ASX iron ore shares have been on the nose recently and a warning by Goldman Sachs today will only add to the gloom.

Iron ore prices have been under pressure since China announced new curbs on steel mills to cut pollution.

This is why the BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price, Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price have been backing away from their recent peaks.

But that’s not the only thing that could keep ASX miners on a back foot.

Oversupply risk clouding ASX iron ore shares

“The GS commodities team now see a recovery in Brazilian exports and a Chinese environmental policy driven slowdown in steel production to narrow the seaborne iron ore deficit in 2021 (9Mt deficit vs. 27Mt deficit previously),” said Goldman.

“They now forecast a clear surplus in 2022 (23Mt surplus vs. 8Mt deficit previously), followed by a more sizeable 49Mt surplus in 2023.”

Is this the time to be dumping these ASX shares? It’s a fair question given that the major ASX miners have zoomed ahead of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) over the past year.

When gloomy outlook leads to earnings upgrades

But despite Goldman’s oversupply warning, the broker actually lifted its valuation on the sector.

This is because it believes the market will hold up reasonably well even with the excess supply. Goldman increased its price forecast for the steel making commodity by US$15 to US$135 a tonne for 2021 as prices have been stronger than it expected coming into this calendar year.

It left its 2022 price estimate unchanged at US$95 a tonne and modestly lifted its long-term price assumption to US$65 from US$62 a tonne.

Falling prices but reasonably positive outlook

“In the near term, ongoing strong demand from China (infra, property) and RoW, and mill margin strength, should limit the sustainability of any iron ore sell-off in the next few months,” said the broker.

“China’s environmental policies should provide more support for higher grade ore vs. lower grade 58% ore.”

Foolish takeaway on ASX iron ore shares

As far as warnings go, this one seems to have more good than bad news. But I get the distinctive feeling that brokers are slowly falling out of love with iron more miners.

It was only yesterday that I reported that Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) cut its exposure to iron ore from its model portfolio.

This was done to make space for ASX miners that produced metals needed in electric vehicles.

Goldman has a “neutral” recommendation on all the ASX iron ore producers, except for BHP.

“We maintain our Buy on BHP due to strong FCF, production growth and 30% EBITDA exposure to our bullish view on met coal, copper and oil,” added Goldman.

The broker’s 12-month price target on the BHP share price is $53.40 a share.

More reading

• Why Advance Nanotek, BHP, Limemade, & Metcash shares are sinking
• Should you buy BHP, Fortescue, or Rio Tinto shares?
• Chinese factory output is up an astonishing 35%
• Struggling to ride the wave of constant investing news?
• Why the Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price leapt 5% today

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of BHP Billiton Limited, Macquarie Group Limited, and Rio Tinto Ltd. Connect with me on Twitter @brenlau.

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

The post Broker warns of big iron ore oversupply next year: time to panic? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/310rM5D

The Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) share price is having a pretty decent day today. Coles shares are currently trading for $15.69 after rising 1.29% in intra-day trading so far. That’s a bit better than what the broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is doing today, being up 1.03%.

But zooming out, the picture is a little more divergent. Since the dawn of the year, the ASX 200 is up a reasonably healthy 2.5%

But over the same period, the Coles share price is down a nasty 15.03%, taking into account today’s rise. Yep, Coles shares started the year at $18.50.

Zooming even further out, and the picture is even worse for Cole shareholders. The supermarket giant was swapping hands for more than $19.20 a share in mid-August last year. That means the current Coles share price is down nearly 19% from those highs.

On the surface, it’s hard to know exactly why investors are shunning Coles. Sure, it’s arguably not the most exciting company in the country. But it’s a stable, dividend-paying consumer staples company. That has a lot of appeal for many investors in its own right, you would think.

Coles even reported an 8% rise in revenues and a 12% bump in earnings last month during its half-year earnings report for the six months ending 31 December 2020. Net profits were also up 14.5% over the previous corresponding period. Even Coles’ interim dividend was bumped up a healthy 10% to 33 cents per share.

On current pricing, that gives Coles a trialling, fully franked dividend yield of 3.88% (or 5.54% grossed-up). Objectively, that seems a pretty attractive yield in this era of near-zero interest rates.

Why are Coles shares out of favour?

But it was the immediate aftermath of the delivery of this earnings report that saw the Coles share price collapse. Obviously, negative sentiment still abounds today if we revisit the statistics above. So there must be something in the water here.

