It seems like only a few months ago that Canva was raising capital and fetching a US15 billion ($20 billion) valuation, and that would be because it was. Now the graphic design platform is back at it again with an eye-watering valuation.

According to reports, the company is tapping investors for US$71 million in its latest funding round.

Canva valuation would put it in ASX 20

There is no doubt Canva’s valuation rise is nothing short of meteoric. Towards the end of 2019, the company commanded a valuation of US$3.2 billion. Since then, multiple funding rounds have seen its valuation jump to US$6 billion last year, and US$15 billion a few months ago.

In April, the company raised US$71 million in funding from big-name institutional investors such as T. Rowe Price, Blackbird Ventures, and Dragoneer. At this stage, the participants of Canva’s latest funding round are not known.

If the rumours are correct, the company’s latest funding round would value the company at US$30 billion ($40 billion). That would put Canva within the top 20 companies in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

Specifically, it would be placed in fifteenth – right after commercial property operator Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) and above fellow Aussie tech darling, Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT).

However, unlike the abovementioned companies, Canva is not listed on the ASX. Surprisingly, there has been little to indicate the co-founders’ (Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht) plan on taking it public anytime soon.

Growth in numbers

The sky-high valuations are being backed by the company’s rapid growth metrics. For instance, monthly active users were said to have doubled in April to 55 million.

Looking at the platform’s web traffic, total visits have increased ~29% from 194.5 million in January 2021 to 251 million in June 2021. Those figures exhibit a continuation of growth at scale.

The post Canva valuation beats out Afterpay (ASX:APT), what’s next? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• ASX 200 rises, Afterpay sinks, Macquarie Telecom soars
• BNPL ASX share prices tumble as PayPal declares no BNPL late fees
• Why ASX BNPL shares like Afterpay, Zip, and Sezzle are sinking

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T 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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Some of the S&P/ASX 20 Index (ASX: XTL) shares are rated as buys by leading analysts and they may be able to produce returns.

Businesses in the ASX 20 are some of the largest in the country. Some of those companies include ones like Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP).

But analysts really like these ASX shares from the ASX 20:

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

Goodman Group is a property business with operations throughout Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe, the United Kingdom, North America and Brazil. It’s the largest industrial property group on the ASX and one of the world’s largest listed specialist investment managers of industrial property and business globally. Goodman has an integrated strategy of owning, developing and managing property.

It’s currently rated as a buy by the broker Morgan Stanley with a price target of $23.

Goodman is a very large business. At 31 March 2021, it had $52.9 billion of total assets under management. It experienced 3.3% like for like net property income (NPI) growth in managed partnerships. The occupancy rate across the partnerships was 98%.

The ASX 20 share is working on a pipeline of big projects. At 31 March 2021, it had $9.6 billion of development work in progress.

The property business is expected to changing client and customer demand. It says:

Changing consumption trends across the physical and digital spaces are fundamentally impacting demand. In response, Goodman is developing new space particularly through multi-storey and higher intensity buildings within our urban locations.

Goodman is expecting to generate double digit operating profit growth in FY21. Operating profit is expected to be $1.2 billion, representing earnings per share (EPS) growth of 12% on FY20.  

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)

Xero is one of the world’s largest software accounting businesses. Its offering is through the cloud, which means that users have great flexibility in how and where they access their numbers and business. The ASX 20 share also has numerous efficient and useful automated tools to save time for accountants and business owners.

It’s currently rated as a buy by Morgan Stanley.

The ASX 20 share has been growing at a fast pace for a number of years. It has grown beyond Australia and New Zealand. Xero now has a global subscriber base of more than 2.7 million. The UK is a particularly large revenue base for Xero, with more than 720,000 subscribers. North America has more than 285,000 subscribers. There are more than 175,000 subscribers across the rest of the world, in places such as South Africa and Singapore.

Xero has a very high gross profit margin of 86%. That means that 86% of new revenue can fall to the next profit line.

The company is seeing the benefits of long-term subscribers who love its services and productivity. In FY21, Xero’s 20% subscriber growth contributed to a 17% increase in annualised monthly recurring revenue (AMRR) to $963.6 million. Xero explained that growing awareness among small businesses of the benefit of digital tools and cloud technologies contributed to lower churn and a 38% increase in total lifetime value to $7.65 billion.

