty hit this week.

Telstra shares finished the day down 2.54% to $3.83 a share. Since Monday morning, Telstra has fallen 4.7%. Since this telco is a very large company with a relatively low share price, these moves can often spark a large trading volume.

Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC)

And last but certainly not least we have entertainment and media company Nine. Nine reported its FY21 earnings this morning, and the reaction from investors has been merciless.

The company finished the day down a nasty 9.7% to $2.69 a share after its report this morning. Almost certainly as a result, this Wednesday has seen a huge 38.3 million NEC shares bought and sold. You can read more about what exactly seems to have spooked Nine investors here. Even so, Nine shares remain up around 16% year to date in 2021 so far.

The post Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• Which ASX 300 shares are the biggest winners and losers today?
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• WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC) just raised its dividend by 141%

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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Are you looking for some quality ASX dividend shares to add to your income portfolio?

Then you might want to look at the ones listed below. Here’s what you need to know about these dividend shares:

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

The first ASX dividend share to look at is Accent Group. It is a retail conglomerate with a focus on the leisure footwear market.

Accent has been growing at a solid rate over the last few years thanks to the popularity of its store brands, its network expansion, and strong demand. This continued in FY 2021, with Accent recently delivering a 19.9% increase in sales to $1.14 billion and a 38.6% jump in net profit after tax to $76.9 million.

While the team at Bell Potter are expecting a softer result next year, they remain very positive on the company.

Bell Potter currently has a buy rating and $2.90 price target on its shares. The broker is also forecasting fully franked dividends per share of 9.3 cents in FY 2022 and 13.3 cents in FY 2023.

Based on the current Accent share price of $2.20, this will mean fully franked yields of 4.2% and 6%, respectively.

Transurban Group (ASX: TCL)

This toll road operator could be another ASX dividend share to consider.

Although its performance is being impacted greatly by lockdowns, it looks well-positioned to bounce back strongly once life returns to normal. And with the vaccine rollout going well, this may be sooner than later thankfully.

Analysts at Ord Minnett are positive on the company. This month the broker retained its buy rating but trimmed its price target slightly to $15.50. Ord Minnett is also forecasting dividends of 36.5 cents per share in FY 2021 and then 48.4 cents per share in FY 2022.

Based on the current Transurban share price of $14.07 this will mean yields of 2.6% and 3.5%, respectively.

The post 2 quality ASX dividend shares rated as buys this month appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• The Accent (ASX:AX1) dividend has lifted by 22%
• 2 buy-rated ASX dividend shares

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Accent Group. 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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Many of Australia’s top brokers have been busy adjusting their financial models again, leading to the release of a large number of broker notes this week.

Three broker buy ratings that have caught my eye are summarised below. Here’s why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:

Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (ASX: BTH)

According to a note out of Morgan Stanley, its analysts have retained their overweight rating and lifted their price target on this sales enablement software company’s shares to $2.10. This follows the announcement of the acquisition of Brainshark for what the broker feels is a very reasonable price. Morgan Stanley was pleased with the news and believes it will help the company reach profitability sooner than previously expected. The Bigtincan share price is trading at $1.46 on Wednesday.

SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK)

A note out of Macquarie reveals that its analysts have retained their outperform rating but trimmed their price target on this job listings company’s shares to $37.00. This is despite the release of a softer than expected full year result earlier this week. While Macquarie has lowered its estimates, it still sees a lot of value in the company’s shares at the current level and has retained its outperform rating. The SEEK share price was fetching $31.65 this afternoon.

Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL)

Analysts at Morgans have retained their add rating and lifted their price target on this healthcare company’s shares to $45.98. This follows the release of a strong full year result for FY 2021 earlier this week. Looking ahead, Morgans is confident in the company’s outlook due to strong demand for COVID testing, its solid base business, strong balance sheet, and acquisition opportunities. This has led to the broker upgrading its earnings forecasts for the coming years. The Sonic share price is trading at $42.35 on Wednesday afternoon.

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

More reading

• Why Bigtincan, Lovisa, SILK, & WiseTech shares are charging higher
• Bigtincan (ASX:BTH) share price rockets 20% with capital raising update
• SEEK (ASX:SEK) share price drops despite tripling its dividend in FY 2021
• ASX 200 midday update: Kogan crashes, Nanosonics rockets
• Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL) dividend rises 7%, share price falls after FY21 results

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of SEEK Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended BIGTINCAN FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BIGTINCAN FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended SEEK Limited and Sonic Healthcare 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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