Management did offer some nuanced commentary as part of its report, so let’s dig deeper into that:

Depending on COVID-19, vaccine roll out and efficacy, and other factors, sales in the supermarket sector may moderate significantly or even decline in the second half of FY21 and into FY22.

Coles will be cycling elevated sales from COVID-19 in supermarkets late in the third quarter, for the remainder of the second half, and most of FY22 associated with: pantry stocking; people working and eating from home; customers shopping online to avoid physically being in-store; more Australians being in Australia due to border closures.

Coles also pointed out that reduced immigration (and population growth by extension), as well as the reduction in government stimulus measures (such as JobKeeper), might also drag on future sales growth.

So it’s not hard to see why investors weren’t too enchanted by these predictions. Coles is arguably telling shareholders to expect to see sales (and possibly earnings and profits) go backwards across the rest of FY2021 and into FY2022.

Coles also has a proportional dividend policy (aiming to pay out  80-90% of earnings). That might even result in a dividend cut if earnings reduce substantially.

Could it be for these reasons that investors have been shunning the Coles shares of late?

On the current Coles share price, the company has a market capitalisation of $20.98 billion, and a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 20.

More reading

• These 2 ASX shares are the newest “buy” ideas from top brokers
• ASX 200 up 0.8%: Metcash update, tech shares rebound, PointsBet acquisition
• We’ll get 7.8% yield from ASX this year, says investment pro
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• ASX 200 recovers, Evolution Mining acquisition, Afterpay sinks

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

The post Why the Coles (ASX:COL) share price is still down 15% in 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

ASX e-commerce shares have largely enjoyed a tremendous run since February 2020. We’ll look at 2 of those high performing ASX shares below.

The broader e-commerce sector, as you’re likely aware, received a tremendous lift from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. With rolling lockdowns and continual social distancing, buying your food and consumer items online suddenly became much more appealing. And much more popular.

So as many bricks and mortar retailers with a limited online presence suffered, the online retail companies broadly boomed.

But investors are now wondering whether that trend has run its course. With vaccines rolling out across the world, will the e-commerce boom fizzle?

What the e-commerce experts said

According to Bloomberg, PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL) said “there’s been no slowdown in online shopping even as cities around the world begin to reopen”.

PayPal CEO Dan Schulman said, “Even as people get vaccines and start to go out, their business will forever be changed. I don’t think there’s any going back to what was”.

PayPal’s share price has soared 170% over the past 12 months, giving the BNPL giant a market cap of US$293 billion (AU$378 billion).

Closer to home, Gabby Leibovich knows a thing or 2 about e-commerce as well. As the Australian Financial Review reports, back in 2019 he and his brother sold their company Catch Group to Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES).

Looking back on the pandemic months, Leibovich said:

Who would’ve imagined that all stores in Victoria would be forced to shut for 10 weeks. Like never before, the change was forced upon us, causing an immediate drive to online shopping by so many Australians that have never shopped online before… I have many friends in retail and e-commerce, and it’s fair to say that all of them have experienced tremendous growth over the last 12 months.

That’s the past 12 months covered. But what about the future?

Leibovich added, “Once the genie is out of the bottle, it will never go back in… As e-commerce revenue multiplies, companies’ valuations skyrocket, and investors are now valuing e-commerce companies more than they ever did before.”

Two leading ASX e-commerce shares

There are a number of quality e-commerce shares trading on the ASX. Two of the best performers have been online retailer Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) and home delivery food service Marley Spoon AG (ASX: MMM).

Kogan’s shares are up 3.5% in intraday trade today bring the 12 months gains to 266%. That compares to a gain of 37% on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) during that same time. Year-to-date the Kogan share price is down 28%. At the current price of $13.89 per share, Kogan has a market cap of $1.5 billion.

Marley Spoon shareholders have also enjoyed a great 12 months, with shares up an eye-popping 936%. Year-to-date the Marley Spoon share price has slipped 4%. At the current price of $2.64 per share, Marley Spoon has a market cap of $661 million.

