If you’re currently in retirement or approaching it, you’ll probably be looking for ways to boost your income in this low interest rate environment.

But which ASX shares should you turn to? Two top options for retirees to look at are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

BWP Trust (ASX: BWP)

BWP could be a good ASX share to buy for a retirement portfolio. It is a commercial real estate investment trust with a focus on warehouses.

The company generates the vast majority of its rental income from properties leased to home improvement giant Bunnings Warehouse.

At the last count, BWP leased 68 of its 75 properties to the hardware giant, making it the largest owner of Bunnings properties.

Given the strength of the Bunnings business, this has proven to be a big positive. Particularly for shareholders that have benefited from growing distributions over the last decade. And with Bunnings experiencing strong demand again in 2021, the future looks positive for BWP.

Ord Minnett is expecting the company to pay an 18 cents per share distribution in FY 2021. Based on the current BWP share price, this represents a 4.5% distribution yield.

Transurban Group (ASX: TCL)

Another ASX share to look at for a retirement portfolio is Transurban. It is one of the world’s leading toll road operators.

Given the quality of its roads, the time-savings they provide, and their strong pricing power, Transurban looks well-placed to resume its growth again once the pandemic passes and traffic volumes recover. This should be supported by new developments and growth projects over the coming years.

One broker that is positive on the company is Macquarie. It recently put an outperform rating and $14.76 price target on its shares.

Furthermore, the broker is forecasting dividends of 40.5 cents per share and 60.4 cents per share in FY 2021 and FY 2022, respectively. Based on the current Transurban share price, this equates to yields of 3.1% and 4.7% over the next two years.

More reading

• Why the Transurban (ASX:TCL) share price is on watch
• 3 ways to help protect your ASX share portfolio against inflation
• 2 quality ASX dividend shares to buy this month
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Inflation fears hold ASX down
• 2 top ASX dividend shares to buy for your income portfolio

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Transurban 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 Hub24 Ltd (ASX: HUB) share price is zooming higher but this could be the perfect time to lock in profits, according to JPMorgan.

The Hub24 share price surged 5% to $21.80 in the last hour of trade and has increased by three-fold over the past year.

But JPMorgan thinks now is the time to sell the shares as it downgraded Hub24 to “underweight” (equivalent to a “sell”).

Margin squeeze triggers downgrade for Hub24

The downgrade comes after Hub24’s rival, the Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL) share price, said its deposit agreement with the Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) was terminated.

The agreement paid Netwealth an enviable 95 basis point premium over the cash rate for deposits on its platform.

The cash rate is currently set at 0.1% by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). You’d be hard pressed to find a rate close to 1% for your cash!

Small cut makes for material drop in earnings

“Cash margin drops straight through to EBITDA for HUB and NWL,” said JPMoran.

“And any repricing or downward pressure on the rate is likely to have a material impact on earnings.

“At a high level, cash margin currently accounts for ~34% of NWL’s FY21E EBITDA and up to 47% of HUB’s FY21E EBITDA.”

How low rates will hurt Hub24 and Netwealth share prices

The broker estimated that every 10-basis point (0.1%) decrease in the cash margin will cut around 4% off both companies’ earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) figure.

“Given where interest rates are, and the messaging from the RBA, we have rebased our FY23 estimates to a cash margin of 55bps (i.e., 45bps over a 10bps overnight cash rate),” added JPMorgan.

“This translates into a ~20% reduction in FY23E EBITDA for both HUB and NWL.”

The cash rate is unlikely to move higher anytime soon too. The RBA has given a verbal commitment to keep the rate at record lows till 2024 at least as Australia cycles through the economic impact of COVID-19.

Valuation downgrade

The impact of JPMorgan’s revised cash margin assumption led to a drop in its 12-month price target on the Hub24 share price to $18.30 from $23.30 a share.

The Netwealth share price isn’t spared either. The broker’s 12-month target on the ASX share falls to $11.80 from $14.50 a share.

