There are some quality ASX dividend shares out there that have solid dividend yields.

Interest rates are very low at the moment, making it difficult to make any interest from having cash in the bank. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) doesn’t expect to increase the official rate for at least a couple of years yet.

People that are focused on income can get a higher level of dividends from these two investments:

Centuria Industrial REIT (ASX: CIP)

This real estate investment trust (REIT) is Australia’s largest domestic pure play industrial REIT. It’s in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

It’s currently rated as a buy by the broker Ord Minnett. The broker has a price target of $3.90 on the business.

The ASX dividend share has a portfolio of high-quality industrial properties that are located in city locations across Australia and it’s underpinned by a quality and diverse tenant base. The REIT has managed to achieve both capital growth and good income.

Centuria Industrial REIT recently completed external valuations of 56 of 61 of its investment properties – that’s 93% of the portfolio by value. It now has 72 properties.

On a like for like basis, the portfolio valuation increased by $192 million, or 8.1% from prior book values. The total portfolio weighted average capitalisation changed by 46 basis points from 5.42% to 4.96%. Centuria Industrial REIT’s net tangible assets (NTA) increased from $2.99 to $3.32 per unit.

The portfolio value increased partly because of leasing success. It has an occupancy rate of 97.7%, with a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 9.8 years.

The biggest recent valuation change was that the Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) data centre in Clayton, VIC, it increased in value by $28.3 million.

In FY21, it’s expecting to pay a distribution of 17 cents per unit, which is a yield of 4.8% at the current Centuria Industrial REIT share price.

Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW)

Brickworks is an ASX dividend share with one of the longest records. It has maintained or grown its dividend every year for over four decades.

The business has a large array of building product divisions across Australia and North America. This includes brickmakers, masonry, roofing, precast and other specialised building systems.

But there are two other assets that fund the Brickworks dividend each year.

It owns around 40% of the investment conglomerate Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL). Soul Patts owns a diversified portfolio of investments that provide defensive and reliable cashflow each year. Some investments include TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPW), Brickworks itself, Milton Corporation Limited (ASX: MLT) and Bki Investment Co Ltd (ASX: BKI).

Soul Patts itself is an ASX dividend share with an impressive dividend record. It has increased the dividend every year for the last two decades.

The other part of Brickworks’ dividend funding is its 50% stake in a quality industrial property trust alongside Goodman Group (ASX: GMG). The partners are steadily building large warehouses on land that used to be owned by Brickworks.

Two of the biggest projects are warehouses for Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) and Amazon. Once these are completed over the next year or two, it should lead to a large increase of both the property portfolio value and rental cashflow.

At the Brickworks share price, it has a grossed-up dividend yield of 4.2%.

More reading

• BHP (ASX:BHP) share price drops despite 10-year iron ore highs
• The Renergen (ASX:RLT) share price is on watch today
• Why the Bega Cheese (ASX:BGA) share price is at a 52-week high
• Why the Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price is flying right now
• 2 compelling ASX 200 shares that should be in your portfolio

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Brickworks, Telstra Limited, and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of COLESGROUP DEF SET. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post 2 ASX dividend shares to buy with yields above 4% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2P56h0U

The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share prices are slipping today after a news report the banks are facing a class-action lawsuit for their insurance products.

At market open, the ANZ share price is down 1.8% to $28.35, the Commonwealth Bank share price is flat at $87, while the Westpac share price is down 1.17% to $24.95.  

Big four banks under fire for consumer credit insurance

The big four banks are under fire for their consumer credit insurance (CCI), which is marketed as protecting consumers against late or missed payments.

In reality, the insurance pays out less than 10 cents for each dollar paid in premiums. This is compared to an average of 89 cents for every dollar paid in car insurance premiums.

During the banking royal commission, it was revealed Australia’s big four banks were warned by executives and international banks of the dodgy practices more than 10 years ago, but refused to stop selling CCI to customers.

All four of Australia’s major banks were hit with class actions over their CCI products, but National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) already settled in 2019, paying out $49.5 million to almost 50,000 customers.