The post 2 leading ASX 20 shares rated as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is under a spot of pressure on Thursday morning.

In morning trade, the banking giant’s shares are down 0.5% to $25.15.

Why is the Westpac share price edging lower?

The weakness in the Westpac share price today appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Bell Potter this morning.

According to the note, the broker has downgraded Westpac shares to a hold rating with an improved price target of $26.50.

Based on the latest Westpac share price, this price target implies upside of 5.3% excluding dividends.

Including the fully franked 4.4% dividend yield the broker is forecasting, the total potential return stretches to almost 10%.

What did the broker say?

Bell Potter increased its price target on the Westpac share price to reflect upgrades to the broker’s earnings estimates. These estimates were increased largely due to a large jump in impairment benefits.

The broker explained: “The revisions are due to slightly higher NIE (although offset by a 3bp fall in NIM to around 2.06% between 1H21 and 2H21), higher other income (+22%/+28% over the respective years mainly from higher fees), higher operating expenses (the main one being in FY21 at +9% to $11.9bn largely due to one-off costs, and tapering down to 4% in the coming years), a large jump in impairment benefits to $255m as the recovery continues (and then down to charges again as the recovery ceases) and resulting income tax expense using 30% income tax rate.”

However, despite this and the increase to its earnings estimates, the potential return on offer isn’t enough for Bell Potter to recommend Westpac shares as a buy anymore.

“While the valuation is increased by $4.00 to $26.50 (previously $22.50), we have opted for a Hold rating at present (being a TSR of only 8.2%). WBC’s outlook will be reassessed following finalisation of CET1 capital rules,” it concluded.

The post Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price falls on broker downgrade appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Humm (ASX:HUM) share price dips despite deal with Westpac NZ

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking Corporation. 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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New COVID-19 Delta cases across the country are clouding the ASX bull market, but this could be an opportunity to pick up the latest buy ideas from leading brokers.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) started the trading day with a 0.1% dip as investors weigh up the latest infections in Victoria and South Australia.

But as with other outbreak scares, any sell-down in the market has given investors a chance to buy the dip.

Good pickings for value investors

Those hunting for such opportunities may want to put the Nufarm Ltd (ASX: NUF) share price on their watchlist.

The seed and crop protection supplier just got upgraded to “buy” from “hold” by Bell Potter.

“Since reporting a stronger than expected 1H21 result, but cautious guidance, the share price of NUF has retraced ~20% from its high,” said the broker.

“However, in general, crop condition have [sic] remained favourable.”

ASX shares upgraded to “buy” on appealing valuation

There are no areas of concern in Nufarm’s key market in Europe. Australia is also looking positive with good soil moisture supporting forecasts that our winter crops will be the best in 20 years.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar is poised to give the Nufarm share price an extra boost.

“80-85% of FY20-21e crop protection earnings are generated in currencies other than the AUD,” said Bell Potter.

“Since reporting 1H21 the AUD has weakened against the majority of NUF’s functional currencies (USD, EUR & GBP).”

The broker’s 12-month price target on the Nufarm share price is $5.30 a share.

Latest ASX shares to buy in the tech space

Meanwhile, the Nextdc Ltd (ASX: NXT) share price could also find favour. Wilsons initiated coverage on the datacentre operator with an “overweight” recommendation and $15.10 a share price target.

That leaves the NextDC share price with a near 30% upside!

The broker lists a few reasons why its bullish on the shares. The first is accelerating demand, which is helped by COVID-19.

Reasons to buy the NextDC share price

There’s also the belief that NextDC’s second-generation assets will contribute strongly to revenue growth from FY21 onwards.

The scale of the group’s new generation datacentres is also larger than existing facilities. That could mean improved profitability along with revenue.

Just as importantly, Wilsons noted management’s impressive track record.

“Over the past decade, NXT has created a solid track record of consistently meeting or beating its original or upgraded guidance in Australia, which is in the top 10 fastest growing digital infrastructure markets globally,” added the broker.

The post These ASX shares are the latest buy ideas from top brokers appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
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• ASX 200 midday update: Afterpay & Zip sink, Orocobre rises on broker upgrade

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of Nufarm Limited. Connect with me on Twitter @brenlau.