And in case you are wondering, JPMorgan’s recommendation on Netwealth is kept at “underweight”.

More reading

• What moved the Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price this week
• Why Galaxy, HUB24, Paradigm, & Telstra shares are pushing higher
• Is it time to buy HUB24 (ASX:HUB) and Netwealth (ASX:NWL) shares?
• ASX 200 rises, Brickworks builds, Netwealth sinks
• Why Airtasker, Netwealth, Piedmont Lithium, & Resolute Mining are tumbling lower

Brendon Lau owns shares of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Hub24 Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Netwealth. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Hub24 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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The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price has slipped again over the past 24 hours, down 1.2%. Bitcoin is currently trading for US$51,826 (AU$68,192) having dropped as low as US$50,662 earlier in the day (or night, depending on time zones).

There’s been plenty of trading going on, with data from CoinDesk showing US$63.86 billion worth of Bitcoin has changed virtual hands in the past 24 hours.

But with the Bitcoin price now down 16% from its 14 March record high of US$61,557, crypto investors are asking themselves whether the digital token flew too high too fast.

Did the Bitcoin price fly too close to the sun?

You may recall the ancient Greek story of the inventor Daedalus. He’s the one who constructed wings from feathers and wax so he and his son Icarus could flee the island of Crete. The problem with wax, of course, is that it’s prone to melting. Hence Daedalus’ painstaking instructions to his son not to fly too close to the sun.

Well, like any good teenager, Icarus ignored his dad’s advice. Thrilling in soaring ever higher, the sun’s heat eventually melted the wax holding the feathers to his wings. And Icarus plunged ever lower before drowning in the sea.

Yes, the ancient Greeks were full of uplifting stories.

But if you’ll forgive the stretched analogy, more analysts are saying they’re concerned that the meteoric rise in the Bitcoin price could lead to a meltdown of its own. Even with the 16% retracement from its record high, the Bitcoin price is still up 675% in the past 12 months.

Indeed, despite Elon Musk announcing Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) will accept Bitcoin – and hold onto it – for its electric vehicles this week, Bitcoin’s price continues to slide.

Bitcoin in a downtrend

Yesterday the Bitcoin price temporarily dropped below its 50-day moving average. Which could be a portent of more falls to come.

As Bloomberg reports, Miller Tabak + Co. chief market strategist Matt Maley says Bitcoin’s 50-day average price has “been a key support level so far this year… [A] lower-low below that level would scare a lot of momentum players.”

Julius de Kempenaer, senior analyst at StockCharts.com, adds:

Shorter-term, what happened yesterday, and following through today, means the start of a new series of lower highs and lower lows, and that’s categorized as a downtrend. It means that we are now in a downtrend on the daily chart and it also means that the upside is now limited.

More reading

• At today’s Bitcoin price that’ll be 2 Bitcoin for a Tesla Model S
• Here’s an ASX tech share flying under the radar: fundie
• 3 ways to help protect your ASX share portfolio against inflation
• How to counter the ASX 200’s Achilles heel
• 4 reasons ARK recently increased its Tesla share price target to US$3,000

Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Bitcoin and 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.

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Every so often, I like to take a look to see which shares have experienced meaningful insider buying. This is because insider buying is often regarded as a bullish indicator, as few people know a company and its intrinsic value better than its own directors.

A number of shares have reported meaningful insider buying this month. Here are a couple which have caught my eye:

SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK)

According to a change of director’s interest notice, one of this job listings company’s directors has been buying shares this week. The notice reveals that non executive director, Linda Kristjanson AO, picked up her first shares since joining the company in October last year.

Kristjanson bought 1,137 shares through an on-market trade on 23 March. She paid an average of $27.688 per share, which equates to a total consideration of $31,481.

One broker that would approve of this purchase is UBS. Last month the broker upgraded SEEK’s shares to a buy rating with a $32.00 price target.

Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE)

Another change of director’s interest notice reveals that one of this global wine company’s non executive directors has added to their position this month. According to the release, Antonia Korsansos had made two purchases of Treasury Wine Estates shares this month.

The first was for 3,750 shares on 12 March and the second was for the same number of shares a few days later on 15 March. Both purchases were made on-market at an average of $11.14 per share. This equates to a total consideration of $83,550. These purchases have increased Ms Korsansos’ holding to a total of 12,500 shares.

The broker community isn’t as confident on Treasury Wines’ prospects. Earlier this month Credit Suisse and Ord Minnett both downgraded the company’s shares to neutral ratings with $11.30 and $11.50 price targets, respectively.

More reading

• 2 high yield ASX dividend shares to buy today
• Which ASX shares with ethical values are seeing returns in 2021?
• Why Flight Centre, Northern Star, Southern Cross Media, & Treasury Wine are sinking
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• ASX 200 down 0.9%: Flight Centre & Webjet jump, Afterpay sinks

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of SEEK Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Treasury Wine Estates Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended SEEK 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 Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is down 0.64% at $85.99 in late afternoon trading.

CBA shares are slipping despite the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) edging higher today, up 0.6%.

If CBA closes in the red today it will join Wednesday as the second day of losses this week. The Commonwealth Bank share price gains posted on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday are enough, however, to see shares up 2.4% over the past 5 days, beating the 1.4% gains on the ASX 200.

So let’s take a look at what moved the Commonwealth Bank share price this week?

One CBA legal headache subsides as another emerges

On Monday CBA, along with Australia and New Zealand Banking Grp Ltd (ASX: ANZ), reported it had settled a long-standing class-action suit in the United States.

The 2 big banks were part of a group of 17 financial institutions along with 2 international brokerage firms accused of manipulating the bank bill swap rate (BBSW) in the US.

The Commonwealth Bank share price closed up 0.44% on Monday following news that the 2016 lawsuit had been settled.

Today a new, though arguably much smaller, legal headache emerged from the bank.

According to the Finance Sector Union, CBA owes thousands of workers a total of $45 million as they’ve been unable to take the 10-minute tea breaks, which they are contractually allowed to take with pay. Commonwealth Bank has rejected the allegations and said it has yet to see any supporting evidence.

Concerns of bad home loans easing

As the coronavirus wreaked havoc on the Australian economy through much of 2020, analysts and economists were increasingly concerned that a wave of home loan defaults was on the horizon.

While those concerns haven’t entirely disappeared, the most recent data from CBA showed the bank’s consumer home loans in arrears had dropped during the second half of 2020. As at 30 June, 0.63% of Commonwealth Bank’s consumer home loans were overdue by more than 90 days. By 31 December that figure was 0.57%.

Now that’s not a huge decline, to be sure. But it’s certainly moving in the right direction. If this positive trend continues in 2021, it may help support the Commonwealth Bank share price moving forward.

More reading

• ASX 200 rises, Brickworks builds, Netwealth sinks
• Why is the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price up 5% in a week?
• ASX 200 up 0.3%: Brickworks impresses, Resolute hammered, Netwealth crashes
• Why the Netwealth (ASX:NWL) share price is sinking 15% lower today
• Is CBA (ASX:CBA) the best bank for dividends in 2021

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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 What moved the Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART) share price is on the rebound today, currently climbing 6.3% higher to $1.435. This comes after the company witnessed a heavy decline yesterday with some investors keen to take a quick profit.

With no news out of the company today, let’s take a look back at its successful initial public offering (IPO).

Quick take on Airtasker

Established in 2012, Airtasker is an online marketplace that allows users to outsource everyday tasks to people who are seeking work. Jobs can range from home cleaning, office admin and handyman work to photography, computer and IT support and more.

Airtasker makes its money from a service fee that is deducted from the agreed offer price of the services.

Successful IPO

While it’s well documented that IPOs can be hit and miss, the surging Airtasker share price has exceeded investor expectations, tripling in value in its first two days of trade.

