One of Australia’s leading brokers, Morgans, has released its best ideas for the month of August.

These are the ASX shares the broker believes offer the highest risk-adjusted returns over a 12-month timeframe and are supported by a higher-than-average level of confidence.

Three of the ASX shares that Morgans classes as its best ideas are listed below. Here’s what it is saying:

Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ)

Morgans believes that the ANZ share price is trading at a very attractive level for investors. Especially given its exposure to a number of industry tailwinds and its cost cutting plans.

It explained: “We believe ANZ is the most compelling of the major banks on a valuation basis. We expect ANZ to benefit the most of the major banks from the tailwinds currently in place for treasury and markets income. We expect ANZ to continue to focus on absolute cost reduction over the medium term. ANZ has de-risked its loan book over recent years –particularly its institutional loan book –such that the quality of its loan book has increased.”

Morgans has an add rating and $34.50 price target on this banking giant’s shares.

Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG)

Another ASX share in the banking sector that Morgans likes is Macquarie. This is due to its positive long term outlook thanks to its exposure to infrastructure and renewables.

Morgans commented: “We still see MQG as relatively inexpensive and continue to like its exposure to long-term structural growth areas such as infrastructure and renewables. Near term MQG is likely to face earnings pressures from the impact of soft economic conditions but it remains well positioned to ride out the current COVID-19 period and seize opportunities on the other side.”

Morgans has an add rating and $172.30 price target on this investment bank’s shares.

Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE)

A new addition to the broker’s best ideas list this month is this wine company. While Morgans believes it will take some time before its lost earnings in China are recovered in new markets, it notes that other sides of the business are performing positively.

Its analysts said: “TWE has the China reallocation risk and it will take 2-3 years to recover these earnings in new markets. However, outside of China, its key markets, particularly the US, are recovering faster than expected from COVID. The new business units centred around the brands, are now fully in place and we are excited to see what they can earn with TWE effectively creating the benefits of a demerger without the extra costs. It also demonstrates that the SOTP [sum of the parts] is worth materially more than the whole. It shines alight on Penfolds and its best-in-class margins and may ultimately lead to corporate activity in some form in the future. We rate this management team highly.”

Morgans has an add rating and $13.00 price target on its shares.

The post Leading broker names 3 of the best ASX shares to buy in August 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 Macquarie Group Limited and Treasury Wine Estates 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 Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD) share price has gone on a rollercoaster ride over the last couple of years. However, you may be wondering if you had invested 10 years ago in the airport operators shares, would you be in the green?

No doubt, Sydney Airport has been a hot topic since COVID-19 began in March 2020. The company was once considered a safe and defensive blue-chip share but turned out to be vulnerable during the pandemic.

This is due to Australians being banned from flying internationally, along with severe passenger caps on returning citizens. Interstate borders have also been closed from time to time when there are local COVID-19 outbreaks in population centres.

Quick take on Sydney Airport

Considered as one of the country’s most important infrastructure assets, Sydney Airport is the gateway between Australia and the world.

Before the pandemic, the airport operator was used by 44.4 million passengers, contributing $38 billion in economic activity each year. This is equivalent to roughly 6.8% of the New South Wales economy.

How has the Sydney Airport share price performed in 2021?

Over the last 8 months, Sydney Airport shares have been moving mostly sideways until the company received a takeover proposal. The offer put forward an indicative price of $8.25 cash per Sydney Airport share.

When the news broke out, the Sydney Airport share price flew to a 52-week high of $8.04. Although in the weeks following, the airport’s board unanimously concluded that the proposal undervalues the company. As such, the board recommended it was not in the best interests of shareholders to proceed with the deal.

Since then, Sydney Airport shares have moved slightly lower, following profit taking by investors.

What would be the value of Sydney Airport shares buying from 10 years ago?

If you had parked $2,000 in Sydney Airport shares in 2011, you would have bought them for around $3.07 a piece. This translates to approximately 651 shares without including reinvesting the dividends.

Fast-forward to today, the current Sydney Airport share price is at $7.63. This means that those 651 shares would be worth $4,967.13 (651 shares x $7.63). When looking at percentage terms, this implies an upside of about 148%, or on average a 14.8% yearly return.

Is Sydney Airport share a buy today?

A number of brokers rated the company with similar price points following the takeover proposal.

Macquarie raised its 12-month price target by 41% to $8.50 for Sydney Airport shares. Days after, both JP Morgan and Citi also increase their rating, up 45% and 25%, respectively to $8.25 per share.