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 Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) share price is trading lower on Thursday morning.

At the time of writing, the energy producer’s shares are down 1.5% to $22.86.

Why is the Woodside share price trading lower?

The Woodside share price has come under pressure today following a pullback in oil prices overnight and the release of its second quarter update which appears to have fallen a touch short of expectations.

According to the release, for the three months ended 30 June, Woodside reported a 4% quarter on quarter decline in production of 22.7 MMboe. This was due to scheduled maintenance activities and adverse weather impacts. These were partially offset by a strong quarterly performance at its Pluto operation.

However, thanks to a 9% increase in delivered sales volume to 28.1 MMboe and higher prices, Woodside revealed a 15% quarter on quarter increase in sales revenue to $1,285 million.

Management commentary

Woodside’s Acting CEO, Meg O’Neill, commented: “Revenue from oil sales during the period was higher than the first quarter supported by an above-market average realised price of $75/barrel, while revenue from LNG sales climbed 14%.”

O’Neill also spoke about the work the company has down at Sangomar during the quarter. She said: “Work on our Sangomar Field Development Phase 1 offshore Senegal continued on schedule during the quarter and the project is now nearly one-third complete. In July, the first of two drilling vessels arrived in Senegal and the drilling campaign commenced for the project’s 23 wells.”

In addition, the Acting CEO revealed that Woodside is now testing the market for value-accretive opportunities.

She explained: “We have launched the formal sell-down process for up to 49% of our equity in Pluto Train 2. In parallel we have commenced a process to test the market for value-accretive opportunities to reduce our equity in the Scarborough resource. We are reviewing project cost estimates following extensive engagement with our contractors over recent months in the lead up to the investment decision.”

Following today’s decline, the Woodside share price is now in negative territory year to date.

The post Woodside (ASX:WPL) share price lower on Q2 update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• What’s the outlook for the Woodside (ASX:WPL) share price?
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: COVID wobbles ASX as shares retreat

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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Although the A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price has been a solid performer over the last 30 days, it is still down materially over the last 12 months.

Since this time last year, the embattled infant formula and fresh milk company’s shares have lost 64% of their value.

This makes the a2 Milk share price the joint worst performer on the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) over the period along with Appen Ltd (ASX: APX).

Why has the a2 Milk share price been smashed?

Investors have been selling down the a2 Milk share price over the last 12 months after it revealed a significant deterioration in its performance.

This deterioration was driven by COVID-induced headwinds in the daigou channel, stock piling, and poor inventory management.

After initially benefiting from stock piling at the height of the pandemic, a2 Milk has now seen demand fall off a cliff. This led to the company writing off a massive NZ$90 million of its inventory in May.

This weakness ultimately led to countless earnings guidance downgrades in FY 2021, damaging management’s credibility when it comes to forecasting.

What else?

Also weighing on the a2 Milk share price are concerns that the weakness in the daigou channel may be structural and unlikely to ever return to former levels. This is due to Chinese consumers’ growing preference for domestic brands ahead of international brands.

In addition to this, last year the company reported significant insider selling from key executives, hurting investor sentiment. Fortunately for these executives, the selling happened just before the deterioration in its performance occurred, allowing them to sell at prices materially higher than where a2 Milk shares trade today.

Is this a buying opportunity?

Unsurprisingly, opinion is largely divided on whether the underperformance of a2 Milk shares is a buying opportunity for investors.

Analysts at Bell Potter believe its shares are good value. They have a buy rating and $8.50 price target on them.

Whereas the teams at Citi and Credit Suisse remain very bearish. They have the equivalent of sell ratings and $5.85 and $5.50 price targets. This compares to the latest a2 Milk share price of $7.13.

The post Here’s why the A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price is down 64% in 12 months appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: COVID wobbles ASX as shares retreat
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell next 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. 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 EROAD Ltd (ASX: ERD) share price has returned from its trading halt and is pushing higher.

At the time of writing, the transport technology company’s shares are up 2% to $5.90.

Why was the EROAD share price in a trading halt?

The EROAD share price was placed in a trading halt on Wednesday so that it could launch an underwritten NZ$64.4 million conditional placement to partly fund an acquisition.