More reading

• ASX quarterly rebalance: HUB24 joins ASX 200, Brainchip into ASX 300
• This fundie refuses to invest in gambling and fossil fuels
• Can ASX BNPL companies like Afterpay (ASX:APT) compete with Paypal?
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Calm restored to the ASX 200
• 2 amazing ASX tech shares to buy right now

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 PayPal Holdings and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $75 calls on PayPal Holdings. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended PayPal Holdings. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Why ASX e-commerce shares could keep running higher in 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

On Monday I looked at three ASX shares that brokers have given buy ratings to this week.

Unfortunately, not all shares are in favour with them right now. Three that have just been given sell ratings are listed below. Here’s why these brokers are bearish on these ASX shares:

Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT)

According to a note out of Morgan Stanley, its analysts have downgraded this travel agent’s shares to an underweight rating with a $17.50 price target. The broker made the move on valuation grounds, noting that its shares are now trading above their pre-pandemic levels after adjusting for its capital raising. And while it expects Flight Centre’s earnings to rebound in FY 2022, it believes there are better value options for investors in the travel and tourism sector. The Flight Centre share price is fetching $19.09 today.

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

A note out of Goldman Sachs reveals that its analysts have retained their sell rating but lifted their price target on this property company’s shares to $12.90. Following a detailed review of its half year results, the broker has upgraded its earnings estimates for the coming years. Nevertheless, its estimates are still below consensus and the broker feels its shares are expensive at current levels. The Goodman share price is currently trading notably higher than this price target at $17.61 on Tuesday afternoon.

Vicinity Centres (ASX: VCX)

Analysts at UBS have retained their sell rating but lifted their price target on this shopping centre focused property company’s shares to $1.54. According to the note, the broker believes that valuations could come under pressure as income profiles and yields are adjusted to account for its lower growth profile. Especially given how city retail properties continue to face difficult trading conditions because of domestic and international border restrictions and working from home initiatives. The Vicinity share price is trading at $1.71.

More reading

• These 2 ASX shares are the newest “buy” ideas from top brokers
• Share market on watch over AstraZeneca vaccine fears
• The Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) share price is up 40% in six months: Can it go higher?
• These are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX
• The JobKeeper payment is ending. So what will happen next?

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

The post Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3eIbk1D

PropTech Group Ltd (ASX: PTG) shares have reached an all-time high after the company advised it has signed a letter of intent with Harcourts International.

At the time of writing, the PropTech share price is soaring 17.65% to 50 cents. In earlier trade, the company’s shares reached an intraday high of 54 cents, surpassing their previous all-time high of 52 cents reached in December last year. 

PropTech Group provides a range of property analysis technologies, sales management and software-as-a-service tools targeted at property investors and real estate agencies across Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Its brands include MyDesktop, VaultRE and Real Estate Investar.

Let’s take a look at what the company announced today.

Potential deal with Harcourts

The PropTech share price is on the rise after the company declared this new deal, if successful, will see the VaultRE product on track to cement “its position as the clear market leader” in the ANZ region.

In its announcement, PropTech advised that Harcourts is the largest real estate group in New Zealand and is also growing fast in Australia. It makes up the second-largest property franchise group in the Australia/New Zealand region. 

If the agreement is successful, Harcourts would join Ray White and Raine and Horne in using VaultRE, PropTech’s CRM software. Together, the companies make up Australia and New Zealand’s three largest franchise real estate groups.

Harcourts has proposed that VaultRE will be the only CRM software endorsed across its Australasian network.

The agreement would see PropTech taking control of Harcourts’ existing proprietary software. Then, while providing support across both platforms, transitioning Harcourts’ 600 Australian and New Zealand offices onto its VaultRE software.

Management commentary 

Joe Hanna, CEO and Managing Director of PropTech Group, said the company is honoured to potentially work with Harcourts:

The PropTech Group’s mission is to streamline inefficient workflows in high-performing real estate agencies by investing in product improvement, rapid innovation, and AI solutions. We look forward to bringing our market-leading tools to the Harcourts’ network to migrate their 600 plus offices in New Zealand and Australia to the VaultRE platform.

PropTech share price snapshot

The PropTech share price was out of action for most of last year, having entered a voluntary trading halt in early March and resuming trading on 24 November 2020. Since resuming trade, PropTech shares have surged by nearly 80%. Currently, the PropTech share price is also up by around 19% year to date.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $23.7 million with approximately 122 million shares outstanding.

