On Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had a volatile day and ultimately ended it ever so slightly lower. The benchmark index fell to 6,713.9 points.

Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Friday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 to rise

The Australian share market looks set to end the week on a positive note. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 37 points or 0.55% higher this morning. This follows a positive night of trade on Wall Street, which in late trades sees the Dow Jones up 0.9%, the S&P 500 up 1.4%, and the Nasdaq trading 2.6% higher.

ASX 200 tech shares on watch

It could be a good day for Australian tech shares such as Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) on Friday after US tech stocks stormed higher. As mentioned above, the tech-heavy Nasdaq index is currently up 2.6%. This is thanks to solid gains by giants such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Tesla. Given how the local tech sector tends to follow the Nasdaq’s lead, this bodes well for today’s trading session.

Oil prices jump

Energy producers including Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could finish the week strongly after oil prices stormed higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 2.1% to US$65.80 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has climbed 2.3% to US$69.47 a barrel. Oil prices were given a lift by vaccine rollouts boosting the global economic outlook and U.S. gasoline stocks falling sharply.

Gold price flat

Gold miners Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) and St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) will be on watch after a flat night of trade for the gold price. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is flat at US$1,721.90 an ounce. This appears to have been driven by bond yield firming during overnight trade.

Qantas shares rated as a buy

The Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price could be going a lot higher from here according to one leading broker. A note out of Goldman Sachs this morning reveals that its analysts have reiterated their buy rating and $6.38 price target on its shares. Goldman believes the Government’s support package will underpin the domestic recovery. It also sees it as a positive for near term cash generation.

More reading

• ASX 200 unmoved, Flight Centre soars, Afterpay keeps falling
• 3 blue chip ASX shares with dividend yields over 5% today
• Will the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price bounce back?
• Should the JobKeeper payment be replaced with discounted airfares?
• Why Afterpay, Nearmap, Temple & Webster, & Z Energy are tumbling lower

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 Appen Ltd. 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.

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Unfortunately for income investors, interest rates are still at ultra low levels and unlikely to improve in the near term.

But don’t worry because the Australian share market is home to countless dividend shares offering attractive yields. Two to consider are listed below, here’s what you need to know about them:

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

The first ASX dividend share to look at is Accent. It is the leading leisure footwear retailer behind store brands such as HYPEDC, The Athlete’s Foot, and Platypus. It also owns the exclusive rights to a number of popular footwear brands in the ANZ region.

Accent has been a very strong performer in FY 2021 thanks to a favourable shift in consumer spending. This led to the company releasing its half year results last month and revealing a 6.6% increase in total sales to $541.3 million and 57.3% lift in net profit after tax to $52.8 million. The was its seventh consecutive record half year profit.

One broker that was impressed was Bell Potter. In response to its results, the broker put a buy rating and $2.65 price target on its shares. The broker is also forecasting an 11.9 cents per share dividend in FY 2021. Based on the current Accent share price, this will mean a fully franked 5% yield.

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

The second ASX dividend share to consider is Telstra. Now could be a good time to buy the telco giant’s shares after it reaffirmed its plans to maintain its dividend at 16 cents per share when it released its half year results.

But perhaps the biggest positive from the release is news that the company is aiming to return to growth in FY 2022. Thanks to the success of its T22 strategy, Telstra CEO Andy Penn has set an aspirational target for mid to high single-digit growth in underlying EBITDA in FY 2022, with further growth in FY 2023.

This appears to be a sign that the dividend cuts are finally over at long last.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs appear to believe this will be the case and are forecasting a 16 cents per share annual dividend for the foreseeable future. Based on the current Telstra share price, this will mean a 5.2% fully franked dividend yield for income investors.

The broker also sees value in Telstra’s shares at the current level. It has a buy rating and $4.00 price target on the company’s shares.

More reading

• 3 blue chip ASX shares with dividend yields over 5% today
• ASX fashion and beauty shares shine on half-year results
• Is the Accent (ASX:AX1) share price in the buy zone after today’s decline?
• Why Accent, Fortescue, Western Areas, & Zip shares are tumbling lower
• Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price and others caught in Greensill insolvency

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Limited. 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 Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) share price could be an interesting one to consider right now.

