In late morning trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week with a strong gain. At the time of writing the benchmark index is up 1.5% to 6,281.4 points.

Four shares that have missed out on the rally today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping lower:

Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX: PTM)

The Platinum share price is down almost 1% to $3.07 following the release of its latest funds under management update. According to the release, during October, the fund manager experienced net outflows of approximately $197 million. But thanks to favourable market movements, the company’s funds under management grew 1.3% month on month to $21,769 million.

ReadyTech Holdings Ltd (ASX: RDY)

The ReadyTech share price has fallen 2% to $1.96 after returning from a trading halt. The education and employment software as a service provider’s shares were halted last week whilst it launched a $25 million institutional placement at $1.88 per new share. This represents a 6.2% discount to its last close price. These funds will be used for the potential acquisitions of leading government-based software provider, Open Office, and justice case management software provider, McGirr.

Tabcorp Holdings Limited (ASX: TAH)

The Tabcorp share price has dropped 1.5% to $4.04. Investors have been selling the gambling company’s shares after it experienced an outage over the weekend. The major outage impacted its TAB, Keno, and Gaming Services operations and systems from around 11:30am AEDT on Saturday. The majority of its services have now been restored. Management’s immediate focus is on ensuring the systems return to optimal service levels in coming days.

Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)

The Whitehaven share price is down almost 3% to $1.06 despite there being no news out of the coal miner. However, as I mentioned here earlier today, Whitehaven has recently become one of the most shorted shares on the Australian share market. Investors appears concerned by reports that China is banning Australian coal imports.

More reading

• 5 ASX 200 shares that rose by more than 15% last week
• Why the ReadyTech (ASX:RDY) share price is dropping lower today
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: US election special
• These are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Readytech Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Readytech Holdings Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN) share price rose by 6.7% last week, despite a barrage of bad news. 

On one hand, the company is planning to open its new establishment at Barangaroo on 14 December. On the other hand the gaming commission inquiry has heard that Crown is unsuitable to hold the casino licence.

Counsel assisting the inquiry also stated clearly that the influence of Packer and his private company Consolidated Press Holdings (CPH) had a “deleterious impact on the good governance of Crown”.

Even NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has cast doubt on the opening of Crown’s NSW casino, stating that she would seek “urgent and immediate” advice on the matter. 

How has the Crown share price performed recently?

The Crown share price fell dramatically prior to its AGM. This was after the company’s largest institutional investor, Perpetual Limited (ASX: PPT), declared it would vote to oppose the re-election of three directors. This follows months of public discussion of money laundering accusations at Crown. Financial crimes regulator AUSTRAC has also declared “serious concerns” over the issue, driving it to launch its own investigation.

On the day before Crown’s AGM, the company formally announced the termination of all agreements between Crown and CPH. In addition, the AGM saw a strong protest vote against three directors, as well as the board’s remuneration report. The abstention by CPH allowed the directors to retain their seats, but also caused the remuneration report to receive a “first strike”.

Additionally, the Australian Financial Review reports that the federal Labor Party has demanded Crown chair Helen Coonan be removed from her role as the head of the federal government’s Australian Financial Complaints Authority.

Nevertheless, the Crown share price began to edge upwards after its AGM.

Foolish takeaway

The resignation of two directors, termination of all agreements between CPH and Crown, and the continuing gaming commission inquiry are all an exercise in transparency and accountability.

Amid the recent turbulence, the Crown share price continues to rise, sitting at $9.04 at the time of writing.

More reading

• RBA taps bank partners for crypto Australian dollar project
• Why the AMP (ASX:AMP) share price could be set to rocket higher today
• These could be the next ASX stocks to unlock value by selling assets
• Crown Resorts (ASX:CWN) share price edges upward after AGM results
• Broker updates are mixed on these 6 high profile ASX 200 shares

Motley Fool contributor Daryl Mather has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Crown Resorts Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The AVITA Therapeutics Inc (ASX: AVH) share price is pushing higher on Monday following the release of an announcement.

At the time of writing, the regenerative medicine company’s shares are up over 2.5% to $6.10.

Why is the AVITA share price pushing higher?

Investors have been buying the company’s shares this morning after it announced a preclinical research collaboration with Houston Methodist Research Institute.

According to the release, the collaboration will see the pairing of AVITA’s proprietary Spray-On Skin Cells with Houston Methodist Research Institute’s expertise in reversing cellular ageing.

The project is ultimately seeking to establish proof-of-concept for the development of a novel approach to reverse ageing and rejuvenate skin. It also includes the potential for broader applicability, such as scar revision and wound healing.

In addition to this, AVITA has entered into an option agreement to negotiate an exclusive, worldwide license to this patented technology for skin applications. It also has the first right of negotiation to technologies emerging from the collaboration for potential further development and commercialisation.

