The QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) share price is one to watch this morning after the company provided a leadership update late Wednesday.

Why is the QBE share price on watch?

QBE yesterday announced the appointment of its new group chief executive officer (CEO), Andrew Horton. Mr Horton will take over from interim group CEO Richard Pryce on 1 September 2021.

Horton currently serves as CEO of Beazley plc, a UK-listed specialist insurer with global operations. He’s been serving as Beazley CEO since 2008 and his appointment to QBE remains subject to regulatory approvals.

Mr Horton said he was “honoured” to be appointed QBE’s new CEO given the group’s “impressive global footprint and talented people”. Mr Pryce will remain with the company in an advisory capacity from September before retiring from QBE in December 2021.

The QBE share price will be on watch today following yesterday’s after-market leadership announcement. Shares in the Aussie insurer edged 0.4% higher yesterday while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) climbed 0.8% to 6,818.00 points.

What else has been happening on the ASX?

QBE isn’t the only ASX 200 company to announce a change in leadership this week. Both Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC) rang in changes yesterday.

Rio announced its chair, Simon Thompson, will not seek re-election as a non-executive director at the 2022 annual general meeting. The move comes after the Juukan Gorge rock shelter destruction that caused public outrage and condemnation across the country.

Nine was also in the news, unveiling current Stan Entertainment CEO, Mike Sneesby, as its new CEO, effective 1 April 2021.

Foolish takeaway

The QBE share price is one to watch in early trade as investors react to the new CEO announcement, one of several ASX leadership announcements to the market on Wednesday.

The Aussie insurer’s shares closed at $9.28 per share yesterday with a $13.7 billion market capitalisation and 3.3% dividend yield.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• ASX 200 rises, Rio chair will leave, Nine gets a new CEO
• Aussie GDP numbers deliver a nice 3.1% surprise
• Is investing in ASX shares better than property?
• 2 ASX 200 shares to buy for growth

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.

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If you’re a fan of small cap shares, then I would suggest you take a look at the ones listed below.

Here’s why these four ASX small cap shares could be ones to watch in 2021 and beyond:

Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8)

The first small cap share to look at is digital audio-visual networking technologies provider, Audinate. It is best known for its industry-leading Dante audio over IP networking solution. This solution is used widely across a number of industries and is currently dominating the competition. In fact, at the last count, the number of Dante enabled products manufactured by its customers was eight times greater than its nearest rival. This appears to have positioned it perfectly for growth once the pandemic passes.

Felix Group Holdings Limited (ASX: FLX)

Another small cap ASX share to watch is Felix. It is a cloud-based enterprise software-as-a-service marketplace platform provider for the commercial construction and related industries. Felix’s platform connects contractors and their third-party vendors, automating and streamlining a range of critical procurement-related business processes in the sector. During the first half of FY 2021, Felix delivered Enterprise SaaS Contracted annualised recurring revenue (ARR) growth of 48% to $1.8 million. This compares favourably to its global total addressable market, which is estimated to be worth $7.2 billion.

PlaySide Studios Limited (ASX: PLY)

A third small cap ASX share to look at is PlaySide Studios. It is one of the largest independent video game developers in Australia. The company has a growing portfolio of developed games. This includes games based on its own original intellectual property and games developed with Hollywood studios such as Disney. During the first half of FY 2021, PlaySide reported record first half sales revenue of $5 million. This was up 63% on the prior corresponding period. Positively, this is just a tiny fraction of its global market opportunity.

Universal Store Holdings Limited (ASX: UNI)

A final small cap to watch is Universal Store. It is a fashion retailer which aims to deliver a frequently changing and carefully curated selection of on-trend products to a target 16-35 year old fashion focused customer. It has been a particularly positive performer during the pandemic and reported impressive growth during the first half of FY 2021. For the six months ended 31 December, Universal Store delivered a 23.3% increase in sales to $118 million and a 63.6% increase in underlying net profit after tax to $21.1 million.

