Exchange traded funds (ETFs) continue to grow in popularity with investors and it isn’t hard to see why. Never has it been so easy for investors to gain access to groups of shares from all corners of the world.

But given how many ETFs there are to choose from, it can be hard to decide which ones to add to a portfolio. To narrow things down, I have picked out two highly rated and popular ETFs to get better acquainted with. They are as follows:

BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

The BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF aims to track the performance of the NASDAQ-100 Index before fees and expenses. This index comprises 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the NASDAQ market, and includes many companies that are at the forefront of the new economy.

BetaShares notes that this area of the market is underrepresented on the Australian share market. As a result, the ETF may benefit local investors that often have a large allocation to financials and mining companies and little exposure to technology.

Among the companies you’ll be buying a slice of are global giants such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and Tesla. And given their positive long term growth prospects, this bodes well for the BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF’s performance over the coming years.

Over the last five years the ETF has generated a return of 23.6% per annum for investors.

Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS)

Another ETF to look at is the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF. This ETF provides investors with exposure to 1,507 of the world’s largest listed companies from major developed countries.

Vanguard notes that the ETF offers low-cost access to a broadly diversified range of securities that allows investors to participate in the long-term growth potential of international economies outside Australia. The fund manager believes this makes it suitable for buy and hold investors seeking long-term capital growth, some income, and international diversification.

Among the companies included in the fund are giant such as Apple, Johnson & Johnson, JP Morgan, Nestle, Procter & Gamble, and Visa.

The Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF has generated a total return of almost 14% per annum over the last five years.

The post 2 highly rated international ETFs for ASX investors 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 BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a fairly subdued start to the trading week this week. The ASX 200 has closed pretty much flat today, down 0.01% to 7,307 points.

One sector that didn’t really branch out for the index’s performance is ASX energy. That’s despite a big development in the crude oil price today.

According to a report in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) today, crude oil is sitting at a 3-year high. The two crude benchmarks relevant to ASX energy shares are both at their highest levels since October 2018 today.

Brent crude is sitting comfortably at US$76.18 a barrel at the time of writing. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude is at US$74.05 a barrel.

According to the report, it is a rebounding demand for global travel that is pushing crude higher. A guessing game over what the market-setting Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Counties (OPEC) will do next is also fuelling demand. Daniel Hynes, the senior commodity strategist at ANZ, told the AFR the following:

So far [OPEC] has been able to negate the impact of travel restrictions on demand by coordinating a supply response that has kept the market from being flooded with excess cargo… It has reached a point, however, where its cautious approach could ultimately hurt the market…

The market is looking extremely tight over the next couple of quarters… We expect [OPEC+] will try to balance the market’s need for more supply against the fragile nature of the recovery in demand.

So with crude prices at a 3-year high, how are ASX energy shares faring today?

Black gold no longer for ASX energy shares?

Well, not that well, as we touched on earlier. The ASX’s largest oil company, Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX: WPL) was flat today at $22.53 a share. Although Woodside has recovered substantially (up 40% or so) from the lows we saw last year, it still remains more than 30% lower than the pricing we were seeing just prior to the onset of COVID-19 last year.

It’s a remarkably similar story with the ASX’s other pure oil shares such as Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO).

Why? Well, Hynes reckons it could be the level of risk that investors are seeing with the current oil market. Noting that crude oil consumption remains well below pre-pandemic levels, and 8% below 2019 levels, Hynes reckons that the fact that international borders remain all but closed is at play here:

[Oil demand could] struggle to rise further if the new delta variant of the coronavirus takes hold in major regions and forces officials to hold onto some restrictions.

Hynes is also looking to the potential of Iranian oil re-entering the global market following a potential loosening of sanctions. It looks like it will be yet another interesting year for oil in 2021.