E-commerce has seen a big boom over the last 12 months and Kogan.com has certainly benefited from that.

Over the last year the Kogan share price has risen just over 230%. That’s a great return for just 12 months. But it has actually drifted quite significantly in recent weeks.

Since 25 January 2021, Kogan shares have actually fallen by 40%. You may or may not be surprised by that drop.

The FY21 half-year result included plenty of sizeable growth statistics. Gross sales grew 97.4% to $638.2 million and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) went up 211.7% to $0.35.  

Kogan.com’s board decided to increase the fully franked interim dividend by 113.3% to 16 cents.

But Kogan.com is focused on more growth over the next decade as it continues to invest in its logistics network, speed of delivery, range expansion and improved competition on the platform to drive even better experiences for customers.

Year on year, Kogan reported that its active customers grew by 76.8% to 3 million. Kogan First memberships scaled “significantly” during the first half of FY21.

3 reasons why the Kogan.com share price could be worth looking at

New Zealand expansion

Whilst New Zealand is not as big as a market as Australia, expanding there increases Kogan.com’s total addressable market.

Indeed, there may be less online competition in New Zealand than Australia because it’s a smaller market. The acquisition is called Mighty Ape, one of New Zealand’s largest online retailers with a focus on gaming, toys and other entertainment categories.

Mighty Ape was the highest ranking retailer on the 2020 Kantar customer leadership survey and it also won the most satisfied customers award for 2020 from Canstar. It had 719,000 active customers at the last public count.

Kogan.com has been integrating Mighty Ape into the business. Management said that December 2020 showed strong sales over the Christmas peak trading period with revenue of $20 million and gross profit of $5.4 million.

This acquisition also improves the Australian position through Mighty Ape’s Australian websites.

Kogan says there’s a significant opportunity to expand product offerings on both platforms and bring Kogan.com’s marketplace capability to New Zealand. Management also said that it has attractive financial metrics with expected meaningful synergies across the combined businesses.

Steadily growing profit margins

Over the past four first-half financial periods, Kogan.com has achieved growth in its gross profit margin. In the first half of FY18 the gross profit margin was 19.4% and in the first half of FY21 it had risen to 27.3%.

The contribution margin in the first half of FY18 was 11.6%, by the latest result it had gone up 15.5%.

Kogan.com’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin has risen from 6.7% in HY18 to 9.4% in HY21.

These rising margins have allowed Kogan.com’s profit growth in accelerate quicker than the revenue growth (which is growing quickly). If margins keep rising then Kogan.com can keep growing profit at a faster pace.

Kogan First members

Kogan First gives members a range of consumer benefits, which helps create a large and growing community of loyal customers who access free shipping, member discounts and other benefits.

Kogan explained that:

Kogan First members purchase on average much more often than non-members, demonstrating loyalty to the platform, and also demonstrating the significant savings available through the loyalty program.

What’s the valuation for the Kogan.com share price?

Forecasts are just predictions, but it might be useful to take them into account.

According to Commsec, the Kogan.com share price is valued at 18x FY23’s estimated earnings. In FY23 it’s projected to pay a dividend of $0.49, which translates to a grossed-up dividend yield of 5.4%.

More reading

• What’s happening with the Kogan (ASX:KGN) share price?
• Got cash to invest? Here are 2 ASX shares to buy
• Why did the Openpay (ASX:OPY) share price slide today?
• 3 fantastic ASX growth shares to buy in March
• International Women’s Day: Which ASX companies are fighting gender inequality?

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Kogan.com 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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There are a good number of blue chip ASX shares for investors to choose from on the Australian share market.

In order to narrow things down, I have picked out two that are rated as buys. Here’s what you need to know about them:

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

CSL is one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies. It manufactures and develops a portfolio of leading therapies and vaccines. This includes flu vaccines, immunoglobulins, and countless other plasma-based products.

Given its reliance on plasma for many of its products, the company has built a wide-reaching plasma collection network. And while this network is currently experiencing difficulties because of COVID-19, collections are expected to rebound strongly once the pandemic passes.