More reading

• 2 exciting small cap ASX shares to watch
• Why Flight Centre, Life360, Nanosonics, & Universal Store are racing higher
• Why the Universal Store (ASX:UNI) share price is up 6% to a record high
• 2 buy-rated small cap ASX shares to watch
• Why the Audinate (ASX:AD8) share price is pushing higher today

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AUDINATEGL 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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Are you looking to boost your income portfolio with dividend shares? Then you may want to look at the ones named below.

They both currently offer income investors generous dividend yields. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

Accent is a leading leisure footwear retailer. It could be a top option for income investors thanks to its strong position in a market experiencing positive tailwinds.

Accent recently released its half year results and delivered solid growth on both the top and bottom line. For the six months ended 31 December, Accent reported a 6.6% increase in total sales to $541.3 million and 57.3% lift in net profit after tax to $52.8 million. Impressively, the latter was its seventh consecutive record half year profit.

This strong performance was driven by explosive online sales growth, solid like for like sales growth, and the opening of new stores.

According to a note out of Morgans, its expects the company to grow its full year dividend to a fully franked 12 cents per share in FY 2021. Based on the current Accent share price, this will mean a 5.4% yield.

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

Another ASX dividend share with a generous yield is Telstra. It recently released its half year results and retained its 8 cents per share fully franked interim dividend.

Pleasingly, management also revealed that it expects to maintain its final dividend of 8 cents per share as well. This will mean a full year dividend of 16 cents per share. Based on the latest Telstra share price, this equates to a yield of 5.1%.

But perhaps the best news is that a return to growth appears to be on the horizon after years of earnings declines.

Telstra CEO Andy Penn has set an aspirational target for mid to high single-digit growth in underlying EBITDA in FY 2022 and then further growth in FY 2023. 

While this might not immediately lead to higher dividends, it should at least secure its 16 cents per share dividend for the foreseeable future. After which, there’s a chance that Telstra will increase its dividend for the first time in a very long time.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Friday carnage ruins last week of ASX earnings
• This fantastic ASX dividend share will help you beat low interest rates
• Why is the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price falling today?
• Accent (ASX:AX1) share price on watch following earnings release
• ASX investors watch out for a rise in interest rates in 2022

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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On Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was back on form and stormed higher after strong GDP data was released. The benchmark index rose 0.8% to 6,818 points.

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

ASX 200 futures pointing lower

The Australian share market could give back some of its gains on Thursday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 7 points lower. In late trade on Wall Street, the Dow Jones is up 0.2%, the S&P 500 is down 0.5%, and the Nasdaq index is tumbling 1.5% lower. Rising bond yields are spooking investors once again.

Mining giants go ex-dividend

Mining giants BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) will be trading ex-dividend this morning and could act as a drag on the ASX 200 index. The Big Australian is going ex-div for its $1.30 per share fully franked interim dividend, whereas Rio Tinto is trading ex-div for its fully franked final dividend of $5.17 per share. The former will be paid to eligible shareholders on 23 March and the latter will be paid to its respective shareholders on 15 April.

Oil prices jump

Energy producers such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) will be on watch after oil prices jumped overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 3.5% to US$61.82 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 3% to US$64.60 a barrel. Positive comments out of OPEC drove prices higher.

Gold price sinks

Gold miners Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) and St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) could come under pressure on Thursday after the gold price sank. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 1% to US$1,715 an ounce. Rising bond yields weighed on the precious metal.

More shares going ex-dividend

It isn’t just the mining giants trading ex-dividend this morning. A number of other ASX 200 shares are going ex-dividend and could trade lower. This includes biotherapeutics giant CSL Limited (ASX: CSL), private health insurer NIB Holdings Limited (ASX: NHF), student placement and language testing company IDP Education Ltd (ASX:IEL), and retail giant Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW).

More reading

• ASX 200 rises, Rio chair will leave, Nine gets a new CEO
• Aussie GDP numbers deliver a nice 3.1% surprise
• These ASX 200 shares are trading at near 52-week highs
• Is investing in ASX shares better than property?
• 2 ASX 200 shares to buy for growth

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. and Idp Education Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Woolworths Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended NIB Holdings 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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Earlier today, I had the opportunity to sit in on Bell Asset Management’s investment webinar.

A little over a year ago, the forum may well have been a seminar. Perhaps it will be again by this time next year. But with social distancing still the norm, almost every conference on my agenda remains virtual.

