The Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL) share price edged higher on Monday.

The gaming technology company’s shares rose 0.1% to $40.70 following the release of its half year results.

How did Aristocrat Leisure perform?

Aristocrat was on form during the first half and delivered a result in line with expectations previously laid out by management.

For the six months ended 31 March, the company reported a normalised net profit after tax (NPAT) of $362.2 million. This is an increase of 18.4% on the prior corresponding period. This normalised result excludes a $1.1 billion deferred tax benefit from a year earlier.

Management advised that Aristocrat’s profit growth was driven by strong performances from both its Gaming and Digital businesses. Positively, almost 80% of its revenue was derived from recurring sources during the period.

What did analysts think of the result?

Analysts at Goldman Sachs were pleased with the result.

They said: “ALL reported normalised 1H21 Sales/EBITA/NPATA which was in line with GSe given the preannounced result. That said, we note that digital continues to deliver better-than-expected results, and was 6%/9% better than GSe across sales/segment profit respectively (we were above consensus on digital). Balance sheet remains robust, with net leverage now down to 1.2x (vs. 1.4x in FY20), and the group notes that it has in excess of A$2 bn of liquidity as at Mar 2021, allowing it to preserve full optionality for additional investments to accelerate its strategy.”

What about the Aristocrat Leisure share price?

Goldman has retained its buy rating and lifted its price target to $42.30. While this may only imply 5% upside (6% including dividends) for the Aristocrat Leisure share price over the next 12 months, it still sees it as a buy.

It explained: “We revise our FY21-23E EBITA by 7% to 3% reflecting: i) better digital trajectory, and ii) improved ANZ outlook. Our 12m TP (EV/EBIT SOTP based, method unchanged) increases to A$42.30 (from A$39.53) and with ~6% TSR; we stay Buy given relative earnings momentum and balance sheet strength/optionality.”

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• 3 top-performing ASX shares this week

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Most of our readers would be familiar with exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and listed investment companies (LICs) by now.

They’re both handy ways to get diversified exposure to the share market and to outsource the study involved in picking individual stocks.

LICs are the more ‘traditional’ concept, acting like private funds in that they take a higher commission in return for portfolio manager expertise.

ETFs have made their name in recent years as ‘index’ or ‘passive’ funds. They’re well-known for allowing everyday folks to put their money in to just follow a particular index while paying extremely low fees.

Even the most famous stock-picker of them all — Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) boss Warren Buffett — is a big fan of them.

“A low-cost index fund is the most sensible equity investment for the great majority of investors,” he said in Vanguard founder Jack Bogle’s book The Little Book of Common Sense Investing.

“By periodically investing in an index fund, the know-nothing investor can actually out-perform most investment professionals.”

ETFs have thus become massively popular, with 2020 seeing all sorts of records broken for the industry.

The rise of active ETFs

Of course, if a concept becomes popular with punters, the industry is spurred on to create more products.

So it feels like in the last couple of years, there are new ‘active’ ETFs launched every week.

These ETFs act like LICs in that they require some sort of stock-picking expertise. 

Often the fund follows a particular theme, such as ethical investing, Asian technology, or value stocks.

This means some subjectivity — or at least analytical smarts — are required to know which shares to include into the fund. And which stocks to sell.

So if you now have both LICs and ETFs that are actively managed, what is the difference?

LICs vs active ETFs

Marcus Today director Marcus Padley last week explained the distinctions between the two products.

The big difference is that LICs are a ‘black box’, while ETFs are more transparent.

“The LIC may or may not be that transparent with reporting its holdings or its NTA [net tangible assets]/performance figures and the fees are much higher — plus they usually get a kicker if they outperform,” Padley said.

“An active ETF though gives you the power of an actively managed fund with greater disclosure of the underlying assets and the NTA at regular intervals. No ‘trust me I have a black box’ investment philosophy.”

The way the share prices are set is also a massive difference.

LIC share prices, like for any other listed business, fluctuate according to supply and demand. This means the fund might hold $1 worth of assets per share but the stock could be selling for 80 cents… or $1.20.

Meanwhile, ETFs have their prices artificially maintained at roughly what the underlying asset value is. This is done by “market makers”, who have buy and sell mechanisms in place to achieve price stability.

“So, no requirement on the LIC to provide liquidity and close up a discount to NTA and arbitrage any price discrepancy away.”

LICs that sell for less than they’re worth

Theoretically, a LIC that’s trading at a heavy discount to the NTA could be bought out by a big fish to be liquidated for profit.

“LIC managers tend to get upset when their fund gravy train gets taken away from them,” said Padley.

“They try to close up the discount through better communication (more updates) buybacks and even directors buying the shares. They try but… sometimes fail miserably.”

For some investors, this complication would cause them stress and they would prefer to park their money with ETFs, knowing the stock price always reflects the underlying worth.