More reading

• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• 3 reasons why the Redbubble (ASX:RBL) share price could be a buy
• Why Advance Nanotek, BHP, Limemade, & Metcash shares are sinking
• The Afterpay Ltd (ASX:APT) share price on watch after launch in France, Spain and Italy
• Why the Bellevue (ASX:BGL) share price is charging higher today

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

The post Why the PropTech (ASX:PTG) share price is soaring 18% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

There are a number of reasons why investors may want to be interested in the Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL) share price.

What’s Redbubble?

In Redbubble’s own words, its community of ‘passionate creatives’ sell uncommon designs on high-quality, everyday products such as apparel, stationery, housewares, bags, wall art and other categories.

It operates two websites, one is Redbubble.com and the other is TeePublic.com. Through these two e-commerce platforms, artists are able to profit from their creativity.

Who thinks the Redbubble share price is a buy?

One broker that thinks Redbubble shares are a buy is Morgans, which has a share price target of $6.64.

Fund manager Joseph Kim from Montgomery Investment Management is also a fan of the business. Mr Kim said:

The opportunity set for Redbubble is compelling. The business already has a global presence with its main markets being North America and Europe. Should the company build a recognisable brand, the potential to be a global e-commerce marketplace for aspiring artists presents significant upside. Recent interest in both social and mainstream media point to growing brand awareness, which helps perpetuate the flywheel effects.

It’s important to note Redbubble’s recent success has required continuous investment – not just in the website itself, but also the supply chain infrastructure with fulfillers and shippers – including product quality control. This has helped the business meet the surge in demand, while benefiting financially from the operating leverage that comes with higher sales.

Rising profit margins

Redbubble has seen its operating leverage increasing, as Mr Kim alluded to.

In the first half of FY21, its marketplace revenue jumped 96% to $352.8 million, whilst earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 1,028% to $48.8 million and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) grew 2,270% to $41.8 million.

Aside from the EBITDA and EBIT margins – which just went positive – the other margins also improved materially.

The gross profit margin (on marketplace revenue) grew 4.1 percentage points to 40.8%. The gross profit after paid acquisition/marketing (GPAPA) improved 2.6 percentage points to 28.3%.

As Redbubble’s profit margins increased, the bottom line can improve much faster than just the revenue growth. This could help the Redbubble share price.

Focused management and a focused business

The Redbubble management have spoken about the focus of the business to maintain and improve its market position and strengths.

Michael Ilczynski, the CEO of Redbubble, said:

The strategic priority for the group now is to ensure we extend the market leadership we have established. We intend to invest in both the artist and customer experiences, to improve loyalty and retention and to ensure long-term growth.

Redbubble has four areas that it’s focused on.

It’s focused on artist acquisition, activation and retention. Another key initiative is user acquisition and transaction optimisation. The next focus is customer understanding, loyalty and brand building. The final focus is further physical product and fulfilment network expansion.

E-commerce and growing product offering

Redbubble says that it’s an emerging winner in a rapidly shifting landscape, with the company pointing out that on-demand technology and user-generated content has enabled rapid scaling. Broker Morgans believes Redbubble will be a long-term beneficiary of the e-commerce shift.

The ASX share also says that it’s benefiting from the virtuous cycle of a growing community of artists which is fuelling strong demand for unique content.

As the company adds another category of products to its offering, it opens up a larger total addressable market. The addition of masks last year unlocked millions of dollars of revenue.

Is there much upside for the Redbubble share price?

To reach Morgans’ price target of $6.64, that represents a potential increase of 11% over the next 12 months.

More reading

• Will the ASX share e-commerce boom last?
• Will the Kogan (ASX:KGN) share price outperform in 2021?
• Nasdaq slumps overnight, ASX 200 shares to open weaker
• Why Afterpay, IOUpay, Liontown Resources, & Redbubble are racing higher
• Top ASX shares to buy in March 2021

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.

The post 3 reasons why the Redbubble (ASX:RBL) share price could be a buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2Q9QL48

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a very positive day on Tuesday. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up 1.2% to 6,856.4 points.

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

Advance Nanotek Ltd (ASX: ANO)

The Advance Nanotek share price is down 9% to $4.01. This may be due to profit taking after some strong gains recently. As the company creats ingredients that go into sunscreen products, investors may have been hopeful that demand will increase now that COVID-19 vaccines are being rolled out.