In light of this, the weakness in the CSL share price due to concerns about its collections appears to be a buying opportunity.

That’s the view of analysts at Morgans and Citi. This week both brokers have upgraded CSL’s shares to the equivalent of buy ratings. Morgans has a $301.10 price target and Citi has a $310.00 price target. This compares very favourably to the latest CSL share price of $253.90.

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

Another blue chip ASX share to look at is Goodman Group. It is an integrated commercial and industrial property group that owns, develops, and manages industrial real estate across the world.

It has been a strong performer over the last few years thanks to its expertly curated portfolio of properties. This includes properties with exposure to in-demand sectors such as e-commerce and data centres.

This led to Goodman recently releasing a strong half year result. For the six months ended 31 December, it reported a 16% increase in operating profit to $614.9 million. This was driven by a combination of new developments, strong demand, and like-for-like net property income growth.

One broker that was pleased with its result was Macquarie. In response to the release, it upgraded Goodman’s shares to an outperform rating with an improved price target of $20.39. This compares to the latest Goodman share price of $16.44.

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Could the CSL (ASX:CSL) share price get back on track in 2021?
• CSL (ASX:CSL) share price green on CEO’s Summit address
• IOUpay and Zip were among the most traded ASX shares last week
• How the CSL (ASX:CSL) share price weakness exposes its dividend strength

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

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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) copper shares will be among those to enjoy a healthy tailwind as the growth of global electric vehicle (EV) adoption picks up pace.

That’s because copper, thanks to its high conductivity, is one of the key metals used in the batteries that give EVs their power. As EV numbers balloon, so too should the demand for copper.

Living in Australia, it’s easy to overlook the reality that EVs are set to replace combustion engine vehicles over the next few decades. Australia, to date, has amongst the lowest levels of EVs on the road per capita of any developed nation.

Part of Aussies’ reluctance to give up their good old petrol motors is range anxiety. It’s a big country, and you don’t want to have to be stopping every 200 kilometres for a lengthy recharge.

Another big hurdle, both in Australia and elsewhere, is the higher price tag EVs demand.

Many companies are busy working to provide longer battery life and more rapid charging technology. And now the price of EVs is plummeting in China.

EV sales to skyrocket

As Bloomberg reports, Chinese EV company Hozon Auto is selling cars that run on electric motors and batteries for US$10,000 (AU$13,000). And that hugely reduced price tag is likely to see a rapid uptake in the Middle Kingdom.

Bloomberg NEF analyst Siyi Mi says, “These ultracheap EVs are reaching a new customer in China, as they likely will in other markets as prices come down.”

According the BNEF:

EV prices are on track to reach parity with fossil fuel-powered cars in the next four to six years, at which point annual sales will start to skyrocket, reaching 25 million in 2030, up from about 2 million a year currently.

And these super cheap EVs are already outpacing some Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) sales numbers.

Bloomberg notes that:

In the month after the Hongguang Mini EV made its debut in July it was the top-selling new-energy vehicle in China, with 15,000 units sold. In September its sales hit more than 20,000, almost double that of Tesla Inc.’s Model 3 that month.

ASX 200 copper shares

Among the heavy hitters in Australian copper companies is ASX 200 copper share Oz Minerals Ltd (ASX: OZL), with a market cap of $7.2 billion.

At the current $21.43 per share, Oz Minerals shares are trading near 13 year highs. That milestone was first achieved on 18 February when the copper producer reported a 30% increase in net profit for the full 2020 financial year.

Over the past 12 months the Oz Minerals share price is up 190%. By comparison the ASX 200 has gained 27% in that same time.

More reading

• Could the Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) camera hack lift ASX cybersecurity shares?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Tesla stock soars 20%: Is now a good time to buy?
• Here are the US shares ASX investors have been buying
• The tech-heavy Nasdaq is now in a correction!

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 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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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was essentially flat today, it fell a tiny bit to 6,714 points.

One of the main pieces of news today was the government’s announced a plan to continue to help the airline sector, whilst also indirectly boosting other parts of the country and economy.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX today:

Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) and other ASX travel shares

The Flight Centre share price has gone up more than 10% today as the market reacted to the news that the travel industry was going to get more government support.