This morning the company revealed that the placement was successfully completed after receiving strong support from investors.

According to the release, the company has raised NZ$64.4 million at NZ$5.58 (A$5.25) per new share. This represents a 9.2% discount to the EROAD share price prior to its trading halt.

The company will now seek to raise a further NZ$16.1 million via a share purchase plan. This will be undertaken at the lower of the placement price or the five-day volume weighted average price prior to the closing date.

Why is EROAD raising funds?

EROAD is raising funds after entering into a conditional agreement to acquire 100% of Coretex Limited for NZ$157.7 million upfront and NZ$30.6 million in contingent consideration payable in FY 2023.

Coretex is a telematics vertical specialist provider delivering enterprise grade solutions. It is forecast to deliver annualised monthly recurring revenue (AMRR) of between $50-$53 million and EBITDA of $7-9 million in FY 2022.

Management believes the acquisition will be transformational for the company.

EROAD’s Chief Executive Officer, Steven Newman, commented: “The acquisition of Coretex is truly transformational for EROAD. Accelerating our key growth metrics by two years in North America and Australia and positioning us to become a bigger player in the global telematics market. EROAD and Coretex both aspire to create a safer, more sustainable and more productive society. Combining EROAD’s expertise in broadly adopted regulatory telematics solutions with Coretex’s extensive vertical telematics expertise and products creates an advanced market fit.”

The acquisition is expected to complete in the second half of FY 2022 and is subject to a number of conditions. This includes Commerce Commission clearance in relation to Coretex’s New Zealand business, Overseas Investment Office approval, and EROAD shareholder approval.

The EROAD share price is now up 25% in 2021.

The post EROAD (ASX:ERD) share price drives higher following transformational acquisition appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why is the Eroad (ASX:ERD) share price halted today?

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 EROAD Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended EROAD 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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There are many ASX and overseas shares for investors who want to put money into the growing demand for lithium, rare earths and batteries.

Far too many choices, many would argue.

Like any resource stock, lithium producers can be hit-and-miss, depending on the very binary fortunes of their mines.

With this in mind, Shaw and Partners portfolio manager James Gerrish had two suggestions as to how one could make a safer long-term bet on the trend.

How to avoid picking lithium losers

“I do like the lithium story longer-term but like all new industries there will be some big winners and losers,” he told his Market Matters newsletter.

“Hence if I was simply looking to ‘buy and hold’ long-term I would more likely consider an ETF covering a basket of stocks.”

The first example he had in mind was a US stock called Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF (NYSEARCA: LIT).

Despite the “battery tech” in its name, the ETF is very much focused on lithium.

“The Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF invests in the full lithium cycle, from mining and refining the metal, through battery production,” reads its fund summary.

“The Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF (LIT) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Solactive Global Lithium Index.”

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF closed Wednesday morning at $80.53. That’s more than 21% up this year and 214% higher than 5 years ago.

The second suggestion Gerrish had was closer to home.

“There is a lithium & battery technology ETF on the ASX called ETFS Battery Tech & Lithium ETF (ASX: ACDC),” he said. 

“It holds lithium stocks as well as companies involved in batteries.”

This fund also follows a Solactive index but has a broader remit than Global X.

“The Solactive Battery Value-Chain Index represents the performance of companies that are providers of electrochemical storage technology and mining companies that produce metals that are primarily used for the manufacturing of battery-grade lithium batteries,” read the fund’s product page.

“Demand for energy storage is being driven by the movement towards emissions reduction and renewable energy.”

The ETFS Battery Tech & Lithium ETF is an equal-weighted fund, meaning all the constituent shares take up roughly the same amount of capital on each rebalance.

Shares for ETFS Battery Tech & Lithium ETF were going for $91.27 on Wednesday afternoon, which is 9.6% up for the year. The fund has gained 82.7% since listing in September 2018.

The post 2 easy ways to buy-and-hold lithium shares: expert appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price is having a good year. Here’s why.
• Why Tesla stock dropped — again!
• CBA (ASX:CBA) share price outperformed Westpac over the past 3 months
• Sydney Airport (ASX:SYD) share price on watch after takeover bid rejected
• Wilson Asset Management (WAM) thinks these 2 ASX shares are a buy

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns shares of ETFS Battery Tech & Lithium ETF. 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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

What happened

For the second day in a row, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock dropped Wednesday, closing the day down 2.3%.