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

The BHP share price is down 1.5% to $47.19. This is despite there being no news out of the mining giant today. However, while Goldman Sachs continues to rate BHP shares as a buy, this morning it warned that iron ore was likely to go from being in a deficit this year to a surplus in 2022. This is expected to put pressure on the price of the steel making ingredient.

Limeade Inc (ASX: LME)

The Limeade share price has continued its slide and is down a further 2.5% to 88.5 cents despite a rebound in the tech sector. Investors have been selling the employee experience software company’s shares since the release of its results last month. Particularly disappointing investors was its guidance for FY 2021. Management expects revenue of US$50 million to US$53 million. This is a decline on FY 2020’s revenue of US$56.6 million. Falling customer numbers is weighing on its performance.

Metcash Limited (ASX: MTS)

The Metcash share price is down 3.5% to $3.40 following the release of its strategy update. At the event, the wholesale distributor also revealed that its strong sales momentum had continued for all business segments during the second half of 2021. Supermarket, hardware, and liquor sales have all experienced double-digit growth compared to the prior corresponding period. Investors may have been expecting an even stronger update.

More reading

• ASX 200 up 0.8%: Metcash update, tech shares rebound, PointsBet acquisition
• Should you buy BHP, Fortescue, or Rio Tinto shares?
• Why the Metcash (ASX:MTS) share price is in focus
• Chinese factory output is up an astonishing 35%
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

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

The post Why Advance Nanotek, BHP, Limemade, & Metcash shares are sinking appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price is on watch today. This comes after its official launch in Southern Europe with merchants in France, Spain, and Italy. While Afterpay has yet to release an announcement on the ASX, co-founder and Co-CEO Nick Molnar confirmed the launch this morning. 

At the time of writing, the Afterpay share price is trading at $111.30, up 2.74%. 

Clearpay to bring the Afterpay share price to Europe 

Afterpay previously announced the completion of its Pagantis acquisition on 10 March. It hinted that Spain, France, and Italy would be the first countries to go live through its subsidiary, Clearpay. The company’s commentary cited that these three countries combined have an addressable e-commerce market that exceeds 150 billion euros. 

In Afterpay’s half-year results presentation, the company highlights buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) as an emerging participant in the $9.4 trillion global retail market. By geography, North America, the European Union, the UK, and ANZ represent a respective 60.5%, 27.5%, 7.5%, and 4.5% of the global retail market. The presentation also noted Afterpay had over a $1 billion pipeline of global merchants in process of contracting for the EU. 

With the green light obtained from the Bank of Spain, Afterpay now has the ability to provide its products to a broader market. This includes Germany and Portugal, alongside its launch in France, Spain, and Italy today. 

Comments from the CEO

Nick Molnar further commented on the recent growth in e-commerce and entry into Europe: 

In the last year, global ecommerce grew faster than it had in the last ten years. By introducing Clearpay, we are giving Europeans a better way to access the things they want and need in their lives via a flexible payment service that allows shoppers to spend their own money and pay over time – instead of turning to expensive loans and credit cards which come with interest, fees and revolving debt.

Afterpay has taken the first-mover advantage into the EU. This puts it ahead of ASX-listed BNPL rivals such as Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) and Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL). Zip currently has two minority investments providing the company leverage into the United Arab Emirates, Czechia, and Poland.  

The Afterpay share price has pushed higher this afternoon and is currently 2.85% higher at the time of writing. 

More reading

• Here’s what Citi thinks about the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Why did the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price and 2 other BNPLs fall today?
• ASX 200 recovers, Evolution Mining acquisition, Afterpay sinks
• Here’s why the Sezzle (ASX:SZL) share price is crashing 5% today

Kerry Sun 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 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.

The post The Afterpay Ltd (ASX:APT) share price on watch after launch in France, Spain and Italy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

The Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL) share price is up 5.42% in early afternoon trading after ASX gold miner announced its latest drill results.

At the time of writing, the Bellevue share price is trading for 81.7 cents per share after earlier posting gains of nearly 7%.

What drill results did Bellevue report?

In today’s release, the company reported a new batch of high-grade results from its drilling program at the Marceline discovery within its Western Australia Bellevue Gold Project.

The fresh batch of results extends the known strike length of Marceline to 500 metres. Bellevue reported that the mineralisation remains open in every direction and that it will continue with step-out and infill drilling at the discovery.

