The Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH) share price is tinkering slightly higher today following the company’s senior leadership change.

During mid-afternoon trade, the donor management platform provider’s shares are up 0.30% to $1.685. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 0.62% to 7,476 points.

Pushpay appoints new interim CFO

In a statement to the ASX, Pushpay advised it has appointed Richard Keys as the new interim chief financial officer.

Effective today, Mr Keys will replace current CFO, Shane Sampson, who is scheduled to depart at the end of September. Mr Keys will join the company on a consultancy basis.

With over 30 years experience in healthcare and management, Mr Keys has worked for both public and private organisations. This includes a number of executive and non-executive roles such as CEO of Abano Healthcare Group from 2005 to 2021.

In addition, Mr Keys also served as chief operating officer (2011 to 2015) and CFO (2003 to 2011) during his tenure at Abano Healthcare Group.

Mr Keys is a member of the New Zealand Markets Disciplinary Tribunal, a member of the chartered accountants Australia and New Zealand, and a chartered member of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Auckland.

Management noted that its search for a permanent United States-based CFO is progressing well. A market update will be provided in due course once a suitor has been selected.

Pushpay share price snapshot

In 2021, Pushpay shares have gone on a mini-rollercoaster ride to register a 5% loss for the 9 months. When looking at pre-pandemic levels, the company’s share price is up around 50%, highlighting gradual growth over a longer term.

Current, the Pushpay share price is sitting in the lower-mid area of its 52-week range of $1.405 to $2.25.

Pushpay commands a market capitalisation of $1.92 billion and has more than 1.13 billion shares on its books.

The post Why the Pushpay (ASX:PPH) share price is edging higher on Monday 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 PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week with a disappointing decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.5% to 7,484.6 points.

Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here’s why they are charging higher:

AnteoTech Ltd (ASX: ADO)

The Anteotech share price is up 6% to 18 cents. This morning the surface chemistry company announced the signing of a distribution agreement in Turkey with Pera Medikal Anonim Sirketi. This deal is for the distribution of the EuGeni Reader platform and SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) in the country.

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)

The Appen share price is up 4% to $10.93. This is despite there being no news out of the artificial intelligence data services company today. However, with its shares down heavily in 2021, some investors may believe that they have fallen into the bargain bin now. One broker that appears to believe this is the case is Citi. Late last month it put a buy rating and $18.80 price target on its shares.

Aussie Broadband Ltd (ASX: ABB)

The Aussie Broadband share price has climbed 4.5% to $4.49. Investors have been buying the broadband provider’s shares after it announced a 10-year deal with VicTrack. This deal will see the two companies swap access to their respective fibre networks. Aussie Broadband expects the agreement to significantly increase the geographic reach of its fibre network, especially into regional Victoria.

Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR)

The Tyro share price is up 6% to $3.99. This appears to have been driven by a positive weekly update and news that the payments company will be added to the ASX 200 at the next rebalance. The latter means that index tracking funds will have to buy its shares. It also brings it onto the radar of fund managers with strict investment mandates.

The post Why AnteoTech, Appen, Aussie Broadband, & Tyro shares are charging higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Up 9%, the Aussie Broadband (ASX:ABB) share price hits all-time high
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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, Aussie Broadband Limited, and Tyro Payments. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Aussie Broadband 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 Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR) share price is a top performer today, rallying 5.87% to $3.97.

What’s lifting the Tyro share price on Monday?

Weekly COVID-19 trading update

Tyro has been providing weekly transaction value updates since March 2020. This measure was introduced to provide transparency as to the impact of COVID-19 on its EFTPOS machines business.

This week’s update highlighted a 28% increase in date-on-date transaction values to 3 September of $219 million.

While September year-to-date figures were up 23% to $4.579 billion.

Tyro’s transaction value has remained buoyant despite prolonged lockdowns taking place across Victoria and New South Wales.

Tyro joins the ASX 200

S&P Dow Jones Indices announced a rebalance on Friday 3 September. The rebalance will be effective before market open on 20 September.

The Tyro share price, in addition to Lifestyle Communities Limited (ASX: LIC), Pinnacle Investment Management Group Ltd (ASX: PNI) and SeaLink Travel Group Ltd (ASX: SLK), will be added to the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

While weak performers G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM), NRW Holdings Limited (ASX: NWH), Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL) and Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX) will be removed from the index.

Tyro shares performing strongly post-FY21 results

The Tyro share price has rallied 10.5% since releasing its FY21 results on Thursday 26 August.