Which ties in well with Bell Asset’s theme for the investment webinar. Namely, Positioning for the post-COVID consumer recovery in global equities.

The webinar featured Bell Asset’s chief investment officer Ned Bell and senior global equities analyst Nicole Mardell.

Together they examined some of the biggest risks and opportunities facing global share investors in an environment where many valuations are getting stretched, and inflation is showing signs of resurfacing.

Very strong earnings recovery still ahead

Looking at the year ahead, Ned said that markets are already effectively pricing in the post-COVID world. With a focus on the small to mid-cap space, which in this instance are shares in the US$1–5 billion range, he said:

The thing that excites us the most is the earnings trajectory and the earnings leverage we expect to see in the next 2 years… If you look back to post the dotcom bust and post the GFC, if you bought small to mid-cap stocks after that period, during those earnings troughs, the returns have been phenomenal.

We feel like we’re now in the third of these earnings troughs and recoveries. The earnings recovery in the post-COVID world, we think is going to be very, very strong. That’s going to drive exceptionally strong performance.

As far as valuations are concerned, we still find good value here. The asset class itself is trading on about 22 times earnings. But that’s against the backdrop that earnings expectations have probably still got a fair way to move up.

So from an investor’s perspective, they haven’t missed out yet.

Nicole said there were some particularly appealing opportunities in consumer discretionary shares in the year ahead:

Within the discretionary space, there’s a lot of pent-up demand that’s still to be realised across a number of subsectors. The consumer represents about 75% of the US economy, and that consumer has just been flooded with a whole bunch of cash. And they’re still in lockdown.

Bell Asset portfolio picks

Noting that people are spending a lot more time at home for both work and leisure, Nicole pointed to Yeti Holdings Inc as one of the fastest growers in the Bell Asset portfolio. Meanwhile, Home Depot Inc got a nod for the highest return of capital (ROC).

Bell Asset also recommends investors seek out some strong global brand names. Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE) counts amongst the strongest brands in its portfolio.

According to Nicole:

That’s not so much looking at Nike and saying we know the brand is strong. It’s more about understanding why that brand is strong and what they’re doing behind the scenes to continue to keep sales strong and turn it into profitable growth.

As far as underappreciated shares in the Bell Asset portfolio go, Nicole tipped Tractor Supply Company.

Seek out high-quality small to mid-cap shares

Most investors have been schooled to look for quality shares.

However, as Nicole highlighted, that’s more important now than ever.

COVID has really expanded the divide between high-quality names and low-quality names. That’s true across the sector, but specifically when you look at retail and luxury.

Ned added that Bell Asset expects small to mid-cap shares to outpace large-caps going forward:

The large-cap stocks over the last 18 months have had an incredible rally led by a handful of stocks. It’s difficult to see how that can continue. The companies are terrific, but they are so over-owned. Not only by growth managers but by value managers, probably in fear of their life.

Ned pointed to Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) as an example of the large-cap shares that have been beneficiaries of COVID. Many of these companies have actually had a lot of future earnings pulled forward into 2020.  

According to Ned, this means that going into 2021, “growth rate starts to pancake and multiples will compress. And you get inflation ticking up, which is terrible for high [price-to-earnings ratio] P/E stocks.”

He said the same story has not yet played out for the majority of the small to mid-cap consumer discretionary shares. “It’s like the Christmas present hasn’t been opened yet.” He says they remain exposed to the huge pent up consumer demand, with consumers cashed up from stimulus measures.

In short, “The earnings recovery still has a long way to play out over the next 2 years.”

And inflation?

As for the long muted inflation, Ned noted that there were signs it’s beginning to kick in with interest rates picking up. “There is a pretty strong argument for when it kicks, it’s going to kick hard,” he said.

If that happens, “the most expensive stocks get beaten up”. Company’s that have strong gross margins and pricing powers should fare best.

Nicole added that overall discretionary shares were more defensible and aided by the tailwinds of massive government stimulus that’s going right into consumer pockets.