As reported by the ABC and all other major media, the government is going to support low airline tickets. There will be approximately 800,000 half-price airline tickets in a package worth more than $1 billion.

The idea is to help destinations that are losing out due to the lack of international travellers.

Some of the places that will benefit from cheaper tickets include the Gold Coast, Cairns, the Whitsundays and the Mackay region, Alice Springs and Uluru, Launceston and Broome.

The discounts will be based on the average air fare based on February 2021 prices and the airlines have said they won’t put up prices.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said:

I’ve had long discussions with both Alan Joyce and Jane Hrdlicka from Qantas and Virgin respectively, they’re not going to do that. Of course the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) has been monitoring air prices right throughout the pandemic and making sure that it is as what it should be.

However, the catch for the states is that border closures should be kept open apart from a last resort.

Plenty of other ASX 200 travel shares went up – the Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price grew 2%, the Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD) share price rose 2%, the Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price climbed 3% and the Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) share price grew 3.3%.

The smaller listed travel agent business called Helloworld Travel Ltd (ASX: HLO) also benefited, with the share price climbing by around 4%.

Vitalharvest Freehold Trust (ASX: VTH)

The Vitalharvest share price grew by another 2% as the business benefited from an increased takeover offer.

It announced today that Macquarie Agricultural Funds Management Limited – as trustee of Macquarie Agricultural Fund – Crop Australia 2 (MAFM) – has agreed to buy all of the issued units of Vitalharvest Freehold Trust for $1.08 per unit.

MAFM has also agreed to extend the waiver it granted previously to permit the payment of a distribution to unitholders of 2.5 cents per Vitalharvest unit from rent received for the half year ended 31 December 2020, subject to certain conditions.

The board recommended that unitholders vote in favour of this deal because it’s likely to provide an equivalent or superior outcome for Vitalharvest unitholders compared to the Roc Private Equity offer. However, it’s still possible that an alternative superior proposal could come about.

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price sold down further

The Afterpay share price was one of the worst performers in the ASX 200. It dropped by over 5% today as it continued its decline.

Over the last month the Afterpay share price has fallen by almost 30%.

Other buy now, pay later businesses also dropped today including the Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) share price which fell 1.8%, the Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price which dropped 0.4% and the Splitit Ltd (ASX: SPT) share price which fell 1.5%. The Ioupay Ltd (ASX: IOU) share price fell 8.6%.

More reading

• 3 blue chip ASX shares with dividend yields over 5% today
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• Will the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price bounce back?
• The Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price just keeps on falling
• Should the JobKeeper payment be replaced with discounted airfares?

Tristan Harrison 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’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Sezzle Inc. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Corporate Travel Management Limited and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Sezzle Inc. 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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As if the cyber attacks launched by China last week and by Russia 3 months ago weren’t enough for governments, businesses and households to contend with, now a collective of private hackers is targeting CCTV cameras around the globe.

(You can find more details on the Chinese and Russian sponsored hacking attacks here.)

While the latest private cyber infiltration is another headache for the targeted organisations and companies, including Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA), it could provide another tailwind for ASX cybersecurity shares as their services come under increasing demand.

What did the hackers target this time?

As Bloomberg reports, “an international hacker collective” is responsible for the most recent large-scale cyber breach. The group wanted to demonstrate the widespread use of CCTV across the world, and how easily those videos could be accessed by outside sources.

Their target was Silicon Valley-based Verkada Inc, in the US state of California. And they accessed “live feeds of 150,000 surveillance cameras inside hospitals, companies, police departments, prisons and schools.” The cyber criminals also reported they have access to Verkada customers’ entire video archives.

The video access obtained within prisons, schools and hospitals is likely the most sensitive from a privacy standpoint. But the biggest name target was Elon Musk’s own Tesla. According to Bloomberg: “Another video, shot inside a Tesla warehouse in Shanghai, shows workers on an assembly line. The hackers said they obtained access to 222 cameras in Tesla factories and warehouses.”

With the explosive growth of CCTV cameras (just look up the next time you’re at the servo, grocery store or aboard public transport) it’s no longer just Big Brother watching us. These hackers look to have a front-row seat as well.