ASIC taking Westpac to court

Practice Group Leader at law firm Slater and Gordon, Andrew Paull, told the ABC that CCI had been sold to millions of Australians.

“It’s known as junk insurance because for any normal person it’s incredibly low value,” he said.

“We’re talking perhaps one in four Australian households that are being sold a complex and worthless financial product by one of the trusted big four banks.”

Meanwhile, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is taking Westpac to court over its CCI deals, alleging it mis-sold CCI to 400 customers who hadn’t agreed to buy it through credit card bundle deals. ASIC is seeking a fine as punishment.

In a statement, Westpac said it was “carefully considering these claims and is committed to working constructively with ASIC through the court process”.

More reading

• ANZ Bank’s (ASX:ANZ) profit result could get an extra boost: Macquarie
• Why the Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price is flying right now
• 3 sectors Aussies are splashing cash on right now
• 650,000 Aussies sign up for Afterpay (ASX:APT) Mastercard
• Westpac (ASX:WBC) reports ‘extraordinary’ Australian consumer confidence

Motley Fool contributor Lucas Radbourne-Pugh 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.

The post Westpac, ANZ, CBA share prices dip after class action for ‘junk’ insurance appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3vkaHAL

The market may be sinking lower today but that hasn’t stopped the Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) share price from charging higher.

In morning trade, the corporate travel specialist’s shares are up 5% to $20.02.

Why is the Corporate Travel Management share price soaring?

Investors have been buying Corporate Travel Management shares this morning following the release of a positive trading update.

According to the release, during the month of March, the company broke-even following an uptick in travel demand.

Pleasingly, things are expected to improve further, with management forecasting a return to profit in the fourth quarter of FY 2021. This is being underpinned by the UK/EU and ANZ regions of the business.

ANZ region

The release explains that strong domestic demand in the ANZ region means that client activity is nearing pre-pandemic levels.

For example, last week total client activity climbed to 85% of FY 2019 booking levels in the local market. New Zealand was particularly positive, with trading above 160% of FY 2019 booking levels during the period.

Europe and US

Positively, despite lockdowns in the UK and Europe, significant essential travel client wins in this region have continued to contribute profitability to the company.

Whereas over in the US, the company is experiencing positive signs of activity recovery.

Furthermore, it notes that these regions have the most advanced vaccination rollouts and are on track for all people over 18 years of age to be vaccinated by June/July.

This supports expectations of rapid return to corporate domestic travel and meaningful levels of pan-European and trans-Atlantic travel after the northern hemisphere summer vacation.

Given that ~70% of pro forma FY 2019 revenue was generated from the US and the UK, this is very encouraging for the company.

Balance sheet remains strong

Another positive supporting the Corporate Travel Management share price is its balance sheet update.

At the end of March, the company had net cash of approximately $105 million with no debt and an undrawn line of credit of 100 million pounds.

Management believes this leaves the company well positioned for any industry consolidation that may occur.

The company’s Managing Director, Jamie Pherous, commented: “It is very clear from both customer feedback and client activity that businesses are keen to get back on the road. Corporate travel and company success are highly correlated – the ability to connect face-to-face supports businesses to grow at speed, improve supply chain and productivity gains, and for companies and their employees to align on strategy in ways that virtual environments simply cannot match.”

“Now that both the US and UK markets are well advanced in their vaccination programs, with adults ‘at risk’ and over 50s largely vaccinated, travel restrictions are on the verge of being relaxed. This will allow businesses in these regions to gain a competitive advantage on the rest of the world in economic trade and recovery, and we expect that recovery to accelerate further by June/July based on the majority of all adults being vaccinated,” he added.

More reading

• Airbnb predicts huge rebound, ASX travel shares in the hot seat
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX sees 7,000 points once more
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Top broker picks the best ASX shares to buy for the new quarter
• ASX 200 dips lower, Webjet drops, REA bids for Mortgage Choice

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Corporate Travel Management Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Why the Corporate Travel Management (ASX:CTD) share price is soaring today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3sBcSxV

There are high expectations for ASX banks ahead of next month’s reporting season and the Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) share price could be a standout.