The post If you invested $2,000 in Sydney Airport (ASX:SYD) shares 10 years ago, here’s what it would now be worth appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• What’s being overlooked in the Sydney Airport (ASX:SYD) share price?
• Why the Sydney Airport (ASX:SYD) share price is up 34% in a month
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX grinds to a halt following new all-time high
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares in July

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 Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is struggling to stay in the green today. This follows an update from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) revealing a further $561 million in fee for no service refunds made by ASX-listed financial shares.

At the time of writing, shares in Australia’s oldest bank are relatively flat at $24.87 apiece, up just 0.12%.

The Westpac share price is also underperforming its peers so far today, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares currently up by 1.14%. Westpac shares have, however, gained almost 50% over the past 12 months.

It comes at a cost

According to the ASIC release, six of Australia’s largest banking and financial services institutions have paid or offered an additional $561 million in compensation because of fees for no service or non-compliant advice. This includes the big four banks, as well as Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) and AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP).

As a result, the total tally paid by the banks has swelled to $1.86 billion as at 30 June 2021. A figure that has been growing since the findings of the Hayne banking royal commission.

The corporate regulator’s update shows that Westpac forked out a further $388.6 million in the front half of 2021. This increase means the bank is second only to NAB for the highest amount of compensation paid, currently pegged at roughly $630 million. Certainly not a podium finish that is doing the Westpac share price any favours today.

Intriguingly, the number of customers slated for compensation from Westpac is nearly one-tenth that of the National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB). This means the average compensation claim from Westpac customers is much higher.  

Also not helping the Westpac share price

As we covered earlier today, Westpac’s review of its partnership with Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) due to the proposed acquisition of Afterpay by Square (NYSE: SQ) might be weighing on the Westpac share price today.

A banker from Westpac said the company will be “thinking through the strategic implications given Square’s interest in merchant acquiring and business loans”.

The Westpac share price is underperforming the broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) today. While the bank’s shares are barely breaking even, the index is up 0.22% in afternoon trade.

The post Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price struggles amid surging customer refunds appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Square might crash the Afterpay (ASX:APT) and Westpac partnership
• What is the outlook for the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price lower after sale of finance business
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO and Square. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO and 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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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) listed energy shares aren’t having the best of years in 2021.

In fact, of the 10 energy shares listed on the ASX 200, 4 are in the red with only 6 seeing their share price gain this calendar year.

For some perspective, the ASX 200 itself has gained 12.5% this year-to-date.

With that said, we take a look at the best and worst performing energy shares, starting with the underperformer…

The worst performing energy share in 2021

Trailing the pack of ASX 200 energy shares is oil and gas producer Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT). Beach Energy’s share price is down 34% year-to-date, currently trading at $1.21 per share.

By far the biggest issue to impact the share price this year was the disappointing third quarter results released on 30 April.

In its Q3 financial results, the company reported its production had fallen 5% quarter-on-quarter and was down 15% year-on-year. Citing reductions at its Western Flank project, Beach also withdrew its 5-year outlook. Shares closed down 24% on the day.

At the current share price Beach Energy has a market capitalisation of $2.8 billion. It pays a dividend yield of 1.62%, fully franked.

Moving on…

The best performing ASX 200 energy share

The best performer of 2021 is Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC), the biggest pure play coal miner on the ASX 200.

And here we were being told coal was history!

Whitehaven’s shares have gained 27% year-to-date with a big turnaround for the positive in the middle of May.

In fact, shares leapt 23% higher in May, accounting for much of the 2021 gains. May’s strength was largely driven by a surging coal price, which went from US$90 at the beginning of the month to US$109 by the end of the month.

Additionally, May also saw Whitehaven win a federal court stoush over its Vickery Extension Project.

At the current share price of $2.11, the ASX 200 energy share has a market cap of $2.2 billion. Whitehaven Coal pays an unfranked dividend yield of 0.83%.

The post Here are the best and worst performing ASX 200 energy shares of 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
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• Why Altium, Beach, Domino’s, & Piedmont Lithium are tumbling lower
• The Beach Energy (ASX:BPT) share price wobbles after quarterly update
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday

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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Yesterday I looked at three ASX shares brokers have given buy ratings to this week.