Before officially listing on the ASX on Tuesday this week, the company was hoping to raise $83.7 million to accelerate its growth strategy. The offer saw the issue of 23.1 million new shares and 105.6 million existing shares for sale at 65 cents apiece.

On the day of listing, Airtasker revealed it was more than 5 times oversubscribed by institutional and retail investors. Furthermore, its Tasker community and staff subscribed more than 10 times the initial offering. The average Airtasker staff member participating in the IPO had an average investment of $22,400.

The positive take up of the offer came on the back of the company’s robust demand for its services during COVID-19. Airtasker stated that all metrics across its business are continuing to perform and it expects to either meet or exceed its prospectus forecast. FY21 revenue is targeted to be $24.5 million, with gross marketplace volume (GMV) of $143.7 million.

Airtasker share price summary

Since its IPO listing on Tuesday, the Airtasker share price has gone from strength to strength, accelerating by more than 120%. The company’s shares reach an all-time high of $1.965 yesterday before retreating to their current level.

On valuation grounds, Airtasker presides a market capitalisation of roughly $573 million, with close to 393 million shares outstanding.

More reading

• Airtasker (ASX:ART) share price insanity: Is this the ASX’s GameStop?
• Airtasker (ASX:ART) share price sinks 17% after explosive IPO
• Why Airtasker, Netwealth, Piedmont Lithium, & Resolute Mining are tumbling lower
• ASX 200 rises, Airtasker soars again, Westpac considers NZ
• Airtasker (ASX:ART) share price surges a further 86% higher

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 A review on the meteoric rise of the Airtasker (ASX:ART) share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price is on fire today. Pilbara shares opened at 96 cents a share this morning, but have risen, at the time of writing to $1.04 a share, up 9.74%. That makes it one of the day’s top 3 performers on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)

Pilbara is not a company known for its calm, tranquil journey on the ASX. At the current share price, Pilbara shares are up 17.8% year to date. However, they are also down 25% from the company’s 52-week high of $1.37 which we saw back in mid-January. Even so, Pilbara is up a whopping 542% over the past 12 months.

So what is this company? And why is the Pilbara share price on fire today?

A lithium miner, if you please

Pilbara Minerals is primarily a lithium and tantalum miner. Lithium is known for its applications in modern electronics, most prominently in lithium-ion batteries that are standard in most modern rechargeable electronic devices. This includes smartphones, as well as electric vehicles.

Tantalum is also a metal that is primarily used in electronics. Namely in capacitors and resistors that are a critical component of electronic circuit boards. For Pilbara, it is a valuable byproduct of its lithium extraction.

Pilbara Minerals’ primary asset is its Pilgangoora Lithium-Tantalum Project in Western Australia. This project currently outputs around 2 million tonnes of ore per annum.

But Pilbara aims to expand this production to 7.5 million tonnes per annum. Lithium is a highly strategic asset due to its growing importance in the manufacturing of essential electronics.

Pilbara predicts that global demand for lithium-ion batteries will “experience unprecedented growth” over the coming decades. To try and capture some of the future value creation from this growth, Pilbara also boasts a partnership with the Korean company POSCO for a jointly developed processing facility in South Korea.

Why is the Pilbara share price on fire today?

There’s no obvious reason why Pilbara shares are rising so enthusiastically today. The last major announcement from the miner was an agreement with GLX Digital to establish a new trading and sales software platform for its Pilgangoora Project.

While this was undoubtedly a welcome development for the company, it was also back on 18 March. So investors have had a lot of time to digest that bit of news.

Another development that might be assisting the Pilbara share price today is the recent ASX 200 rebalance that was executed by the index’s administrators. As of Monday, Pilbara officially joined the ASX 200, the ASX’s most-tracked index. Since many exchange-traded funds (ETFs) mirror this index and are mandated to hold whatever the index holds, we shouldn’t be surprised to see the Pilbara share price climb in the aftermath of this rebalancing.