But according to Padley, LICs can sometimes offer up tasty bargains.

“If there are transparent, good communicators and still trading at a big discount with known assets that are liquid, I have referred to them in the past as the Hot Tub Time Machine,” he said.

“Sometimes especially during periods of extreme loss of confidence, the LIC gets whacked whilst the assets it owns bounce quickly and so buying the LIC at a discount is like being able to go back in time to before the rally and buy those stocks.”

In fact, this is what famous investor Geoff Wilson is attempting to do with his new WAM Strategic Value Limited (ASX: WAR), which opened its initial public offering (IPO) this week.

This will be, if you can believe it, a $225 million LIC that will buy up shares of other LICs that are heavily discounted from NTA.

“Essentially, we are focused on identifying and investing in $1 of assets for 80c,” Wilson said in the prospectus.

“Our experience and expertise in managing closed-end vehicles provides us with a unique methodology to identify and benefit from LIC and LIT market mispricing opportunities.”

WAM Strategic Value Limited shares will start trading on the ASX on 25 June.

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There are some high-quality S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) blue chip shares that could be best ideas to be thinking about at the moment.

A few ASX 200 shares are well-liked by several brokers which indicates that they might be interesting to look at:

Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD)

Corporate Travel describes itself as a global leader in business travel management services. Its aim is to find savings, efficiency and safety for businesses and their travellers all around the world.

It’s currently rated as a buy by six brokers. Morgans is one of the brokers that likes Corporate Travel Management shares and it’s the broker’s pick of the sector.

In a recent trading update, Corporate Travel Management said that it’s returning to profit. It broke-even in March and expects positive underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the fourth quarter of FY21.

The ASX 200 share is seeing strong domestic demand in the Australia and New Zealand region with total client activity climbing to 85% of FY19 booking levels as of mid-April.

New Zealand continues to be a standout and, as of mid-April, was trading at above 160% of FY19 booking levels.

The US is experiencing positive signs of activity recovery. Despite lockdowns in the UK and Europe, significant essential travel client wins in this region continue to contribute profitability to the group.

Management believe the company is best leveraged to a domestic recovery. Around 70% of pre-forma FY19 revenue is generated from the US and the UK. These regions have the most advanced vaccination rollouts. Corporate Travel Management said that the speed of the rollouts supports expectations of a rapid return to corporate domestic travel and meaningful levels of pan-European and trans-Atlantic travel after the northern hemisphere vacation period.

Idp Education Ltd (ASX: IEL)

Idp Education says that it’s a global leader in international education services. It helps international students study in English speaking countries.

The company says that its success is from connecting students with the right course in the right institution and the right country.

IDP is also a co-owner of IELTS, the world’s most popular high-stakes English language test. It also operates 11 English language teaching campuses across South East Asia.

It’s currently rated as a buy by at least five brokers. Morgans is one of the brokers that believes the ASX 200 share is a buy, with a price target of $28.48 over the next 12 months. Whilst the broker is positive about the business, the COVID-19 surge in India is a headwind with 40% of IELTS’ testing revenue being derived from there.

The ASX 200 blue chip share’s management say that it has a resilient business model. Its diverse business model and strategy is holding the organisation in good stead through crisis.

The recovery is ongoing. Demand remains, with growing IELTS capacity through new computer-delivered centres. It’s also increasing counsellor capacity to support students into FY22 and FY23.

IDP Education is investing in its digital technology and capabilities. It has also accelerated its innovation strategy. According to Morgans, the IDP Education share price is priced at 56x FY22’s estimated earnings.

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Thankfully, in this low interest rate environment, the Australian share market is home to a range of shares that are expected to provide attractive yields to investors in 2021. 

If you’re interested in adding a few to your portfolio, then you may want to look at the ones listed below. Here’s why they could be dividend shares to buy:

Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ)

Although the ANZ share price has been a very strong performer in 2021, it doesn’t appear to be too late for investors to snap up shares. According to a recent note out of Morgans, its analysts have retained their add rating and lifted their price target on its shares to $33.50. This compares to the latest ANZ share price of $28.16.

But even better, is that despite rising 22% since the start of the year, its shares are still expected to provide income investors with generous yields in the near term.

For example, Morgans is forecasting fully franked dividends of $1.45 and $1.63 per share over the next two years. Based on the current ANZ share price, this will mean yields of 5.15% and 5.8%, respectively.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

Another option to consider is Wesfarmers. It is the conglomerate behind a number of quality businesses such as Bunnings, Catch, Kmart, and Officeworks.

Wesfarmers has been performing very positively in FY 2021, delivering solid sales and profit growth during the first half. This has been driven by growth across the majority of its businesses but particularly from the Bunnings business. The hardware giant has been benefiting from home improvement-related government stimulus and the booming housing market.