Unfortunately, not all shares are in favour with them right now. Three ASX shares that have just been given sell ratings by brokers are listed below. Here’s why these brokers are bearish on them:

BWP Trust (ASX: BWP)

According to a note out of UBS, its analysts have retained their sell rating and $3.86 price target on this Bunnings-focused commercial property company’s shares. This follows the release of BWP’s full year results earlier this week. While the company’s result was largely in line with expectations, UBS has concerns over its growth in the coming years. The broker suspects that it could experience a larger than normal amount of lease non-renewals over the next five years. The BWP share price is fetching $3.97 this afternoon.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)

A note out of Goldman Sachs reveals that its analysts have retained their sell rating but lifted their price target on this banking giant’s shares to $81.87. Goldman is expecting Australia’s largest bank to deliver a strong full year result next week and suspects that a $2.00 per share special dividend could be declared. However, this isn’t enough for a change of rating. It continues to believe its shares are overvalued and better value can be found elsewhere in the sector. The CBA share price is trading at $103.12.

Reece Ltd (ASX: REH)

Analysts at Morgan Stanley have commenced coverage on this plumbing parts company’s shares with an underweight rating and $16.40 price target. Although the broker is a fan of Reece and believes it is a high quality company, it isn’t a fan of its valuation. It believes the current share price is unsustainable and the risk is firmly to the downside. Morgan Stanley estimates that its shares are trading at over 50x full year earnings. The Reece share price is fetching $23.98 today.

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

More reading

• How did the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price perform in July?
• ASX 200 rises, BWP Trust falls, Genworth soars
• BWP (ASX:BWP) share price tumbles after FY 2021 results
• FY 2021 results preview: Is the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price good value?
• Here are 3 dipping ASX shares now ready to rally

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

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Yesterday I looked at three ASX shares brokers have given buy ratings to this week.

Unfortunately, not all shares are in favour with them right now. Three ASX shares that have just been given sell ratings by brokers are listed below. Here’s why these brokers are bearish on them:

BWP Trust (ASX: BWP)

According to a note out of UBS, its analysts have retained their sell rating and $3.86 price target on this Bunnings-focused commercial property company’s shares. This follows the release of BWP’s full year results earlier this week. While the company’s result was largely in line with expectations, UBS has concerns over its growth in the coming years. The broker suspects that it could experience a larger than normal amount of lease non-renewals over the next five years. The BWP share price is fetching $3.97 this afternoon.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)

A note out of Goldman Sachs reveals that its analysts have retained their sell rating but lifted their price target on this banking giant’s shares to $81.87. Goldman is expecting Australia’s largest bank to deliver a strong full year result next week and suspects that a $2.00 per share special dividend could be declared. However, this isn’t enough for a change of rating. It continues to believe its shares are overvalued and better value can be found elsewhere in the sector. The CBA share price is trading at $103.12.

Reece Ltd (ASX: REH)

Analysts at Morgan Stanley have commenced coverage on this plumbing parts company’s shares with an underweight rating and $16.40 price target. Although the broker is a fan of Reece and believes it is a high quality company, it isn’t a fan of its valuation. It believes the current share price is unsustainable and the risk is firmly to the downside. Morgan Stanley estimates that its shares are trading at over 50x full year earnings. The Reece share price is fetching $23.98 today.

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

More reading

• How did the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price perform in July?
• ASX 200 rises, BWP Trust falls, Genworth soars
• BWP (ASX:BWP) share price tumbles after FY 2021 results
• FY 2021 results preview: Is the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price good value?
• Here are 3 dipping ASX shares now ready to rally

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

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The Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price is hitting some turbulence today. This comes after the airline’s competition questioned its decision to stand down 2,500 crew.

The deputy chair of Regional Express Holdings Ltd (ASX: REX) has reportedly said Qantas made the decision prematurely.

Despite the reports, the Qantas share price was enjoying early gains today, up 0.11% to $4.51. However, at the time of writing, the shares have retreated and are swapping hands for $4.48, a fall of 0.44% on their previous close.

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

Qantas accused of moving too soon

The Qantas share price is jittery today after the company’s decision to stand down frontline Qantas and Jetstar crew was questioned.

Today, The Age reported Rex’s deputy chair John Sharp was surprised to see Qantas stand down the staff before the federal government released details of its airline support package.

The Retaining Domestic Airline Capability scheme is a support package given to airlines by the federal government. It will see airlines handed $750 per week for at least half of its frontline staff if they can prove they’ve seen a 30% downturn in revenue.

The scheme was announced on Monday. However, Qantas was reportedly unaware of the scheme’s details when it stood down the 2,500 staff members on Tuesday morning.