Finally, it’s worth mentioning the inherently volatile nature of lithium companies on the ASX. Lithium miners have long had a reputation for volatility. That’s due to the speculative nature of many investors that pay attention to this space.

There was an infamous ‘lithium bubble’ in this sector back in 2017. This was fuelled by rampant speculation that lithium prices were about to hit the stratosphere due to the coming mass-adoption of electric vehicles. This of course failed to materialise in a meaningful way, resulting in Pilbara losing 86% of its value between January 2018 and March 2020.

So the moves we see today in the Pilbara Minerals share price could just come down to a combination of all of these factors. Either way, shareholders will no doubt be pleased with the day’s developments. At the current share price, Pilbara Minerals has a market capitalisation of $2.95 billion.

More reading

• Why the CIMIC (ASX:CIM) share price is lifting this morning
• Santos (ASX:STO) share price rises on production update
• Why is the ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) so reliant on the US stock market?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• ASX 200 rises, Brickworks builds, Netwealth sinks

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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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One small cap’s initial public offering (IPO) today got the attention of Australia’s market bigwigs but managed to slip under most market watchers’ radars.

Mad Paws Holdings Limited (ASX: MPA) is enjoying its first day on the ASX today. Particularly, as its pre-IPO investors included ASX heavyweight Qantas Airways (ASX: QAN) as well as Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART) founder and CEO, Tim Fung.

We don’t know much about Mad Paws’ ASX listing as yet. Though, we do know it has a market capitalisation of around $45 million. And also that its IPO, which raised $12 million, was more than four times oversubscribed.

The IPO was made up of high quality institutional and sophisticated investors and a number of retail shareholders. Also included in the IPO were more than 400 users of the company’s service, who were eager to invest alongside Tim Fung and Qantas.

At the time of writing, the Mad Paws share price is trading 17.5% higher at 23.5 cents, having also fallen by around 17% from its opening price of 28.5 cents. Anyone who managed to invest in the Mad Paws IPO will still be sitting pretty, as they could have snapped up the company’s shares for 20 cents apiece.

More about Mad Paws

Mad Paws launched in Australia in 2015, connecting pet owners with pet sitters, walkers and other pet service providers.

Mad Paws is currently purely a proprietary technology platform, but the company plans to expand beyond pet care services. It has recently launched a pet food subscription product, Dinner Bowl. It also plans to introduce a pet insurance product in the first half of 2021.

The company has over 19,000 pet service providers using its marketplace across Australia and over 450,000 user sign ups. More than 180,000 services have been booked through Mad Paws since launch. 

Commentary from management 

Mad Paws chair Jan Pacas said the company has been extremely happy with the ASX’s response to its IPO.

…the IPO capital raise [was] 4x oversubscribed, which allowed us to build a strong investor base from both the institutional as well as the retail side. We are particularly excited about the take up from our customer and pet service provider base, with the priority offer being significantly oversubscribed for a total final allocation of $1 million of the $12 million IPO raise.

More reading

• Why Galilee Energy, Hansen, Polynovo, & TPG shares are tumbling lower
• Why the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price just hit a 7-month high
• Why the Immutep (ASX:IMM) share price is rocketing 39% higher today
• Fatfish (ASX:FFG) share price jumps 9% on positive update
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy right now

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

The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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In afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end the week on a high. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.6% to 6,830.6 points.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here’s why they are tumbling lower:

Galilee Energy Ltd (ASX: GLL)

The Galileee Energy share price is down 2.5% to 78 cents. This is despite a positive announcement by the oil and gas exploration company this morning relating to its Glenaras multi well pilot programme in the Galilee Basin. According to the release, following recent heavy rainfall, all council roads have now been re-opened and equipment and subcontractor mobilisations are currently underway.