Despite terminal connectivity issues in January and rolling COVID-19 lockdowns across major cities, the company delivered a well-rounded result.

The payment solutions company delivered a 26% increase in transaction values to a record $25.5 billion and a 13% increase in revenue to $238.5 million.

The company’s bottom line showed signs of improvement with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $14.2 million compared to a $4.4 million loss in FY20. This is in addition to a normalised net loss before tax of $10.9 million, compared to a $25.9 million loss in FY20.

The post Here’s why the Tyro (ASX:TYR) share price is leaping 5% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Which ASX shares are leading the way on the ASX 300?
• Why Tyro (ASX:TYR) and SeaLink (ASX:SLK) share prices could be moving up
• ASX quarterly rebalance: A2 Milk dumped from ASX 50, Nuix kicked out of ASX 200
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

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. owns shares of and has recommended PINNACLE FPO and Tyro Payments. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Nuix Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended PINNACLE FPO. 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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Well, this Monday certainly hasn’t started the week in the way that many investors would have hoped it would. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down by roughly 0.7% to 7,470 points. However, one ASX 200 share is doing far worse. That would be the AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL) share price.

AGL shares are currently down a nasty 1.25% to $6.33 a share at the time of writing. But earlier in the trading day, this energy generator and retailer was down all the way to $6.22 a share, a loss of 2.5%.

$6.22 a share is both a new 52-week low, and a 19-year low for AGL. And that’s saying something for a company that is more than 180 years old. 

By this writer’s rough calculations, you have to go back to September 2002 to find the last time AGL shares were trading at the current level.

Today’s new low also means that the AGL share price is now down around 47.7% year to date. As well as by 57.8% over the past 12 months. The company is also down a painful 77% from its most recent all-time high. This was around $27.70 and was hit way back in April 2017.

Why is the AGL share price at a 19-year low?

As you might have gathered, AGL shares have been under enormous pressure over 2021. For one, the company made several downward revisions to its earnings guidance for FY21 before finally releasing its numbers last month.

The company ended up reporting a statutory loss of more than $2 billion. Revenues were down by 10% over the previous year to $10.9 billion. Underlying earnings per share (EPS) also fell by 31.6% to 86.2 cents.

At the time, AGL CEO Graeme Hunt blamed the results on a number of factors. Here’s some of what he said on these results at the time:

Our FY21 result reflects a challenging year for AGL Energy as we realised the impact of lower wholesale electricity prices, reduced electricity generation output at peak periods, and the roll-off of legacy supply contracts in Wholesale Gas…

Our result reflected the impact over the past two years of increasing generation supply and lower demand arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and milder weather.

With a series of earnings downgrades leading up to this report, which was also not too well received from investors, it’s perhaps no surprise the AGL share price has struggled in recent times.

Accel Energy demerger plans fail to inspire investors

But another anchor that seems to have attached itself to the AGL share price has been the company’s upcoming plans for a demerger. On 30 June, the company announced that it plans to separate its generational assets from its retailing business in a brand new company. This new company will be called Accel Energy. AGL is anticipating that this demerger will be completed by the fourth quarter of FY22.

AGL clearly thinks this demerger is in the best interests of shareholders. Even so, we can’t ignore how the AGL share price has fallen more than 30% since this announcement was made public. It’s fair to say the market has concerns here.

At the current AGL share price, the company has a market capitalisation of $3.95 billion. It also has a dividend yield of 10.25%.

 

The post AGL Energy (ASX:AGL) share price hits 19-year low 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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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:

APA Group (ASX: APA)

According to a note out of Ord Minnett, its analysts have upgraded this energy infrastructure company’s shares to a buy rating with a $10.75 price target. The broker has been looking at the utilities sector and believes APA is the top option. This is due to its strong free cash flows and growth opportunities. The latter includes both organic and inorganic opportunities. The APA share price is trading at $9.26 today.

GUD Holdings Limited (ASX: GUD)

A note out of Citi reveals that its analysts have upgraded this diversified products company’s shares to a buy rating with a $12.30 price target. The broker made the move on valuation grounds following a sizeable pullback in its share price. Citi believes this has left its shares trading at an attractive level, particularly in comparison to peers. The GUD share price is fetching $10.97 on Monday afternoon.

Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN)

Analysts at UBS have retained their buy rating and lifted their price target on this airline operator’s shares to $6.25. According to the note, the broker believes that Qantas will be a stronger airline on the other side of the pandemic. It is also expecting the company’s profits to exceed pre-pandemic levels in FY 2024. This is expected to be underpinned by pent-up demand and its transformation program. The Qantas share price is trading at $5.40 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 has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended APA 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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The Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) share price is having an uneventful day following its latest media release.

At the time of writing, Suncorp shares are up just 0.39% to $12.71 apiece. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 0.61% to 7,476 points.

What did Suncorp announce?

Investors appear unfazed by the company’s entry into the buy now, pay later (BNPL) market, moving Suncorp shares only marginally higher today.

According to the release, Suncorp has introduced its new BNPL offering in partnership with credit provider, Visa Inc (NYSE: V).

The BNPL solution, called “PayLater” will comprise both a physical and digital Visa debit card. This can be used in-store and online at more than 70 million merchant locations worldwide.

The offering is expected to be available to Suncorp customers via the Suncorp app sometime in November 2021.

Eligible customers are reportedly able to receive quick approval when applying online or through the Suncorp app. However, this will be primarily based on a credit check to assess the customer’s propensity to pay.

Once approved and when purchases are made, the payment plan will be split over four separate and equal interest-free instalments.

The card will have a limit of $1,000 per customer.

Suncorp CEO Clive van Horen touched on the bank’s latest product offering, saying:

Some customers prefer to use credit cards, while others want simple, short-term payment options from a trusted and secure bank.

This solution is also a win for Australian businesses, many of whom are doing it tough right now as we learn to live with COVID-19. Our PayLater offering eliminates additional costs to those businesses who are currently paying millions of dollars in traditional BNPL fees.

Suncorp share price summary

Over the past 12 months, Suncorp shares have accelerated by 40% with a year-to-date rise of 30%. The company’s share price reached a 52-week high of $13.26 last month before investors took profit off the table.

Suncorp presides a market capitalisation of roughly $16.2 billion, making it the 29th largest company on the ASX.

The post Suncorp (ASX:SUN) share price remains flat despite BNPL offering 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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The Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) share price is sliding today, down 1% in early afternoon trade to $5.34 per share.

Below we take a look at the insurance giant’s latest market announcement.

What did IAG announce?

The IAG share price is slipping lower today after the company reported CMC Hospitality has filed an application starting a representative proceeding against it in the Federal Court of Australia.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) listed insurance giant could not yet provide details of the application as it had not been served with it. However, IAG noted the application “appears to relate to insureds who hold policies with CGU and business interruption losses related to COVID-19“.

CGU Insurance Limited is an intermediary-based insurance company that is part of IAG.

With a new wave of lockdowns impacting business operations across Australia’s most populous states, business interruption losses are growing into the multiple billions of dollars.

IAG stated it is among a number of other insurers who will be part of “an industry test case” in Federal Court hearings that are commencing today. It said the test case is “the most efficient process to obtain clarity and to resolve issues for customers with business interruption claims”.

The insurance company said it will follow the court’s final rulings and assess any business interruption claims “as quickly as possible” once the case is resolved.

As it stands, IAG said it “remains satisfied with the adequacy of its provision for business interruption claims”.

IAG share price snapshot

The IAG share price is up just over 13% in 2021, compared to a year-to-date gain of just under 12% for the ASX 200.

Over the past month IAG’s share price has gained 7%. The past month’s returns are largely credited to a strong results reported in early August for the 2021 financial year. That included a 170% increase in cash earnings from FY20 and a doubling of its dividend payout.

The post Here’s why the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price is slumping today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Insurance Australia 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 ELMO Software Ltd (ASX: ELO) share price has started the week in a positive fashion.

In early afternoon trade, the human resources technology company’s shares are up 2.5% to $5.11.

Why is the ELMO share price is pushing higher?

Investors have been bidding the ELMO share price higher today following the release of a positive product announcement this morning.

According to the release, the company has launched a new module, COVIDsecure.

Developed in-house, COVIDsecure allows employers to automate record keeping of COVID testing and the vaccination status of their workforce. The company believes the module will act as the technology that supports businesses to reopen safely post-lockdown.

The module also provides employers with the ability to capture employees’ vaccination and test status for the entire or targeted areas of their business such as location, department, or even role.

Furthermore, employers can configure periodic expiry alerts so they can be notified when an employee is due to update their vaccine or test status. ELMO believes this alert functionality will be particularly useful for workers required by government regulation to submit for testing at regular intervals.