The analysts at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) extrapolated the strong results from US banks. It believes the ANZ Bank share price could be the biggest winner on the back of the US trend.

Banks in the US have posted around 14% year-on-year growth in trading income for the first quarter of calendar 2020.

US profits bolstering earnings expectations for ASX banks

This is a significant indicator for ASX banks. Trading and markets income are one of the most difficult things to forecast for our sector.

“While Australian banks composition of markets and trading income differs from the US banks with a more significant proportion of revenue coming from rates and FX, recent trends from US investment banks suggest further upside risk in markets income in 1H21,” said Macquarie.

“Our analysis highlights that ANZ appears to be more leveraged to the trends observed from offshore peers.”

Why ANZ Bank has most to gain

This is because ANZ Bank has a larger global markets business compared to the other three big banks.

Macquarie calculated that there is around a 90% correlation between ANZ Bank’s income relative to US banks.

This doesn’t mean that the National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) share price and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price won’t benefit from the upbeat trend in the US.

But their income is less correlated to the US, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) is only slightly correlated, added Macquarie.

ASX banks getting an earnings upgrade

For this reason, the broker upgraded ANZ Bank’s FY21 cash earnings forecasts by 1.9%. The other three banks got a modest upgrade of between 0.3% and 0.6% each.

On the other hand, I suspect the favourable US banking results is even better news for the Macquarie share price.

Afterall, our home-grown investment bank has an even larger exposure to global markets than our domestic banks.

The big four generate most of their earnings from home loans. This is why investors already have high hopes for ASX banks heading into the May reporting season.

As it stands the share prices of ASX banks have outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) in the past few months.

Skyrocketing residential prices and a big jump in demand for mortgages are big profit tailwinds for ASX bank shares.

More reading

• Why the Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price is flying right now
• 3 sectors Aussies are splashing cash on right now
• 650,000 Aussies sign up for Afterpay (ASX:APT) Mastercard
• Westpac (ASX:WBC) reports ‘extraordinary’ Australian consumer confidence
• Treasurer outlines federal budget focus as IMF upgrades Australian outlook

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Limited, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Macquarie Group Limited, National Australia Bank Limited, and Westpac Banking. Connect with me on Twitter @brenlau.

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

The post ANZ Bank’s (ASX:ANZ) profit result could get an extra boost: Macquarie appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2RPRGaO

The Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) share price is on the move today after the graphite miner’s latest quarterly report.

Why is the Syrah share price on the move?

Shares in the Aussie graphite fell 0.5% in early trade after providing an update for the period ended 31 March 2021 (Q1 2021). 

Syrah’s key value proposition remains in the electric vehicle (EV) market. Syrah is a primary producer of high quality graphite and graphene, which are key components for EV batteries.

The Aussie miner reported strong EV sales during the quarter, up 140% on Q1 2020 to over 1.1 million units. Ramp-up is continuing at the group’s flagship Balama Graphite Operation with positive grade and recoveries.

The Syrah share price has been on a recovery path in the past 12 months, climbing over 350% to the current $1.06 per share valuation. Shares in the graphite producer are falling this morning following the update despite reporting growing plant utilisation and production volumes.

Syrah reported increased natural graphite demand from EV sales growth. Active Anode Material (AAM) production volumes continue to grow after being disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic on both the supply and demand side.

Syrah said that was supportive of the production resumption at Balama in March 2021 ahead of schedule. Easing COVID-19 restrictions, stronger market conditions and new enquiries from customers all played a part in the decision.

Syrah produced 4,700 tonnes and shipped 2,300 tonnes of prior sales from product inventory to established customers. That comes after restructuring to enhance yield unit cost reduction upon commencement.

Increasing plant utilisation and natural graphite production have the company working towards 15,000 tonnes per month subject to demand.