Management commentary.

AVITA Therapeutics’ Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Mike Perry, commented: “The Houston Methodist Research Institute is at the forefront of developing cutting-edge approaches for reversing cellular aging, and we look forward to working together on the exploration of combining their technology with AVITA Therapeutics’ proprietary Spray-on Skin Cells to rejuvenate aging skin.”

“This collaboration expands our pipeline to include exploration of modified-cells delivery and is another milestone in our commitment to harnessing the promise of regenerative medicine and unlocking the full potential of our technology platform to improve patients’ lives through skin restoration,” he added.

This sentiment was echoed by the Houston Methodist Research Institute.

The Institute’s Chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, John Cooke, M.D., Ph.D., commented: “AVITA Therapeutics’ innovative platform has advanced care for burn patients, and we are encouraged by the progress we have seen with our technology in improving cell function through our progeria research.”

“We look forward to collaborating with AVITA to combine our respective technology platforms to explore a potential new approach to reverse aging and improve functionality of skin. Our experience in RNAbased methods to regenerate blood vessels and reverse age-related endotheliopathy is directly relevant to skin repair and rejuvenation,” he concluded.

More reading

• 3 ASX small cap shares you must add to your watchlist
• The ASX 200 sank almost 2% today

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 Avita Medical Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Avita Medical Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP) share price slipped 4% following its annual general meeting update last Thursday. Big brokers have largely raised their share price targets despite retaining neutral to sell ratings. Here’s the run down. 

FY21 trading update

The trading update highlights an 8.4% increase in group same store sales growth in the first 17 weeks of FY21.

Group CEO and managing director, Don Meij said that sales growth across the group was “now more normalised than at the initial peaks, in all regions above our medium term outlook”. Mr Meij pointed to Germany and Japan as outperforming regions given local coronavirus conditions and the assertive actions of management. 

During this period, the business also recorded 74 new store openings, a record for this time of the year, and reflecting the high level of appetite in its franchised and corporate business to meet customer demand. 

Despite short-term uncertainty and challenges, the business remains confident in its medium-long term outlook. Domino’s 3-5 year outlook targets annual same store sales growth between 3-6% and annual organic new store additions of between 7-9%. Given its ongoing strong performance, the company expects to see a record number of new stores open in FY21. 

Cautious broker updates for the Domino’s share price 

Big brokers updated their Domino’s share price targets last Friday with a largely neutral to negative tone. Domino’s trades at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of almost 50. This compares to similar food businesses such as Collins Food Ltd (ASX: CKF) that trades at half that valuation.

Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) raised its Domino’s share price target from $77.30 to $84.30 and retains a neutral rating. It notes that first quarter sales were ahead of expectations. However, new store openings was a disappointment but not surprising given the state of the pandemic outside Australia. 

UBS Group AG (NYSE: UBS) also raised its Domino’s share price target from $70.00 to $72.00 and retains a sell rating. Sales during the first quarter were in-line with expectations but it expects lower sales growth to reflect the ongoing impact of the pandemic in other regions. The price target increase was given to reflect its performance so far. 

Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE: CS) was the only broker to lower its Domino’s share price target from $61.32 to $58.71 with an underperform rating. After reviewing the first quarter trading update, it notes slowing sales growth and expects the pandemic to continue to impact the business ex-Australia. 

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: US election special
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell next week
• ASX 200 rises again on Friday
• Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price under pressure after 32% profit drop
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

Motley Fool contributor Lina Lim has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Collins Foods Limited and Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The story of last week on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) can be told largely in the 5 shares that saw the biggest gains. While the US election caused a fair bit of turbulence throughout the week, there were legitimate growth stories. In fact, just like the week before, when the ASX 200 was rocked by 2 separate billion dollar takeover ploys within 4 days of each other, last week also had a few surprises.

Last week on the ASX 200

Takeovers on the ASX 200

The Tabcorp Holdings Limited (ASX: TAH) share price rose 24.62% over last week, with most of it at the tail end of the week. On Friday, Tabcorp shares rose swiftly on rumours that private equity funds in the USA were running a ruler over the company with a view to acquisition.

The Australian believes the figure was likely to be around $9 billion, which is considerably more than Tabcorp was valued at when trading started on Friday.

Travel and tourism

The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price rose by 24.42% across the week, particularly after its AGM on Thursday. This ASX 200 share still faces a lot of uncertainty. Nevertheless, it has approximately $1 billion in liquidity to tide it over for an extended period. Moreover, the company has been very ruthless in cost cutting measures and believes it can be profitable at 40% of pre-COVID-19 revenues. 

Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) saw its share price jump by 20.34% in the week of its AGM. The company made many difficult decisions through FY20 resulting in a 50% reduction in costs, even to the point of closing once profitable businesses. Moreover, the company strengthened its balance sheet with a share placement and rights entitlement from April 2020. Webjet believes people will resume their travel patterns as soon as conditions permit. However, this recovery will be decidedly non-linear and will initially emerge where either there are vaccines, or in safe corridors. 

Discretionary Retail

Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE) saw its share price rise by 16.48% upon news of the intention to acquire the Castle Hill site in NSW.  This is on the back of a September announcement to purchase 5 properties currently leased by its dealerships. The latest purchase strengthens the company’s tangible assets value and will provide a $15 million benefit over the current lease term. AP Eagers intends to reconfigure the site to house up to 8 auto brands. 

REITs and infrastructure

Vicinity Centres (ASX: VCX) saw its share price jump by 15.7% across the week, after the announcement it intends to pay a dividend for this half. The ASX 200 REIT is heavily exposed to the Melbourne mall market, and is also impacted heavily by CBD workers staying home. Sales for the quarter ended 30 September across the portfolio were 32% below last year, largely due to the impact of Victorian centres being closed. Moreover, foot traffic has hit 80% of last year across the portfolio by early November.

More reading

• 5 notable events on the ASX 200 this week
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: US election special
• These are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX
• Which 5 ASX shares hit 52-week highs on Friday?
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week

Motley Fool contributor Daryl Mather has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price has been a poor performer in 2020.

Since the start of the year, the banking giant’s shares are down a sizeable 20%.

Is this a buying opportunity?

One leading broker that sees the NAB share price weakness as a buying opportunity is Goldman Sachs.

According to a note out of the investment bank late last week, its analysts have retained their conviction buy rating and lifted the price target on the company’s shares to $21.18.

Combined with its forecast of a fully franked 85 cents per share dividend, this price target implies a potential total return of over 12.5% over the next 12 months.

Why does Goldman Sachs like NAB?

While Goldman notes that NAB fell short of its earnings expectations in FY 2020, it remains positive on its prospects in a difficult operating environment.

The broker commented: “While the industry is faced with a still difficult operating environment in FY21, characterised by sustained margin headwinds (competition and low rates) and still weak (albeit improving) volume growth, we believe in FY20 NAB has again proved itself an effective manager of the volume/NIM trade-off, and has embedded strong cost discipline across the organisation.”

“Furthermore, we see NAB as further progressed in relation to its investment requirements, allowing it to be more selective towards where resources are directed (productivity and technology), versus most of its peers. Coupled with still attractive valuations (NAB’s PPOP multiple is at a 13% discount to peers), and with our TP offering 16% TSR [now 12.5%], NAB remains Buy (on CL), and our preferred sector exposure.”

Where is the NAB dividend going?

One of the key reasons that investors buy bank shares is for the dividends.

In light of this, I thought I would take a look at where Goldman Sachs thinks the NAB dividend is heading over the coming years.

As I mentioned above, the broker has forecast an 85 cents per share dividend in FY 2021. After which, it has pencilled in dividends of 122 cents per share in FY 2022 and then 126 cents per share in FY 2023.

This means prospective dividend yields of 4.3%, 6.2%, and 6.45%, respectively. These yields will almost certainly be vastly superior to anything income investors will get from term deposits between now and then.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: US election special
• Here’s how the big four banks performed in FY 2020
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• Is the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price a buy for dividends?
• Here’s how much NAB (ASX:NAB)’s new dividend is worth

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Last week the US election caused all sorts of market turbulence for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). Friday saw rumours of another takeover, this time of  Tabcorp Holdings Limited (ASX: TAH). Forcing its share price up by 15.8%. The week also saw candle seller, Dusk Group Ltd (ASX: DSK) list on the ASX and finish the week 1.7% higher.

The week finished on a solid rise for gold stocks. This helped push the Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL) share price up by 19.9% over the week. While Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX: RMS) finished the week with its share price 16.75% higher.

Let’s look at 5 events coming up for the ASX 200 this week. All times are Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST)

ASX 200 events this week

Monday

At 11.30am, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will release the building approvals for September. This is always a closely read report as it provides an insight into the general direction of traffic in the economy itself. It has shown a good recovery in recent months but is likely to reflect the Victorian lockdown during September. 

Tuesday

At 9am, James Hardie Industries plc (ASX: JHX) will release second quarter results and a shareholder briefing. This ASX 200 share finishes its year in March, 2021. At the company AGM, chairman Michael Hammes said he believed the company entered the COVID-19 pandemic in a strong position and would emerge from the crisis in even better shape, driving profit growth that will outstrip the broader market. 