More reading

• Why this ASX tech ETF is in the buy zone
• How Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Elon Musk just lost $19 billion
• You need to do this NOW in case of a market plunge
• Amazon buying AMC isn’t as crazy as you think
• Is eBay stock a buy?

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. 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 Amazon and Nike and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon and short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon and Nike. 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 Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN) share price has taken a hit today. While the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) managed to inch up 0.80%, the Brainchip share price was down 4.95%, trading at 48 cents at the market close.

With no new announcements out today, let’s recap the artificial intelligence (AI) developer’s annual report released on Friday.

Brainchip FY20 wrap

Brainchip reported a net loss after income tax of US$26.8 million for the year ended 31 December 2020. This compares to a loss of US$11.3 million in the previous year.

The company pumped up its research & development (R&D) spending by 14% to reach $5.2 million during FY20.

It also jacked up its selling & marketing (S&M) expenditure to $1.4 million, a 34% increase compared to FY19.

At the end of the FY20 period, Brainchip held consolidated net assets valued at $17.7 million, a jump from the $9.1 million held at the end of FY19.

Strong start, then a slide

The Brainchip share price got off to a strong start in January 2021 and is up 11.6% year to date. However, it has fallen 7.3% over the past month.

The company lists a number of risk factors in its FY20 report. A few examples include the risk of delays in new product development, intellectual property infringements, and risks associated with information technology breaches.

Other risks were in recruiting and retaining the right people, competition and lack of the company’s products being adopted.

Despite the challenges, Brainchip believes it finished off FY21, having made “significant strides in the development of our technology and commercialisation of Akida…”

Akida is the artificial intelligence (AI) company’s primary hardware product. Brainchip said its purpose was “to provide a complete ultra-low power and fast AI Edge Network for vision, audio, olfactory and smart transducer applications”.

Snapshot of the Brainchip share price

The Brainchip share price has gained 860% over the past year.

The company has a market capitalisation of $823 million, and there are presently 1.6 billion shares outstanding.

More reading

• Brainchip (ASX:BRN) share price slides on bigger loss

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

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The Flexiroam Ltd (ASX: FRX) share price was up as much as 35% today. The rise coming after the mobile network operator announced a partnership allowing it to offer Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) technology.

At the time of writing, the share price did come down from today’s high of 6.9 cents. It is currently sitting at 5.8 cents per share — still up 13.73% on yesterday’s close.

What did Flexiroam announce?

In a statement to the ASX, Flexiroam announced its partnership with Singapore/Malaysian BNPL provider, Split. Flexiroam stated that Split will be offered as a BNPL option via its Flexiroam Wallet product. Customers will be able to make purchases over three interest-free instalments.

However, the offer is only for Malaysian and Singaporean Flexiroam mobile users. The product will be free to download into Flexiroam Wallet. Split will also charge a transaction fee on sales generated.

Words from the executives

Commenting on today’s announcement, Flexiroam managing director, Jef Ong said:

The signing of our agreement with Split is an important development as the BNPL space is rapidly gaining traction in South East Asia…

He added:

[We] see the potential to offer further BNPL options to users outside of Malaysia and Singapore, in the future. Out of the 670 million people in South East Asia, only 27% have bank accounts, which means that there are hundreds of millions of unbanked and underbanked individuals who would require support using non-bank payment methods to purchase our products.

Split CEO, Dylan Tan, also gave his thoughts on today’s announcement, stating:

We are delighted to be offering Split as a payment option on the Flexiroam Wallet and look forward to giving our userbase a budget-friendly way to buy mobile data.

The huge growth of BNPL shares on the ASX

Flexiroam’s latest venture is another addition to the growing list of companies offering BNPL services. Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price has gone from $2.95 on its initial public offering (IPO) to nearly $120 at the time of writing.  Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) similarly, has seen remarkable growth. The share price in the company has gone 39 cents just 5 years ago to $10.45 as of writing.

Afterpay has a market capitalisation of $34.1 billion, while Zip’s is $5.8 billion.

Flexiroam share price snapshot

Today’s phenomenal rise is not out of the ordinary for Flexiroam. This time last year, the Flexiroam share price was sitting at 2 cents — a 155% increase. As recently as 8 February this year, shares in the telecom company were trading for as high as 9 cents each.