Foolish takeaway

The Syrah share price has been under pressure following the update as the broader market slumps lower. At the time of writing, shares in the Aussie miner are down 0.5% to $1.06 per share as investors react to the latest news.

More reading

• Syrah (ASX:SYR) share price dips lower despite positive update

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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.

The post Why the Syrah (ASX:SYR) share price is moving today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3xfbzIn

The Nuheara Ltd (ASX: NUH) share price is on the move this morning. This comes after the company announced a positive development with a major contract.

At the time of writing, the hearing solutions provider’s shares are swapping hands for 5.3 cents, up 6%.

What did Nuheara announce?

Investors are pushing Nuheara shares higher following the company’s latest update.

According to this morning’s release, Nuheara advised it has begun mass production of HP Elite Wireless Earbuds for HP Inc (NYSE: HPQ). This follows HP’s recent approval of the initial samples, paving the way for commercial production.

Nuheara highlighted that this will be the first product to be manufactured under the umbrella supply agreement. Both parties entered into a partnership arrangement in late December last year.

The Elite Wireless Earbuds will be offered as bundled options to customers with the purchase of select HP notebook computers.

Large-scale manufacturing of the Elite Earbuds has started, with shipment to take place in early May 2021.

What did the CEO say?

Nuheara CEO Justin Miller commented on the partnership agreement:

We are incredibly proud to be working and developing products for HP, a global technology leader. Nuheara’s co-development of the new HP Elite Wireless Earbuds has seen this new product delivered, from concept to mass production, in record time.

Our strong working relationship with HP has been critical in developing and manufacturing this product seamlessly. As global leaders in our respective markets of PCs and Hearables, Nuheara anticipates the strengthening of this partnership over the next three years to continue the supply of innovative audio solutions to HP’s customers.

About the Nuheara share price

The Nuheara share price has accelerated to more than 200% in the last 12 months, particularly from July 2020 onwards. The company’s shares reached a 52-week high of 6.6 cents in August before moving in circles thereafter.

On valuation grounds, Nuheara commands a market capitalisation of around $86.1 million, with 1.7 billion shares on issue.

More reading

• Why the Nuix (ASX:NXL) share price is crashing 16% lower today
• Why the Splitit (ASX:SPT) share price is sinking 5% lower today
• Altium (ASX:ALU) share price tumbles on broker downgrade
• Leading brokers give their verdict on the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price
• PayPal will target cross-border payments in China

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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.

The post Why the Nuheara (ASX:NUH) share price is soaring 6% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3sFyWaC

The Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL) share price is crashing lower on Wednesday following the release of an update to its guidance for FY 2021.

At the time of writing, the investigative analytics and intelligence software provider’s shares are down 16% to $4.27.

What did Nuix announce?

According to the release, during April, a significant and larger than expected number of Nuix’s customers, including one of its largest, elected to transition from module-based subscription licenses to consumption and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) license models.

This has resulted in a shift in both revenue and Annualised Contract Value (ACV) profiles.

In addition to this, Nuix revealed that some of its law firm, advisory and service provider customers have also recently informed it of a reduced add-on (upsell) requirement for existing licenses.

This is because of both their unutilised license capacity in the current climate, as well as the recovery in legal case backlog being slower than anticipated.

Management notes that the accelerated switch to consumption licenses, including SaaS, is primarily driven by changing customer business models. This is being caused in part by a shift from office settings to remote working environments and the need to have flexible global licensing to manage projects in line with data privacy and sovereignty requirements.

Nuix notes that it also reflects the attractiveness for many customers of a decision by the company to provide greater choice in deployment. This includes on-premise and in the cloud hybrid solutions, which assists customers as they evaluate their transition toward consumption licenses.

What impact will this have on its guidance?

The above factors have led to Nuix downgrading its guidance just over six weeks after reaffirming it following media criticism.

Nuix is now expecting pro forma revenue of $180 million to $185 million in FY 2021. This compares unfavourably to its guidance of $193.5 million.