The post Oil hits 3-year high! How are ASX energy shares reacting? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are 3 of the most actively traded ASX 200 shares today
• Warning: One thing could plunge ASX shares into crisis
• Here’s why the Freelancer (ASX:FLN) share price is surging 7% today
• The ASX shares most impacted by Australia’s job squeeze
• Temple & Webster share price surges with other ASX COVID winners

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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Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) has been the target of a cyberattack less than a week after eclipsing a $2 trillion market capitalisation.

On Friday, the US-based tech giant disclosed it had suffered a breach at the hand of hackers. Let’s take a look at the details.

Microsoft breach links with SolarWinds cyberattack

In a post to its security response center, Microsoft divulged that it was tracking new cyberattacks conducted by Russian hacking group Nobelium.

The group were successful in installing malicious software on a computer used by a Microsoft customer support employee. Nobelium proceeded to steal sensitive information which would be used to target Microsoft customers.

Accordingly, Microsoft responded by securing and removing access to the compromised device. Afterwards, the company noted its customer service agents have access to minimal personal information as part of its ‘Zero Trust’ approach to customer information.

Reportedly three customers were affected by the compromised data. All customers that were compromised or targeted were being contracted by the company.

Furthermore, the cyberattack on Microsoft was part of a larger attack targeting 36 countries. This activity predominately targeted IT companies and government organisations.

Cyberattack déjà vu

The hacking group involved in this breach was also responsible for the SolarWinds Corp (NYSE: SWI) attack in December 2020.

That breach was one of the largest in recent history, impacting 18,000 users including the U.S. Treasury, Department of Commerce, and Homeland Security.

“These attacks appear to be a continuation of a multiple efforts by Nobelium to target government agencies involved in foreign policy as part of intelligence gathering efforts,” said Microsoft.

Investing in combatting cyberattacks

Companies and governments are investing billions to fend off the rapidly growing occurrence of cyberattacks. With it becoming an increasing problem, the amount of funding funnelling into the sector is unprecedented.

So, if you are looking for ways to try and capitalise, there are options out there. One ASX-listed example is the Betashares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK). The exchange-traded fund (ETF) is invested in 40 of the world’s biggest and most innovative companies in the space.

Moreover, the top 5 holdings in the ETF currently consist of Crowdstrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: CRWD), Zscaler Inc (NASDAQ: ZS), Okta Inc (NASDAQ: OKTA), Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN), and Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO).

The HACK ETF climbed 0.42% higher to $9.52 per share in today’s session. Meanwhile, over the past 12 months, the fund has delivered a 17.8% return.

The post Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) customers compromised in a cyberattack appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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There are a lot of growth shares out there for investors to choose from. To narrow things down, I have picked out two that analysts love.

Here’s why analysts rate these growth shares highly:

Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG)

The first ASX growth share to look at is Breville. Over the past 80 years, Breville has become an iconic Australian brand, developing high quality and innovative products for kitchens around the world.

The good news is that the leading appliance manufacturer’s growth is not expected to end any time soon. This is thanks to strong demand, favourable industry tailwinds, its international expansion, and its ongoing R&D investment.

One leading broker that is confident that Breville’s strong growth can continue for some time to come is UBS. It is forecasting double-digit sales growth through to at least FY 2023.

In light of this, the broker rates its shares as a buy and has put a $35.70 price target on them.

TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE)

TechnologyOne is Australia’s largest enterprise software company. It provides a global software as a service (SaaS) ERP solution that transforms business and makes life simple for its customers. Management notes that its integrated enterprise SaaS solution is available on any device, anywhere and anytime and is incredibly easy to use. A testament to this is that over 1,200 leading corporations, government agencies, local councils and universities are powered by its software.

This has underpinned strong recurring revenue growth and is expected to continue doing so over the remainder of the 2020s. So much so, management is targeting annualised recurring revenue (ARR) of over $500 million by FY 2026. This is over double its current base ARR of $233 million.

Morgans is very positive on the company and recently put an add rating and $10.00 price target on its shares. It believes TechnologyOne can achieve its aspirational ARR target by FY 2026 based on existing legacy customer migration and new additions.