You can probably blame Lucid Motors for that — and Investor’s Business Daily (IBD).

So what

In a report out late Tuesday — one that investors didn’t get a chance to react to until today — IBD discussed a call held with investors by Lucid management, the new electric car company being brought public by the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Churchill Capital Corp IV (NYSE: CCIV).

On that call, Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson confirmed that his company is on track to begin producing its Lucid Air electric vehicle (EV) by the second half of 2021. (Hint: We’re already in the second half of 2021, so that promise is getting a bit long in the tooth.) Nevertheless, according to Lucid’s promotional materials, the new Air beats Tesla’s Model S in battery efficiency. And Lucid is boasting that with reservations for the sale of 10,000 cars already, it is sitting on a sales pipeline worth $900 million.

That’s $900 million in revenue that one imagines would probably have otherwise gone to Tesla had it remained the only automobile manufacturer manufacturing electric cars.

Now what

From Elon Musk’s perspective, this is all probably fine. It was always his intention to ignite an EV revolution, and the more companies that go electric, the better, from his point of view — especially given his preference for building top-of-the-line electric supercars like the Roadster and Model S.

Nevertheless, competition is heating up for the electric car kingpin, as rivals from Ford to GM to now Lucid begin flooding the market with competing electric models. And with Lucid in particular targeting the top end of the market (The manufacturer’s suggested retail price — MSRP — for Lucid’s “Air Dream Edition” is reported to go as high as $162,000.), Tesla investors can no longer expect that Tesla will get to keep any specific segment of the EV market to itself.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Why Tesla stock dropped — again! appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Tesla stock just gave back half of Monday’s gains
• ASX investors were buying Tesla and Apple shares last week
• ASX lithium shares are surging on Tuesday. Here’s why
• Why Tesla stock took off on Monday
• As markets fall, here’s how a Tesla death cross might actually matter

Rich Smith 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 Tesla. 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.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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The Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ) share price hasn’t been top of mind for many investors in recent months. Shares in the major banks have captured the headlines with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price approaching a new all-time high and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares racing higher.

However, the Bank of Queensland share price has been quietly having a good year on the ASX boards. Shares in the Aussie bank are up 19.3% year-to-date at yesterday’s closing price of $8.98. On a 12-month horizon, the news is even better, with the Bank of Queensland share price climbing 50.2% higher in that time.

So, what’s helping push this unsung ASX bank share higher in 2021?

Why the Bank of Queensland share price is soaring this year

It is worth noting 2021 has been a great year for many of the ASX bank shares. As mentioned, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac shares are enjoying strong years, climbing 18% and 28.7%, respectively.

One big factor helping these share gains for ASX banks is the current state of the economy. The Aussie banks’ major lending activities are in the property market, leaving them exposed to economic factors such as interest rates and employment.

A key statistic that investors focus on for bank shares is bad debts expense. Investors like to see that losses are low, and the advent of a post-COVID recovery and schemes such as JobKeeper have helped keep this key ratio low.

That has coincided with strong gains for the Bank of Queensland share price. Shares in the regional bank have been climbing since late May 2020, aided by strong government stimulus to reduce the economic pain felt from the COVID-19 pandemic. Other factors like record-low interest rates and strong employment data have also played their part.

An improved outlook for the Aussie economy has also helped the bank free up some capital. In mid-June, Bank of Queensland announced that it would reduce its collective provision by a further $75 million. That frees up further capital to be deployed by the Aussie bank, rather than just being held for regulatory provisions.

The bank recently completed its $1.325 billion takeover of ME Bank which it hopes will allow it to compete with the Big Four banks moving forward.

Foolish takeaway

The Bank of Queensland share price has been having a solid year. Shares in one of Australia’s largest regional banks have been quietly climbing as the financial sector continues a strong year of gains in 2021.

The post The Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price is having a good year. Here’s why. appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) has officially acquired ME Bank
• Bank of Queensland shares outperforming all ASX 200 banks this month
• Why this broker reckons Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) shares are a buy
• Why Bank of Queensland, IGO, Milton, & Openpay are surging higher
• Why are blue-chip ASX 200 shares selling off today?

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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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