The company’s ACV is now expected to be in the range of $168 million to $177 million this year. This falls well short of its forecast of $199.6 million.

One slight positive, though, is that its pro forma EBITDA is expected to be $64.6 million to $66.6 million, which is higher than its guidance of $63.6 million.

Nuix’s CEO, Rod Vawdrey, commented: “Over the last 18 months, Nuix has enabled its customers to move from module-based subscription licenses to more flexible consumption-based licensing models. The increasing rate of adoption of consumption licenses has had a positive impact on new business and existing retention notwithstanding a transitory downward impact on FY21 revenue. Giving our customers the choice in how they consume Nuix is a key competitive advantage.”

“The fundamental revenue drivers for Nuix are strong and underpinned by a growing order book and pipeline. It reflects the underlying strength of the Nuix software offering, a sticky, loyal customer base, strong growth in new business and an increase in order size. We look forward to shareholder participation in Nuix’s Investor Day in May.”

More reading

• 2 of the best mid cap ASX shares to buy
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares in the Q1 of 2021
• 2 stellar mid cap ASX shares to buy in April
• Airtasker (ASX:ART) share price cools after explosive IPO

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

The post Why the Nuix (ASX:NXL) share price is crashing 16% lower today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2RInkqw

The Splitit Ltd (ASX: SPT) share price is under pressure this morning following the release of its first quarter update.

At the time of writing, the buy now pay later (BNPL) provider’s shares are down 5% to 80.5 cents.

How did Splitit perform in the fourth quarter?

Splitit has just completed a reasonably disappointing first quarter of FY 2021.

Although the headline number looks impressive, digging a little deeper there are worrying signs for the BNPL provider.

For the three months ended 31 March, the company achieved Merchant Sales Volume (MSV) of US$82 million. While this was an increase of 247% compared to the same period last year, it was actually down 5% quarter on quarter from US$86.3 million.

It is also well short of what many of its rivals are reporting. For example, Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) just reported quarterly underlying sales of $5.2 billion and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) delivered quarterly transaction volume to $1.6 billion.

In respect to revenue, Splitit recorded first quarter gross revenue of US$2.7 million, which was up 292% on the prior corresponding period. Though, once again, it was down from gross revenue of US$2.9 million in the fourth quarter.

If this trend continues throughout the remainder of FY 2021, it will lead to Splitit going backwards in respect to MSV and revenue. This could be bad news for the Splitit share price given its lofty valuation on limited revenue.

Why is slowing Splitit’s growth?

Management blamed the slowdown in its growth on a deliberate shift away from debit cards. It believes its MSV in Q1 2021 would have surpassed its fourth quarter MSV if it were not for the shift.

The company advised that it has made the switch as credit cards present a significantly lower risk profile for the company.

What else did Splitit report?

The company’s closing cash position was US$75 million. This follows cash burn of US$7.6 million during the quarter.

Also catching the eye was management’s intriguing decision to no longer report repeat shoppers, 12-month active customers, or 12-month active merchant data.

It doesn’t believe these are appropriate near-term performance metrics but rather long-term growth avenues. As a result, it will cease reporting these metrics for the foreseeable future.

Given how these are good indicators of how BNPL providers are performing, and standard metrics in the industry, its decision to not disclose them could be concerning for investors.

In light of this and its slowing growth, it isn’t overly surprising to see the Splitit share price tumble today.

More reading

• How does Afterpay’s (ASX:APT) growth rates compare to peers?
• Why IGO, Orocobre, Splitit, & Zip shares are charging higher
• Why the Splitit (ASX:SPT) share price is up 7% this morning
• The Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price is up almost 20% this month
• What’s with the Splitit (ASX:SPT) share price today?

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 ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Why the Splitit (ASX:SPT) share price is sinking 5% lower today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3gqylXT

The Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) share price has come under pressure for a second day in a row.

In morning trade, the electronic design software company’s shares are down 3% to $27.59.

Why is the Altium share price under pressure?

On Tuesday the Altium share price tumbled lower following the release of a note out of Citi.