One broker that is a fan is Goldman Sachs. It currently has a buy rating and $59.70 price target on its shares. This compares to the latest Wesfarmers share price of $54.73.

The broker is also forecasting fully franked dividends of $1.88 per share in FY 2021 and $1.94 per share in FY 2022. This represents attractive yields of 3.5% and 3.6%, respectively.

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On Monday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) started the week with a small gain. The benchmark index rose 0.2% to 7,045.9 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Tuesday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to rise

The Australian share market looks set to push higher on Tuesday following a solid start to the week on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 18 points or 0.25% higher this morning. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones rose 0.55%, the S&P 500 jumped 1%, and the Nasdaq stormed 1.4% higher.

Oil prices jump again

Energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could be on the rise today after oil prices jumped. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 3.75% to US$65.96 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has risen 3% to US$68.45 a barrel. Oil prices climbed amid speculation that sanctions on Iran may not be lifted.

TechnologyOne results

The TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE) share price will be one to watch on Tuesday when it releases its half year results. All eyes will be on the performance of its key Global SaaS ERP solution, which has been the main driver of growth in recent years. Management has advised that it expects strong growth in SaaS ARR and profit and to double in size over the next five years. However, it has warned that it expects the first half of 2021 will not be indicative of the full year results.

Gold price rises

Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could have a solid day after the gold price pushed higher overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 0.4% to US$1,883 an ounce. Weakness in the US dollar and bond yields drove the gold price higher.

Iron ore price sinks again

It could be another difficult day for iron ore producers BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG), and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) after the iron ore price continued to sink. According to Metal Bulletin, the spot iron ore price is down a further 4.1% to US$192.42 a tonne.

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The Infinity Lithium Corp Ltd (ASX: INF) share price was one of the best performers on the ASX today.

This follows a number of highlights that the lithium explorer provided in a market release this morning.

At the end of market trade, Infinity Lithium shares finished the day at 9.3 cents apiece, up 38.8%.

What’s driving the Infinity Lithium share price higher?

Investors fought to get hold of Infinity Lithium shares after the company announced a series of meetings between key figures.

According to its release, Infinity Lithium advised that its managing director and CEO Ryan Parkin met with Vice-President of the European Commission, Maros Sefcovic last Wednesday. The two discussed the current status of the San José Lithium Project and reinforced the timely completion in line with the strategic objectives of the European Battery Alliance (EBA). Mr Sefcovic underlined the importance of lithium’s raw materials in helping the European automotive industry transition to electric vehicles. In the first quarter of 2021 alone, electric vehicles represented 15% of all automotive sales.

San José is a high-grade lithium project being developed in the Extremadura region of Spain. Focused on the production of battery grade lithium chemicals, it represents the second largest hard rock lithium deposit in Europe. Infinity Lithium currently holds a 75% interest in the project.

Mr Sefcovic touched on the Spanish consortium that comprise of the five industrial projects of the entire battery value chain, saying:

There are the critical raw materials, there is the anecdotal evidence of how far we have moved I would highlight the piece of information that just two years ago we dd not have lithium on the list of critical raw materials for Europe. Now we know that by 2030 we will need 18 times more, by 2050 we will need 60 times more, and when I talk to the industry, they still tell me this is a very conservative estimate. On top of this we still do not have one single refinery for lithium in Europe.

I am so pleased that from the start we have been working on making sure that we are covering the whole value chain.

What else happened?

The following day on 20 May, Mr Sefcovic and the President of Spain, Mr Pedro Sánchez unveiled the first step of the Espana 2050 project. Aimed to serve as a blueprint for other European countries, the long-term national study called on to achieve greater efficiency is using lithium to replace its dependence on traditional fossil fuels.

Mr Sánchez noted that his government recognises the geostrategic importance of the San Jose project and the country’s long-term roadmap for the transformation. The availability of lithium raw materials is significant for Spain, in order for it to become a sustainable country and emit a low carbon footprint.

Infinity Lithium advised that it is continuing to engage with major project stakeholders following the cancellation of the Investigation Permit Valdeflorez.

The Infinity Lithium share price has accelerated to more than 120% over the past year.

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The small end of the Australian share market is home to a number of companies with the potential to grow materially in the future.

Three that investors might want to get better acquainted with are listed below. Here’s why they should be on your watchlist:

Damstra Holdings Ltd (ASX: DTC)

Damstra is a growing integrated workplace management solutions provider. The company’s cloud-based workplace management platform is used by businesses across the globe to track, manage, and protect their workers and assets.

During the first half of FY 2021, the company delivered a 29.6% increase in revenue to $13.3 million. Even if you annualise this, it is still the smallest fraction of a total addressable market estimated to be worth US$20 billion by 2022.

IntelliHR Ltd (ASX: IHR)

Another small cap ASX share to watch is IntelliHR. It is a cloud-based human resources (HR) and people management platform provider. Its platform has been designed to support HR professionals and leadership teams within an organisation, using technology that automates manual HR processes and captures critical people data.