The post Here’s why analysts love these ASX growth shares 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 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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Over the last 30 days, shares in Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ) have outperformed those of all other S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) banks. At the time of writing, the Bank of Queensland share price is $9.05 – 1.12% higher than it was this time last month.

That makes it the best performing ASX 200 bank of the last 30 days.

Coming in second best is the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN) share price, which has gained 0.39% in the same time frame.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA) share price has fared the best out of the big four. Its shares have fallen 0.02% since this time last month.

Shares in Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) have fallen 1.71%, while those of Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) are 2.20% lower than they were 30 days ago.

Bringing up the rear is National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB). Its share price has dropped 3.12%.

Let’s take a look at what Bank of Queensland has been up to this month.

The month that’s been

The Bank of Queensland has released 2 pieces of price sensitive news to the market lately.

The first was on 15 June, when the bank announced its upcoming APRA Basel III Pillar 3 report will include a decrease in its collective provision.

It also stated it plans to reduce its collective provision by another $75 million. Its share price gained 1.5% on the back of the news.

Then, on 21 June, Bank of Queensland released news the Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia had approved its proposed acquisition of Members Equity Bank (ME Bank).

Bank of Queensland has been updating the market on its planned acquisition of ME Bank since February. It is to pay around $1.3 billion in cash for the acquisition.

Now that the acquisition has received the Treasurer’s approval, the deal will go ahead on 1 July.

The market seemed excited by the news, as the Bank of Queensland share price ended the day’s trade 5.47% higher than its previous close.

Bank of Queensland share price snapshot

It’s been a good year so far for the Bank of Queensland share price.

Currently, it’s 20% higher than it was at the start of the year. It has also gained 51% since this time last year.

The bank has a market capitalisation of around $5.7 billion, with approximately 639 million shares outstanding.

The post Bank of Queensland shares outperforming all ASX 200 banks this month 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 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a rather flat start to the trading week this week. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is currently up a paltry 0.02% to 7,309.6 points. So let’s take a look at some of the ASX 200 shares that are proving popular today in terms of sheer trading volume.

3 ASX 200 shares that are making moves today

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

Diversified ASX 200 miner South32 is proving a popular share on the share market today, with 9.81 million shares having traded hands so far. There has been no major news or announcements out of the company today that might prompt an uptick in trading volume. Apart from a daily share buy-back notice, which is possibly contributing. However, South32 shares are currently defying the broader market’s gloom, and are up 1.37% at the time of writing. As we covered last week, South32 has also been a beneficiary of some attention from brokers recently, which might also be helping.

Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN)

The Flying Kangaroo is also, well, flying on the ASX boards today. This ASX 200 share has seen a bumper 12.79 million shares change hands today so far. Unlike South32 though, this might be the result of a share price slump from the airline today. At the time of writing, Qantas shares are down a nasty 4.33% to $4.52 a share after falling close to 6% earlier in the trading day. We can probably blame the COVID/lockdown situation in Sydney and other parts of the country for this malaise. Other ASX travel-related shares have seen similar moves today.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Yet again, Pilbara Minerals is starting the week off where it spent most of last week – at the top of the ASX 200’s most traded shares list. A hefty 14.06 million Pilbara shares have traded so far today. Like Qantas, this may be the result of a substantial fall in the value of Pilbara shares themselves today. Currently, Pilbara Minerals is down 3.57% to $1.43 a share after making a new all-time high of $1.60 a share last week. As my Fool colleague Brooke covered earlier, there’s not much in the way of major news or announcements out of Pilbara so far today. So this move might just be driven by market sentiment.

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

More reading

• ASX travel shares tumble amid widening COVID restrictions
• Warning: One thing could plunge ASX shares into crisis
• Here’s why the Freelancer (ASX:FLN) share price is surging 7% today
• Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) shares are the most traded on the ASX 200 today
• The ASX shares most impacted by Australia’s job squeeze

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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If you’re on the lookout for dividend shares to buy, then you may wish to look at the ones listed below.