Although the broker remains positive and has held firm with its buy rating, it suggested the company could fall short of expectations in FY 2021.

This follows some heavy discounting, which it fears could be a sign of weak market conditions.

Why is it dropping further today?

It hasn’t taken long for another broker to pick up on this discounting.

This morning Bell Potter responded to the news by downgrading the company’s shares to a sell rating and cutting the price target on them by 3.5% to $27.50.

However, based on the current Altium share price, this implies only modest downside from where it trades now.

What did Bell Potter say?

Bell Potter commented: “Altium is discounting the price of a term licence for its Altium Designer (AD) software by 50% in the first year. At this stage the offer is valued for two months – till 18th June – and is limited to two licenses per customer at this price. The price for a perpetual licence, however, appears to be unchanged and, for instance, in Australia remains A$11, 590 (A$9,495 for the licence and A$2,045 for the one year subscription).”

“The discounting of just the term licence differs from around this time last when the company was aggressively discounting the price of a perpetual licence by around 40%. The discounting suggests Altium is pursuing subscriber growth before the end of the financial year – both in new AD seats sold and 365 users – though this will have negative short term impact on revenue. The impact is also likely to be accentuated as it will further incentivise new customers to buy a term rather than perpetual licence,” it added.

More reading

• Aussie dollar shoots higher! Here are some ASX winners
• Why Altium, Challenger, Lynas, & Sydney Airport shares are sinking
• Why the Altium (ASX:ALU) share price is sinking today but could rebound strongly
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX 200 hits new post-COVID high
• 2 five-star stocks to buy

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

The post Altium (ASX:ALU) share price tumbles on broker downgrade appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3atmTa5

On Tuesday the Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price dropped lower despite the release of an impressive third quarter update.

The payments company’s shares dropped almost 1% to $125.23.

What happened in the third quarter?

For the three months ended 31 March, Afterpay continued its strong form by reporting a 104% increase in underlying sales to $5.2 billion.

This comprises a 167% increase in North American sales to $2.6 billion, a 48% lift in ANZ sales to $2.1 billion, and a 246% jump in the UK sales to $0.5 billion.

This strong performance was driven by a 75% increase in active customers globally to 14.6 million and increasing customer frequency across all regions.

Also catching the eye was news that there may soon by an Afterpay share price trading on US markets. Afterpay notes that the US is now its biggest market and its shareholder base is increasingly becoming more globally focused. It feels a US listing would further accommodate this growing interest.

Where do brokers think the Afterpay share price is going?

Analysts at Credit Suisse were pleased with Afterpay’s sales growth during the quarter. And while its customer growth fell a touch short of expectations, the broker has retained its outperform rating and $145.00 price target.

The ultra bearish UBS has held firm with its sell rating and $36.00 price target on the company’s shares. They are concerned that its US listing could distract management, particularly given the requirement for more rigorous quarterly reporting.

Over at Morgans, its analysts have retained their hold rating and trimmed its price target slightly to $121.00.

Analysts at Wilsons have reduced their price target but remains positive on the company. Wilsons has a buy rating and $151.05 price target on Afterpay’s shares.

And yesterday, after a first look at its result, Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) held firm with its neutral rating and $120.00 price target. It noted that Afterpay’s numbers were in line with its expectations.

Over at RBC Capital, yesterday its analysts noted that Afterpay fell a touch short of its expectations in the third quarter. However, it remains confident it can still achieve its full year forecasts. RBC had an outperform rating and $150.00 price target at that point.

Based on the above, brokers appear largely undecided on the direction the Afterpay share price is going from here.

More reading

• Latitude (ASX:LFS) makes a splash on its ASX debut
• 3 excellent small cap ASX shares to watch closely
• BrainChip and Zip were among the most traded ASX shares last week
• Is the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price in the buy zone after its update?
• 650,000 Aussies sign up for Afterpay (ASX:APT) Mastercard

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Leading brokers give their verdict on the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2QKyOsZ