ASX cybersecurity ETF share snapshot

ASX investors looking for exposure to a basket of 40 international cybersecurity shares may want to investigate the Betashares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK).

The exchange traded fund (ETF) doesn’t hold any ASX listed cybersecurity shares, as those are all microcap shares… for now. Instead, it holds industry heavyweights like Crowdstrike Holding Inc (NASDAQ: CRWD) as its largest holding. Crowdstrike has a market cap of US$43 billion (A$56 billion).

The HACK share price, down 0.1% today, is up 21.9% over the past 12 months.

More reading

• Chinese and Russian hack attacks put ASX cybersecurity shares in spotlight
• Tesla stock soars 20%: Is now a good time to buy?
• Here are the US shares ASX investors have been buying
• The tech-heavy Nasdaq is now in a correction!
• Why Tesla Stock Fell Further on Monday

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 CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of BETA CYBER ETF UNITS. 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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Warren Buffett – chair and CEO of the giant conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) has been known for decades as one of the world’s richest people. He even spent quite a stint as the richest person in the world some years ago.

In recent years, Buffett has been taken over in net worth terms by some of the younger tech investors we have all come to know, such as Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos.

But Buffett is far from a spent force – in fact, his wealth is on the move up again. According to a report from the Australian Financial Review (AFR) today, Mr Buffett’s fortune has surged above the US$100 billion mark in recent weeks.

The primary catalyst for this move is the share price of Berkshire Hathaway rising steadily over that time. As the AFR pointed out, last night (our time) saw the monumentally expensive Berkshire Class A shares surge above US$400,000 for the first time ever (no, that’s not a typo) during intra-day trading in the United States.

Buffett reportedly owns a handy 248,734 of these Class A shares. If you’re wondering how a share could be so expensive, it’s because Berkshire has never initiated a stock split since Buffett took the helm in the mid-1960s. That’s the power of compound interest, folks!

Luckily for the vast majority of us who can’t afford to fork out 400k on a single share, Berkshire’s Class B shares trade at the far more accessible price of US$263.99 at the most recent close. But I digress.

Berkshire’s monster portfolio

Berkshire is a conglomerate. As such, the value of the company as a whole is largely determined by the sum of its parts. And many of the companies Berkshire has a major stake in have been performing very well in recent weeks (sometimes it pays not to own too much tech). These companies include Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO), American Express Company (NSE: AXP) and Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC). Berkshire’s market capitalisation is now approximately US$608.16 billion.

Berkshire also owns a vast portfolio of entire and/or unlisted businesses like GEICO, Duracell, Dairy Queen and BNSF Railroad Company.

But while Buffett’s star has been on the rise, another top billionaire’s has been (slightly) dimming. Elon Musk spent a few weeks over the past few months as titleholder of the ‘world’s richest person’. Musk is the famous (or infamous, depending on your view) CEO of electric vehicle and battery manufacturer Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA).

But according to Forbes’ Billionaires List, Musk is firmly back in second place today behind Jeff Bezos. His fortune is currently estimated at US$165.1 billion against Mr Bezos’s US$179.6 billion. First world problems!

More reading

• Warren Buffett’s share portfolio revealed!
• Here’s why Warren Buffett prefers buybacks to dividends
• Warren Buffett just told us to stay away from this asset class
• 3 key takeaways from Warren Buffett’s latest letter to shareholders
• Robinhood fires back at Berkshire Hathaway’s Charlie Munger over criticism

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Sebastian Bowen owns shares of American Express, Coca-Cola, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Amazon, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), and Tesla and recommends the following options: short January 2023 $200 puts on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple, short March 2021 $225 calls on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon, long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple, short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon, and long January 2023 $200 calls on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon, Apple, and Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). 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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When it comes to the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) our collective love of dividends dictates that our blue chip shares are normally committed dividend payers. That stands in stark contrast to the United States, where many of the biggest companies don’t even pay a dividend.

But in this post-COVID world, choosing quality dividend shares has never been more nuanced. A few years ago, it would have been unthinkable to most investors that the ASX banks would have trailing dividend yields under 2%. Yet today, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares offer a trailing yield of just 1.27% on current pricing.