Management commentary

ELMO’s CEO and Co-Founder, Danny Lessem, spoke very positively about the new module.

He commented: “Many businesses have announced they will be mandating vaccinations among their workforce, ELMO’s COVIDsecure module makes it easier to keep records of the vaccination and testing status of that workforce, with employee consent.”

“ELMO’s COVIDsecure module gives employers a tool to help keep their employees and the community safe. The new module increases the breadth of our solution, further differentiates ELMO’s value proposition and provides new revenue opportunities,” he added.

The ELMO share price is down 22% in 2021. Shareholders will no doubt be hoping this news is the catalyst to getting the ELMO share price heading in the right direction again.

The post Why the ELMO (ASX:ELO) share price is charging higher today 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 Elmo Software. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Elmo Software. 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 Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is slipping amid reports the bank has delayed the potential sale of its wealth management business.

BT Panorama, a wealth management platform, is said to be the next business segment on Westpac’s chopping block. It’s reported to be in focus after the bank sold its life insurance business last month. However, its sale has reportedly been delayed following a technical glitch.

Right now, the Westpac share price is $25.78, 0.92% lower than its previous close.

That sets it up as the worst-performing of the four big banks today. The share price of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia is only just ahead of that of Westpac, having slipped 0.82%.

Meantime, those of the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) have fallen just 0.09% and 0.05% respectively.  

Let’s take a closer look at today’s news of Westpac.

Is this why the Westpac share price is slipping?

The Westpac share price is bringing up the rear of its big bank peers amid reports it’s delayed the sale of its wealth management platform.

According to last month’s reporting by the Australian Financial Review, BT Panorama recently experienced technical difficulties. The publication noted Westpac had said the glitch wouldn’t affect the timeline of its sale.

However, The Australian today reported the sale will be delayed until 2022 due to the troubles.

Neither Westpac nor BT Panorama has commented on the reported difficulties or the sale and its reported delay.

Westpac didn’t respond to The Motley Fool Australia’s request for comment in time for publication.

However, market watchers interested in the Westpac share price might want to keep an eye out for official news of the sale.

According to The Australian, Westpac will be looking to sell BT Panorama separately from the platform’s superannuation business. The platform is said to be worth around $1 billion.

The newspaper reported Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) and IOOF Holdings Limited (ASX: IFL) might be among the potential buyers.

The post Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price slumps amid reports of sale delays appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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

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The Alumina Limited (ASX: AWC) share price shot up early on Monday, jumping 9.27% higher to $2.18 within the first few minutes of trade.

Those big gains have since retreated, but the Alumina share price is still trading higher, currently up 6.02% at $2.12.

Let’s take a look.

What’s driving the Alumina share price?

With no news released today, price increases and a supply shortage could be the forces behind a 25% rally in the Alumina share price in the last 7 trading sessions.

The company is engaged in a broad range of aluminium-related activities including bauxite mining, alumina refining and aluminium smelting.

Aluminium prices have hit their highest levels in more than a decade amidst potential shortages in China, according to a Reuters report.

The report said benchmark three-month aluminium climbed 2.7% to $2,722 a tonne, while the “most-traded” October aluminium contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed 1.2% up at $3,311 a tonne, near its highest since August 2008.

To add some perspective, Alumina’s 1H21 results last month highlighted average realised aluminium prices of US$2,303/t.

According to reports, aluminium shortages have been fulled by production cutbacks in China. The government is increasing oversight on highly polluting industries in an attempt to meet its climate and emission goals.

Last Monday, Bloomberg said that producers in China’s southern Guangxi province would “cut output of energy-intensive materials in response to Beijing’s campaign to save power and restrain emissions”.

The Guangxi government has asked for production cuts in sectors including aluminum, alumina, steel, ferroalloys and cement. Some aluminum and alumina smelters will be required to cap output in September at half their capacity, while some new smelting projects will be delayed.

What’s next for Alumina?

The Alumina share price is up 10.3% year-to-date thanks to its recent rally. The company is bullish on the outlook for the aluminium market.

In its half-year results, the company said:

Global aluminium demand is now back to pre-virus levels, largely due to economies recovering post-COVID, helped by Government stimulus packages.

This is expected to grow with further economic recovery and greater demand for aluminium in a decarbonising world, largely due to its lightweight properties and recyclability.

From an operational perspective, the company’s “low-cost assets” were able to produce record bauxite and alumina outputs in the first half.

The post The Alumina (ASX:AWC) share price rocketed 9% to an 18-month high today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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