Here’s why analysts rate these ASX shares highly and are expecting generous yields ahead for investors:

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

The first ASX dividend share to look at is this retail conglomerate. Accent has a focus on the leisure footwear market and has a growing stable of brands such as HYPEDC, Platypus, Sneaker Lab, and The Athlete’s Foot.

Thanks to favourable consumer spending trends, its growing store network, and strong business model, the company has been tipped to continue growing its earnings and dividend at a solid rate in the future.

Bell Potter is very positive on the company’s outlook and currently has a buy rating and $3.30 price target on its shares. It is also forecasting dividends of 11.7 cents per share in FY 2021 and then 12.3 cents per share in FY 2022. Based on the current Accent share price of $2.75, this will mean fully franked yields of 4.25% and 4.5%, respectively.

Commenting on Accent’s recent acquisition of Glue Store, its analysts said: “The acquisition of Glue Store will accelerate AX1’s growth in the fragmented youth apparel market. Glue Store strongly complements AX1’s existing banners in youth footwear and significantly expands AX1’s addressable market beyond footwear.”

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

This banking giant has been tipped as a dividend share to buy over at Citi. Its analysts have put a buy rating and $29.50 price target on its shares, making it the only big four bank that Citi is recommending at present.

The broker is forecasting fully franked dividends of 116 cents per share this year and the 118 cents per share in FY 2022. Based on the latest Westpac share price, this represents yields of 4.5% and 4.6%, respectively, over the next two years.

Citi revealed that it likes Westpac due to its improving outlook and the potential for earnings upgrades over the coming years. Especially given its bold cost reduction plans.

The broker said: “The premise of multi-year core earnings upgrades, layered on sector-wide asset quality improvements, leave WBC with a differentiated investment thesis. It remains our sole Buy in a sector that has rallied strongly in the COVID recovery.”

The post Why analysts rate Westpac (ASX:WBC) and this dividend share as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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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 recommended Accent Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) share price has been an outstanding performer in 2021.

Since the start of the year, the health imaging technology company’s shares have raced 61% higher.

This means the Pro Medicus share price is now up a remarkable 110% since this time last year.

Can the Pro Medicus share price keep on rising?

Unfortunately, one leading broker is calling a top on the rampant Pro Medicus share price run.

According to a note out of Bell Potter from late last week, the broker has retained its hold rating with an improved price target of $49.00.

Based on the latest Pro Medicus share price of $57.00, this implies potential downside of 14% over the next 12 months.

What did the broker say?

Bell Potter recognises Pro Medicus as a quality company and notes that the moat around its earnings continues to widen as the use of sophisticated imaging technology continues to expand.

However, the “eye watering multiples” its shares trade on means the broker doesn’t see enough value right now to consider it a buy.

It commented: “We have a positive view of the company, although maintain our Hold rating based on valuation.”

Positioned for strong long term growth

Although Bell Potter may be waiting for a pullback before rating the Pro Medicus share price as a buy, it has spoken very positively about its long term growth prospects. This is due to its relatively modest market share at present.

It explained: “Despite encouraging progress with new business wins, we estimate PME’s share of market at 3% to 5% (in the market for radiology image viewing), hence there remains a vast horizon of potential new business opportunity, all of which may reasonably be expected to come to market over the next 2 decades.”

“Increasingly we expect new business will come from second and third tier healthcare systems operating below the pre-eminent Institutional level healthcare systems (i.e. Northwestern, UCLA, Yale). The contract wins announced to the market over the LTM included three such deals (Medstar, Intermountain & Vermont). While these clients maintain a lower profile, their average deal size remains highly attractive business. The Intermountain Healthcare deal (January 2021) was one of the largest deals in PME’s history ($40m over 7 years, covering 24 hospitals and 200 outpatient clinics),” the broker added.