So here are 3 ASX dividend shares that offer a whole lot more. Each of these has a grossed-up trailing yield of 5% or greater today:

3 blue chip ASX dividend shares with yields over 5% today

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

Telstra has long been a favourite of the ASX dividend investor. And 2020 proved its worth in that regard. Unlike many ASX 200 shares, Telstra did not cut its dividend last year, holding its payouts steady at 16 cents per share. And since Telstra’s share price has been steadily falling over the past month or so, the yield of this dividend has been growing. At today’s share price (at the time of writing) of $3.04, Telstra is offering a dividend yield of 5.26%, or 7.51% grossed-up with Telstra’s full franking. The company’s management has committed to once again pay out 16 cents per share in dividends in 2021 as well.

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)

Coles was one of the ASX companies that arguably benefitted from the pandemic last year. We all know about the infamous panic hoarding that went on in 2020, after all. Coles’ robust results in 2020 allowed this supermarket company to actually increase its dividend last year, and again just last month. Like Telstra, Coles shares have also been falling over the past month or so. That gives Coles’ dividend a yield worth 3.93% on current pricing, or 5.61% grossed-up with full franking.

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

BHP has had a pretty good run over the past few months and has recently just broken its all-time high share price. Not bad for an ASX 200 company that was founded in 1851!

BHP has been benefitting enormously from rising commodity prices. Three of its four ‘pillar commodities’ in iron ore, oil and copper have all seen healthy price rises in recent months. And if BHP is selling its commodities for higher prices, naturally there is more cash around for dividends. On the current BHP share price, the ‘Big Australian’ has a trailing dividend yield of 4.42%, which grosses-up to 6.31% with full franking.

More reading

• Peter Costello thinks this will spark the next ASX market crash
• Is it ok to buy ASX 200 shares at a 52-week high?
• ASX 200 down 0.9%: Flight Centre & Webjet jump, Afterpay sinks
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Early Yallourn power station closure sets the pace for ASX energy sector shakeup

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 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.

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One area of the market which is filled with a number of quality options for growth investors is the mid cap space.

But as there are so many to choose from, I thought I would narrow things down by picking out one highly rated mid cap share. It is Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS).

Why Bravura Solutions?

Bravura is a financial technology company with a growing portfolio of software solutions. This includes the popular Sonata wealth management platform and the Midwinter financial planning software platform.

In addition to this, its FinoComp business builds unique, registry-agnostic and highly flexible software that supports the UK wealth market and its Delta Financial Systems business provides technology to power complex pensions administration in the UK market.

Unfortunately, FY 2021 has been a very difficult year for Bravura because of the pandemic and Brexit. In light of this, a weak full year result is expected from the company this year.

However, analysts at Goldman Sachs believe this is a short term headwind and are expecting its performance to rebound in FY 2022. As a result, it recently held firm with its buy rating and put a $3.70 price target on Bravura’s shares.

Based on the latest Bravura share price of $2.68, this implies potential upside of 38% over the next 12 months.

Why does Goldman think the Bravura share price can go higher?

There are four key reasons why Goldman Sachs is positive on the company and expects the Bravura share price to push meaningfully higher. It explained:

“We believe BVS is well positioned due to: 1) its strong market position in existing product offering, with a high degree of recurring revenues (1H21 86%), 2) the emerging microservices ecosystem strategy will help transform the business to subscription-based model and should increase BVS’s scope and velocity of sales, 3) a net cash position provides BVS with a buffer in the current environment, but also gives the company flexibility to invest in the new microservices ecosystem and pursue acquisitions, and 4) the valuation looks undemanding, with the stock trading at the bottom of its historical relative P/E and EV/EBITDA range.”

In addition to this, Bravura could be an option for income investors to consider.

Goldman estimates that its shares offer a 3.9% FY 2022 dividend yield. This is materially more than anything you’ll find with term deposits right now.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• The Bravura (ASX:BVS) share price is rocketing after its latest results
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX cools on earnings reality check
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week

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 Bravura Solutions Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Bravura Solutions 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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