The Qantas share price suffered as a result of the stand downs. It fell 1.5% over the course of Tuesday.

The Age quoted Sharp as saying:

None of us had yet got the full details of how the package would work and I would have thought it would be more appropriate to wait until we got those details before making any significant decisions.

According to Sharp, Rex hasn’t stood down any staff during the recent lockdowns.

Qantas share price snapshot

It’s been a bad week for the Qantas share price and it has added to the airline’s poor recent performance.

Qantas shares are currently trading for 8% less than they were at the start of 2021. However, they’ve gained 38% since this time last year.

The airline has a market capitalisation of around $8.4 billion, with approximately 1.8 billion shares outstanding.

The post Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price wobbles as rival questions staff layoffs appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price is down 4% this last week. Here’s why
• The Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) share price has been struggling. Here’s why
• ASX 200 midday update: Afterpay jumps again, Qantas stands down crew
• Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price slips as airline stands down 2,500 crew
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week

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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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) investors aren’t letting yesterday’s losses in US markets get them down.

Nor do Aussie investors appear overly concerned about the spectre of extended and expanded lockdowns in New South Wales to combat the spread of COVID-19 cases. With new cases also emerging in Queensland and Victoria.

The ASX 200 has shaken off earlier losses and is up 0.2% at time of writing.

ASX 200 retail shares, meanwhile, are putting in a mixed performance.

Looking at 3 of the biggest retailing landlords in Australia, the Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (ASX: URW) share price is up 3%, the Vicinity Centres (ASX: VCX) share price is flat, and Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) is up 1.2%.

ASX 200 retail shares came roaring back from pandemic fire sale

ASX 200 retail shares – especially those reliant on brick and mortar stores – were some of the hardest hit in the early days of the pandemic-fuelled fire sale in February and March 2020.

Subsequently, they also enjoyed some of the biggest lifts as investors began to look beyond the immediate impact of store closures on sales volumes and rents.

Scentre Group is up 74% from its March 2020 lows. Vicinity Centres has gained 65% since that time. And Unibail’s share price is up 69%.

Despite those impressive gains, all 3 ASX 200 shares are still trading well below their pre-pandemic levels.

And with the government’s latest Intergenerational Report flagging significant cuts to earlier population growth forecasts, the big retailers may find their own growth outlooks scaled back.

COVID-19’s long term growth headwinds

According to the government budget papers, Australia’s population growth in 2020-2021 will be 0.1%. Growth is forecast increase to 0.2% the following year and likely to 0.8% in 2022-2023. By comparison the population grew at a blistering rate of 1.2% in 2019-2020.

That means Australia is likely to be home to 1 million fewer people by 2023 than forecasters had been predicting pre-pandemic.

The drastic slowdown, driven by a virtual halt to immigration Down Under, could throw up some significant headwinds for the growth outlooks of ASX 200 retailers.

That’s according to Tony Dimasi, head of GapMaps Advisory, an independent advisor to the Aussie shopping centre industry.

“The retail sector has been very strong for two decades and the single most important thing that’s driven that is population growth,” Dimasi said, speaking to The Australian Financial Review.

By Dimasi’s figures, population growth has fuelled demand for an additional 750,000 square metres of retail space every year since 2006.

With fewer new arrivals now expected in the coming years, Dimasi sees the potential for a significant reduction in the growth outlook for retailers:

“If [the intergenerational report forecasts] are correct and we do end up seeing roughly 1.8 million fewer people by 2040 and close to 3 million fewer by 2060 than we would have otherwise, that certainly has significant implications [for retail floor space demand].

Dimasi says that Australia roughly has 2 square metres of retail space for every resident. So, “2 million fewer people means about 4 million square metres less in retail floor space needed.”

“There will be generally less floor space built than we’ve seen in the last two decades,” he added. “Because we have low inflation and we’ll have more moderate sales growth as a result of lower population growth for the next two to three years, I fully expect there will be very modest rental growth over the next two to five years.”

Long-term forecasts often amended

While the growth in demand for new floor space from ASX 200 retail landlords is tied in with population growth, Dimasi points out that these forecasts are subject to change.

“The reality is that immigration levels have varied enormously and continue to do so – we should not necessarily be taking these kinds of projections at face value.”

He believes “initiatives will be taken to change the situation” to support higher population growth levels.

But with the pandemic seemingly easier to control in Australia’s lower population states, the public may not be overly keen to reopen the immigration floodgates any time soon.