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

More reading

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• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX makes it 5 out of 5

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 Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Big-name ASX travel shares have endured a harsh start to the new trading week. This comes following broadening news of State Government restrictions and border shutdowns amid increasing COVID-19 infections.

By Monday’s close of trade, Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) shares were down 4.02%, the Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price had sunk 4.74% lower, and Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) shares had fallen by 3.45%. By comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) only finished the day down by 0.01%.

While there are many factors that influence the movement of a company’s share price, the raft of public health restrictions coming into force across the country are likely contributing to these sector-wide falls.

Australia’s COVID uptick

Australia’s largest city, Sydney, and its surrounding areas were placed into a 2-week lockdown over the weekend after New South Wales reported 59 new cases across the two days. Many other states had already shut their borders to the harbour city.

Since then, local cases have been reported in Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory. New Zealand responded by shutting down its travel bubble with the whole of Australia for the time being. South Australia has closed its border to everywhere bar Victoria and Tasmania.

Every state and territory has either introduced new restrictions or, at the very least, maintained existing restrictions. These range from social distancing and mandatory wearing of masks to full lockdowns.

With the rise in new cases coinciding with the beginning of the school holidays, many family vacations have been thrown into disarray. This may be spooking some investors and could be contributing to the falls in ASX travel shares today.

In March 2020, when the initial stages of the pandemic saw the market head into freefall, travel shares were hit especially hard. Many, including Qantas and Flight Centre, have not returned to their pre-coronavirus levels.

The latest rise in cases may be now unnerving investors just as it did in March last year, albeit not to the same extent. Australia’s sluggish vaccine rollout could also be negatively impacting ASX travel shares.

ASX travel shares snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the abovementioned ASX travel shares have all increased by double-digit figures. This ranges from Qantas’ approximately 19% rise to Webjet’s almost 43% increase. The share prices of all three companies, however, are still significantly lower than where they were 18 months ago when nobody had heard of COVID-19.

The post ASX travel shares tumble amid widening COVID restrictions appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• Why Afterpay, Gold Road, Qantas, & Talga shares are sinking
• The Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price is sinking today
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• ASX 200 down 0.1%: Metcash results, Costa returns, travel shares sink

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

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The Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) share price fluctuated today after the company recommended shareholders reject Seven Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SVW)’s bid to increase its stake in the company.

At one point during intraday trade, shares in the construction materials company broke their 52-week record again and hit $7.36. At close of trade, however, its shares ended at $7.34 – flat on Friday’s close.

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

Why the Boral share price was in focus today

In a statement to the ASX, Boral recommended its shareholders reject the updated offer from Seven Holdings for up to 34.5% of its company for $7.40 a share. Seven’s initial bid of $6.50 a share was rejected for “undervaluing the company by 40%”.

As a result, Seven made a second bid of $7.30 a share on the proviso it increases its stake in Boral to 29.5%, or $7.40 a share if they obtain 34.5% of the company.

Boral says shareholders should continue to reject this offer from Seven and gave the following reasons.

• The new price of $7.30 or $7.40 is not guaranteed. If not enough shareholders accept the offer, an investor agrees to sell their shares to Seven Holdings for the original bid of $6.50.
• Boral says Seven’s latest offer still does not reach fair value. According to the company, the Boral share price is valued between $8.25 and $9.13. Boral believes Seven’s offer should be at this level if it wishes to increase its influence in the company. The construction materials business called Seven’s offer “opportunistic.”
• Boral claims it is unlocking “significant value” for shareholders in the near term. Its recent sale of its North American business should result in a distribution of around $3.02 per share to shareholders, according to the statement. However, Seven has slammed the deal as a “rushed process” and a bargain price for the buyer.

Seven Holdings has made no comment at this time on Boral’s latest rejection.

Boral share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Boral share price has almost doubled – rising by 94.7% in the period. The last time Boral’s share price was around its current levels was in April 2018, hovering around $7.30.

Boral has a market capitalisation of $8.7 billion.

The post Boral (ASX:BLD) share price seesaws after rejecting increased bid appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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