The company listed the following significant results:

• 8m @ 20.1g/t including 0.9m @ 102.7g/t gold from 489.4m in DRDD590
• 1m @ 45.5g/t gold from 503.4m in DRDD600
• 2m @ 21.0g/t gold from 459m in DRDD614
• 0m @ 16.7g/t gold from 455.7m in DDUG0005
• 9m @ 13.0g/t gold from 462.1m in DRDD598
• 2m @ 45.1g/t gold from 479.4m in DRDD589
• 2m @ 6.0g/t gold from 379.8m in DRDD598
• 5m @ 12.1g/t gold from 459.9m in DDUG0010

What did management say?

Commenting on the latest drill results, Bellevue managing director Steve Parsons said:

These latest results, with grades of more than 20 g/t, show that Marceline is a significant discovery in its own right. But given the scope to leverage the planned and existing infrastructure at Bellevue, Marceline has the potential to contribute to the production profile and mine life estimates in the stage two feasibility study.

One of the main benefits being that $10 million of capital has already been costed in the stage one study and any additional ounces coming into the mine plan from the Marceline Lode are expected to benefit from a lower level of capital intensity.

Bellevue Gold expects to complete its stage two feasibility study at Marceline in the June quarter.

Bellevue Gold share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Bellevue shares have gained 133%. That compares to a 40% gain on the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

Year-to-date, however, the Bellevue share price is down 31%.

More reading

• Why the Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL) share price is on watch
• Why is the Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL) share price frozen?
• Why the Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL) share price is crashing 23% lower today
• Why Bellevue Gold, Coles, NRW, & Perpetual shares are trading lower today

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

The post Why the Bellevue (ASX:BGL) share price is charging higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/38JJNt1

The Dexus Property Group (ASX: DXS) share price has been steadily rising today following the announcement of its agreement with AMP Capital Diversified Property Fund (ADPF).

At the time of writing, shares in the real estate group are changing hands for $9.55 a share, up 2.19%.

Merging to be bigger and better

According to the release, the Dexus Wholesale Property Fund (DWPF) has entered into an implementation agreement with the independent board committee of ADPF.

Similar acronyms aside, the two property funds are said to share similarities in property assets. As per the release, the overall sector allocation and portfolio quality of ADPF are comparable to the DWPF portfolio.

The proposed merger has been in the works for the past 6 months. Additionally, it seems the objective of the merger is to optimise performance through economies of scale. That should mean fewer costs and greater profits, explaining the increased Dexus share price today.

Dexus CEO, Darren Steinberg, added his comments in the release:

We are pleased to be able to make progress that will enable this merger to be voted on by both sets of Unitholders. This merger delivers further economies of scale from a management, procurement and leasing perspective across the platform and is strongly aligned with our objective of being the wholesale partner of choice.

If the merger is approved ADPF’s $5 billion fund will combine with DWPF’s $10 billion fund to… you guessed it, make a $15 billion property fund. The fund will remain invested in the office, retail, and industrial sectors.

What’s next for the Dexus property fund?

As noted in the release, Dexus and DWPF have struck a balance in the transaction structure that addresses the needs of ADPF unitholders, while also providing liquidity for DWPF. Consequently, the merger is subject to respective responsible entities, as well as both DWPF and ADPF unitholders.

Voting on the merger is expected to be held late next month. If approved, Dexus will then provide further details around how much the group will need to contribute and what the expected returns are.

Dexus share price snapshot

The Dexus share price was clobbered last year due to concerns of COVID-19. The uncertainty surrounding lease arrangements on office spaces, retail stores, etc. had investors fleeing. However, unlike many other shares, Dexus is still nowhere near its pre-pandemic highs. In fact, over the past 12 months, the property group’s share price has dropped 19.4%. 

In spite of the impacts, Dexus continues to pay a significant dividend, yielding 5.5%. 

The property market is picking up pace once again. Although, as mentioned by the AFR, there are ‘looming headwinds’ as lifestyles have changed.

More reading

• AMP (ASX:AMP) selling assets too cheaply warns Macquarie
• Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price rises as it inks office deal with AMP (ASX:AMP)
• Demoted AMP exec paid $1m bonus for 53 days’ work
• AMP (ASX:AMP) share price on watch as second buyer for its asset could emerge
• ASX 200 sinks 2.4%, Afterpay plunges, AMP jumps

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.

The post Dexus (ASX:DXS) share price rises on proposed $15 billion fund merger appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3eVz5nl