Management notes that this gives users a real-time understanding of an organisation’s human resources and provides tools to create a performance-based culture aligned with the employer’s business strategy. It also contributes to strategic decision-making with data driven insights. 

IntelliHR recently released a trading update which revealed annual recurring revenue (ARR) had reached $3.55 million. This was double what it reported a year earlier.

SILK Laser Australia Limited (ASX: SLA)

A final small cap ASX share to watch is SILK Laser. It is a laser, skin care, and cosmetic injections company that has been performing very strongly in FY 2021. In February, SILK Laser released its half year results and revealed a 62% increase in network sales to $44.9 million and a 305% increase in net profit to $4.7 million.

Looking ahead, management sees plenty of opportunities to expand its network to drive growth. At present, SILK has a total of 56 clinics in operation. This is well short of its goal of increasing its network by 6 to 10 new clinics per annum up to a total of approximately 150 clinics.

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The Chimeric Therapeutics Ltd (ASX: CHM) share price has fallen today. It coincides with the drug development company’s update on its cancer cell therapy.

At market’s close, the Chimeric share price was trading at 29 cents, down 3.33%.

Established in 2020, Chimeric is developing a breakthrough cancer cell therapy drug for solid tumours. The company uses chlorotoxin, from scorpion venom, to bind and direct T cells to target glioblastoma, or GBM.

Initial scientific research conducted in Los Angeles has found promising anti-tumour activity from CAR T therapy.

What did Chimeric update the ASX with?

In its announcement, Chimeric advised it has started treatment on the second cohort of its CLTX CAR T phase 1 trials. The study is being conducted at the City of Hope, a world-renowned cancer treatment and research centre near Los Angeles.

Specifically, the first patient in the second dosing group received a higher level of treatment than that administered to the first dosing group. The dose-escalation study seeks to assess Chlorotoxin CAR T’s safety and maximum tolerance in participants suffering from recurrent or progressive GBM.

Patients in this group will be administered their treatment via two methods – intracranial intratumoral (ICT) and intracranial intraventricular (ICV) at a total dose of 88 x 106 CAR T cells.

Chimeric hopes to recruit between 18 to 36 people with MMP2+ recurrent or progressive GBM across 4 different dose levels. This is expected to run over the course of a 24-month period. Once the appropriate dosing amount is established, the company will move to phase 2 trials.

Chimeric chief operating officer Jennifer Chow commented:

We are very encouraged by the continued progress of the trial, moving to this important next phase with dose escalation and dual routes of administration.

This is another significant milestone in the development of this important therapy for patients with progressive or recurrent glioblastoma.

Chimeric share price review

Since listing on the ASX boards at the start of this year, Chimeric shares have remained relatively flat. The company’s shares reached an all-time high of 44 cents in January, before treading lower, hovering around the 30 cent mark.

Based on today’s Chimeric share price, the company has a market capitalisation of roughly $56 million, with approximately 196 million shares outstanding.

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With interest rates remaining at near-zero, record lows, the appeal of ASX dividend shares for income remains strong. Since there are very few alternatives out there to a fully franked dividend, choosing the right dividend shares to generate income for your ASX share portfolio is a delicate task. After all, 2020 saw many ASX shares that used to have a reputation for solid dividend income, rain hail or shine, cutting their shareholder payouts.

Here are 2 ASX dividend shares for your consideration today.

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

Rural Funds Group is an ASX REIT (real estate investment trust) that specialises in agricultural properties. This could present many advantages from an income perspective right off the bat. We all need food and other products that rely on farmland for production. Rural Funds owns a number of properties around Australia that are leased out for the production of everything from grapes to beef, macadamias, sugar cane and almonds.

Rural Funds has managed to deliver a pretty robust schedule when it comes to paying out dividends. The REIT aims to increase its annual dividend distributions by 4% per annum. It managed to do just that last year, despite the ravages of the pandemic. On the current Rural Funds share price, the company has a trailing dividend yield of 3.94%.

Magellan Infrastructure Fund (ASX: MICH)

Another ASX dividend share to consider today is this listed fund from Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG). Magellan Infrastructure Fund is designed to provide a robust stream of income for shareholders, with a low risk of permanent capital losses.

It does so by investing in a portfolio of infrastructure assets. These include toll road companies, electricity generators and retailers, airports, rail, and water utilities, amongst other things. This fund invests in companies all over the world, but you can find the ASX’s own Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) amongst its current holdings. It’s also hedged against foreign currency movements.

Magellan Infrastructure Fund’s last two dividends came in at 5.95 cents a share and 7 cents a share. That gives this company a trailing distribution yield of 4.42% on current pricing. Because it’s a managed investment vehicle, there is also a management fee of 1.05% per annum for investors to consider.

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