Hansen Technologies Limited (ASX: HSN)

The Hansen share price is down 2% to $5.40 despite there being no news out of the company. However, with the billing technology company’s shares up strongly this year, this decline could be due to profit taking. Prior to today, the Hansen share price was up almost 50% since the start of the year.

Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV)

The Polynovo share price has fallen 3.5% to $2.90. This also appears to have be a case of profit taking after some strong recent gains. After a 5% gain on Thursday, the medical device company’s shares were up an impressive 28% in the space of just over two weeks. A further expansion in Europe and a deal with Premier Inc have supported its shares.

TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG)

The TPG Telecom share price has sunk over 7% to $6.37. Investors have been selling the telco’s shares on Friday after the shock resignation of its Founder and Chairman, David Teoh. Mr Teoh revealed that he felt that “now would be the right time…to step aside and pursue other interests.” Replacing Mr Teoh will be board member Canning Fok. David Teoh described Fok as “one of the most capable business leaders in the world.”

More reading

• Why the TPG Telecom (ASX:TPG) share price is plummeting today
• TPG Telecom (ASX:TPG) share price slumps 6% as founder resigns
• Brokers are bullish on these 4 ASX 200 shares
• The PolyNovo (ASX:PNV) share price jumps 5% with its latest news
• ASX 200 rises, Brickworks builds, Netwealth sinks

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 Hansen Technologies and POLYNOVO FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Hansen Technologies. 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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Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) shares are having a fantastic day today. The Telstra share price is up a healthy 2.4% at the time of writing to $3.41 after hitting $3.44 earlier today. That’s the highest share price Telstra has enjoyed since August 2020, a good 7 months ago now.

It’s a move Telstra shareholders would have enjoyed too. Since hitting a new 52-week low of $2.66 back in October, Telstra shares are now up around 28% on today’s prices. The company is also up around 12% since 11 March, and up 14% year to date.

So what is causing this climb in the Telstra share price?

Well, the latest piece of hot gossip out of Telstra came this morning. As we covered earlier, Telstra has decided to call it a day on the New Zealand Stock Exchange and will delist on the NZX on 16 June. Whilst that is an interesting development (and may spark some good-natured trans-Tasman schadenfreude from ASX investors), it is unlikely to be a catalyst for today’s upward move in the Telstra share price.

That’s because, as the company outlined in its announcement, current New Zealand shareholders will receive ASX shares in exchange for their NZX shares, and can continue to receive their dividends in New Zealand dollars.

Telstra share price rings it in

Instead, we can probably credit Telstra’s gains today to a continuation of the positive momentum the ASX telco has been enjoying over the past few months. This has been pushed by two factors.

First, the corporate restructure that Telstra announced earlier this week. The telco is intending to separate the company into four semi-autonomous divisions by December, each housing a different portfolio of assets. These will be InfraCo Towers, InfraCo Fixed, ServeCo and Telstra International. The company is expecting this move to unlock value for shareholders. As well as potentially allow InfraCo Fixed to bid for the nbn network when it is eventually sold by the government. It won’t be a full-blown spin-off, with shareholders still owning a holding company called Telstra Group. But it seems to have gotten investors excited, nonetheless.

Secondly, Telstra’s generous dividend seems to have caught the eye of many of an investor in this era of rising government bond yields. Telstra kept its dividend steady last year at 16 cents per share. It has also committed to paying out 16 cents again this year.

Even after the recent Telstra share price gains, this still equates to a forward dividend yield of 4.69%, or 6.70% grossed-up on the current share price. That yield is among the upper echelons of what ASX 200 blue-chip shares are offering right now.

It’s likely momentum from these factors that are pushing the Telstra share price to their new highs today.

More reading

• Why Galaxy, HUB24, Paradigm, & Telstra shares are pushing higher
• Why the Centuria Industrial (ASX:CIP) share price is gaining today
• Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price on watch following NZ update
• Don’t ever buy defensive shares: fundie
• 2 highly rated ASX dividend shares to buy today

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra 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 Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price just hit a 7-month high appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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