Flexiroam’s market capitalisation is $29 million.

More reading

• Here’s why brokers like these 2 small cap ASX tech shares
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• How did WAAAX shares perform this reporting season?
• ASX 200 slides lower, A2 Milk surges, Gold Road sinks
• Why February was a shocker for ASX 200 tech shares

Motley Fool contributor Marc Sidarous 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.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went up today by 0.8% to 6,818 points.

Australian GDP was in focus today as it rose by 3.1% in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX today.

Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO)

The ASX 200 miner announced today that the Chair Simon Thompson has informed the board will not seek re-election as a non-executive director at the 2022 annual general meeting (AGM).

Sam Laidlaw, senior independent director of Rio Tinto plc, and Simon McKeon, senior independent director of Rio Tinto Limited, will lead the search for Mr Thompson’s successor.

It was also announced that Michael L’Estrange, a non-executive director, will retire from the board at the conclusion of the 2021 AGMs.

Mr Thompson spoke about the company’s successes and failure with the Juukan Gorge rock shelters:

I am proud of Rio Tinto’s achievements in 2020, including our outstanding response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a second successive fatality-free year, significant progress with our climate change strategy, and strong shareholder returns. However, these successes were overshadowed by the destruction of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters at the Brockman 4 operations in Australia and, as Chairman, I am ultimately accountable for the failings that led to this tragic event.

Over the past eight months, we have engaged extensively with investors, government, civil society, indigenous leaders and, most importantly, traditional owners to learn the lessons from Juukan Gorge. We have taken decisive action to address the weaknesses identified in our risk management and governance, while also acknowledging the need to improve our work culture and to rebuild relationships. In January, we appointed a new chief executive, Jakob Stausholm, who has moved swiftly to appoint his new executive team and has identified his key priorities to rebuild the trust that we have lost.

The Rio Tinto share price went up 2% today.

Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC)

The Nine share price fell by 1% today.

The diversified media business announced that it has appointed Mike Sneesby as the new CEO, effective 1 April 2021, following the decision of Hugh Marks, the current CEO, to step down.

Who is Mr Sneesby? He has been the CEO of Stan Entertainment since its creation. Mr Sneesby was formerly the CEO of an e-commerce joint venture between Microsoft and Nine Entertainment called Cudo.

The chair of Nine Entertainment, Peter Costello, said:

We are pleased to make such a significant appointment. Under Mike’s leadership, Nine will be able to maintain the strong momentum it has built in audience, subscribers, content, revenue and earnings. Mike is well placed to continue to drive Nine’s transformation as a digitally led business which is actively adapting to meet the contemporary media consumption habits of Australians.

Mr Costello also pointed out that under Mr Mark’s leadership, the market capitalisation of the business grew from $1.3 billion to $5 billion.

Macmahon Holdings Limited (ASX: MAH) and St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM)

The two resource-related businesses announced that Macmahon has been selected as the mining contractor for the Gwalia underground gold project.

Macmahon will provide all underground mining services to the mine in Western Australia from May 2021. Those services include mine development, ground support, production drilling and blasting, loading and trucking, shotcreting and paste fill reticulation.

The initial contract term will be for five years, with St Barbara having the option to extend for a further 3-year period. Macmahon estimates that the contract will generate approximately $500 million in revenue over the initial 5-year term, which will require capital expenditure of around $40 million over FY21 and FY22.

Macmahon managing director and CEO Michael Finnegan said:

We are delighted to be selected for the Gwalia operation by St Barbara, a well-established and responded gold producer. We will work very closely with our new client to ensure continuity of operations during the transition period. This new project will make an important contribution to our strategic objective to diversify and expand our underground business.

More reading

• Aussie GDP numbers deliver a nice 3.1% surprise
• These ASX 200 shares are trading at near 52-week highs
• Is investing in ASX shares better than property?
• Why the Nine (ASX:NEC) share price hit another 52-week high
• 2 ASX 200 shares to buy for growth

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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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Due to the strong potential returns on offer at the small side of the market, having a little exposure to it can be a good thing for a portfolio. However, not all small caps are investment grade, so investors do need to be careful.