The post How COVID-19 could hamper ASX 200 retail shares for years to come 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 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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ASX energy shares are copping a beating as the sector is the worst performer on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO).

The sector slumped 1.3% even as the ASX 200 benchmark climbed 0.2% to a new record high at the time of writing.

Renewed jitters of an oversupply of oil are weighing on the ASX energy sector. A surprise increase in US crude inventories, the spread of the delta-mutation and a weaker than expected US jobs report are behind the negative sentiment.

Fall in oil price weighs on ASX energy shares

The oil price fell in response even as political tensions in the Middle Ease are rising, reported Reuters.

The Brent crude price lost 2.7% to US$70.21 a barrel while the WTI price benchmark shed 3.2% to US$68.02 a barrel.

Little wonder that the Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price tumbled 1.7% to $6.35 as its merger partner Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) fell 1.3% to $3.93 during lunch time trade.

The Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) share price was another big drag as it gave up 1.4% to $21.74.

What is causing the oil price to fall

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that stockpiles of crude unexpectedly rose by 3.6 million barrels last week, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, demand outlook for oil took a hit as several countries combat outbreaks of the COVID-19 delta variant.

“Coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 200 million on Wednesday,” reported Reuters.

“The more-infectious Delta variant threatens areas with low vaccination rates and strains healthcare systems.”

Demand outlook hits ASX energy shares

China and the US are prime examples. These countries are big consumers of oil and outbreaks of COVID have dampened demand for oil in the past.

Australians don’t have to be told about the impact of lockdowns on consumption. Victoria could be following New South Wales and Queensland into another snap lockdown.

Further, the ADP data showed that US private employment increased by only 330,000 jobs in July. Economists were expecting 653,000 jobs.

No one listening to good news

The bad news was enough to distract investors from any positive developments, at least for today. Reports that Iran-backed forces have sized an oil tanker near the United Arab Emirates would usually trigger a spike in the oil price.

Investors are also ignoring the second part of the EIA report that showed a drop in gasoline inventories.

The post Why ASX Energy shares are the worst performers today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 midday update: Energy shares drop, Resolute jumps, Xero higher
• Why is the Santos (ASX:STO) share price slipping today?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• ASX 200 rises, BWP Trust falls, Genworth soars
• Woodside (ASX:WPL) share price edges higher despite Scarborough cost increase

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of Santos 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 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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In early afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is fighting hard to stay in positive territory. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.2% to 7,519 points.

Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are pushing higher:

Objective Corporation Limited (ASX: OCL)

The Objective share price is up 5.5% to $18.55 following the release of its FY 2021 results. For the 12 months ended 30 June, the information technology software and services provider reported a 31% increase in annualised recurring revenue (ARR) to $74 million. This led to a full year net profit after tax of $16 million, which is up 45% year on year.

Pinnacle Investment Management Group Ltd (ASX: PNI)

The Pinnacle share price has jumped 6.5% to $14.50. This follows the release of the investment company’s full year results after the market close on Wednesday. According to the release, Pinnacle more than doubled its net profit after tax to $67 million in FY 2021. This led to the company doubling its dividend to 17 cents per share.

Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG)

The Resolute Mining share price has risen 4.5% to 58 cents. Investors have been buying the gold miner’s shares after it announced the sale of its Bibiani Gold Mine in Ghana. According to the release, Resolute has agreed to sell the mine to Asante Gold Corporation for $90 million in cash. The good news is the agreement has received Ministerial Consent. Earlier this year the Minister had blocked the sale of the asset to China’s Chifeng Jilong for ~$105 million.

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)

The Xero share price is up 2% to $148.85. This appears to have been driven by a positive broker note out of Goldman Sachs. In response to the launch of the Xero App Store in the ANZ and UK markets, the broker has retained its buy rating and $165.00 price target on the company’s shares. Goldman commented: “Although the quantum of app attachment rates is uncertain, we estimated that a 15% app store fee could open up an incremental NZ$1.4bn of TAM, with these earnings likely to be 100% margin.”

The post Why Objective, Pinnacle, Resolute, & Xero shares are pushing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Objective (ASX:OCL) share price jumps 6% to record high on strong FY 2021 result
• Pinnacle (ASX:PNI) share price lifts 6% on FY21 results
• ASX 200 midday update: Energy shares drop, Resolute jumps, Xero higher
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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 Objective Corporation Limited and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Xero. 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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