With that in mind, I have picked out two small cap ASX shares that have been named as buys. They are as follows:

Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (ASX: BTH)

Bigtincan is an artificial intelligence-powered sales enablement automation platform provider. Its platform is currently used by 7 of the top 10 companies on the Fortune 500.

Last week Bigtincan released its half year results and revealed that its strong growth has continued in FY 2021. It advised that its annualised recurring revenue (ARR) reached $48.4 million at the end of the half. This was a 50% increase over the prior corresponding period.

Looking ahead, management expects its growth to continue, albeit at a slower rate, in the second half. Management expects to hit the top end of its FY 2021 ARR guidance of $49 million to $53 million.

Another positive was that the company ended the period with a cash balance of $65 million. This gives it plenty of firepower to boost its growth through earnings accretive acquisitions.

Analysts at Ord Minnett were happy with its performance. Earlier this week, they put a buy rating and $1.08 price target on its shares. The broker believes Bigtincan has a long runway for growth in a large addressable market.

SILK Laser Australia Limited (ASX: SLA)

Another small cap ASX share to look at is SILK Laser. It is a laser, skin care, and cosmetic injections company.

SILK has continued its strong growth in FY 2021 despite the pandemic. The company recently released its half year results and revealed a 62% increase in network sales to $44.9 million and a 78% lift in revenue to $30.6 million.

This was driven by strong like for like sales and the addition of four new clinics to its growing network. SILK now has a total of 56 clinics across the country. This is still well short of its current target of 150 clinics.

And thanks to margin expansion, on the bottom line, the company’s net profit after tax came in 305% higher than the prior corresponding period at $4.7 million.

Ord Minnett was also pleased with this result. In response, it retained its buy rating and lifted its price target to $5.06.

More reading

• Here’s why brokers like these 2 small cap ASX tech shares
• Silk Laser (ASX:SLA) share price hits record high on stellar first half growth
• Why Appen, Bigtincan, Humm, & Nanosonics are tumbling lower
• The Bigtincan (ASX:BTH) share price is down 6%, despite strong growth
• These ASX shares are helping this fund manager smash the market

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends BIGTINCAN FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BIGTINCAN 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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The Nufarm Ltd (ASX: NUF) share price is rallying higher today. At the time of writing, the Nufarm share price was trading at $5.24, up 7.6%. Despite the strong rise in crop protection and seed producers’ share price, no news is out from the company today. 

However, macro conditions for the agricultural sector continue their favourable trend. This is supported by government data and information posted recently.

More money in the pockets of farmers

Today, the lift in the Nufarm share price appears to be centred around the stellar season for farmers.

Yesterday, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) noted that the average income from farming is expected to jump 18% to $184,000.

I come from a farming background myself. So it is a great feeling to see hard work and honest living being rewarded. Especially after a challenging year.

The ABARES 20201 outlook cited a record winter crop in NSW, after years of poor conditions. Furthermore, dairy farm income is projected to increase by 2%.  Lower feeding costs will assist this.

How does all this influence Nufarm? Well, if there are good conditions for crops, and farmers have the money, it’s possible it will be spent on products to protect those crops. Also, if the weather permits, farmers will be buying more seeds to grow their next season of crops.

Nufarm’s share price rebuilding alongside the company

It has been a challenging 12-18 months for Nufarm and its share price. The weather abides by no one and it certainly wasn’t favourable not too long ago. Dry seasons throughout the various locations in which Nufarm operates heavily impacted the business.

Unfortunately, when the rain started coming down, COVID-19 was ramping up. The supply chain impacts of this event meant the company couldn’t meet the demand.

Since then, supply chains have settled and Nufarm has benefitted from the demand. In an update in February, the company reported revenue growth of 46% on the prior 4 months in the Asia Pacific Region. Other operational regions also fared reasonably well with growth.

The Nufarm share price has managed to recover 21% in the last 6 months during the optimal conditions. This places the 12 month gain in share price at 2.4%.

More reading

• All eyes on ASX agriculture shares as farm incomes tipped to grow by 18%
• Why the Nufarm (ASX:NUF) share price finished 7% higher today

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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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