Wednesday

At 10.30am, ASX 200 gold miner Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) will hold its AGM including first quarter results. Newcrest has recently re-listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and has benefited from the high gold price. The company will also update shareholders on its recent acquisition Red Chris. Furthermore, the Lihir gold mine suffered a 14% production loss in the June quarter due to equipment and maintenance issues. A $61 million CAPEX spending program was signed off in October. 

Thursday

At 10am, Hipages Group Holdings Limited (ASX: HPG) will list on the ASX for the first time. Hipages is an online trade services platform. The Australian reported that it has exceeded its offer size at the top end of its price range of $2.05-$2.45 a share. The company will list with a market capitalisation of between $266.5 million and $318.5 million. 

Also at 10am, Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG) will hold its AGM. In October, the ASX 200 company announced its acquisition of a US manufacturer of coffee grinding machines, Baratza. UBS believes this will be approximately 3% earnings accretive from the 2022 financial year. In addition, analysts say the company is likely to benefit from increased consumer spending in the federal budget.  

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: US election special
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Here’s what a Joe Biden victory would mean for ASX shares
• ASX 200 rises again on Friday

Motley Fool contributor Daryl Mather has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Alcidion Group Ltd (ASX: ALC) share price has started the week with a bang.

In morning trade the healthcare technology company’s shares are up a massive 38% to 17.2 cents.

Why is the Alcidion share price zooming higher?

Investors have been buying the company’s shares this morning after it announced a major new contract win in the United Kingdom.

According to the release, Alcidion has signed a deal with South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for its Miya Precision solution and the Better OPENeP electronic prescribing and medicines administration (ePMA) system.

South Tees is the largest hospital trust in Tees Valley in the United Kingdom, with over 1,000 beds and employing approximately 9,000 clinical and operational staff and providing care for more than 1.5 million people.

Management notes that this is the largest Miya Precision contract Alcidion has signed to date and estimates that the whole deal is worth $9.47 million (5.15 million pounds) over five years.

Approximately $0.96 million is to be recognised as product implementation (one-off) revenue, with the remaining $8.51 million representing recurring product (licence, maintenance, and support) revenue.

The company intends to recognise $5.48 million of the total contract value as revenue in FY 2021, subject to milestone achievement.

This means that the total revenue able to be recognised in FY 2021 now sits at $20.2 million. This compares to $18.6 million in FY 2020, with seven months of the year remaining.

What are Miya Precision and Better OPENeP?

The Miya Precision product will enable South Tees to digitise patient care processes and records.

It will also provide a trust-wide orchestration layer to integrate this new clinical data with patient data in existing trust systems using the FHIR standard for data interchange.

This means information currently held in disparate systems can be consolidated and represented in a common format for application of artificial intelligence and use in advanced clinical decision support.

The Better OPENeP solution is a next generation ePMA system and will allow the trust to digitise its prescribing and medicines administration processes.

The solutions will launch concurrently at the trust in the first phase of the technology deployment. This allows for seamless integration between electronic observations, digital patient assessments, care planning and medication processes.

Alcidion’s managing director, Kate Quirke, commented: “Clinical staff working across South Tees will be among the first in the UK to benefit from our range of healthcare technologies that have been specifically built to make the right thing to do, the easiest thing to do, even during the busiest of times.”

“It is extremely rewarding to see South Tees enter into this agreement so soon after we formally launched Miya Precision as the first smart clinical asset for the NHS. The NHS remains one of our most significant partners anywhere in the world, and I look forward to driving forward this new partnership for the benefit of staff and patients at the trust,” she added.

More reading

• Alcidion (ASX:ALC) share price storms higher on update
• Why Alcidion, Blackmores, Boral, & CogState shares are pushing higher

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 Alcidion Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alcidion Group Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The ReadyTech Holdings Ltd (ASX: RDY) share price has returned from its trading halt and is dropping lower.

At the time of writing, the education and employment software as a service provider’s shares are down 2.5% to $1.95.

Why was the ReadyTech share price in a trading halt?

Last week ReadyTech requested a trading halt after launching an equity raising to fund the potential acquisitions of leading government-based software provider, Open Office, and McGirr, a justice case management software provider.

The company has signed an agreement for an upfront consideration of $54 million and an earn out consideration of up to an additional $18 million. The upfront consideration is a mixture of cash ($40.1 million) and shares ($13.9 million).

Management notes that the proposed acquisition provides it with the opportunity to add a new and attractive vertical with entry into the local and state government and justice sectors while adding additional recurring revenue streams.

If completed, it is anticipated to be low double-digit earnings per share accretive in FY 2021 on a pro-forma basis before synergies and excluding integration costs.

Equity raising.

To fund the deal, ReadyTech launched an equity raising comprising a $25 million institutional placement at $1.88 per new share and a $4 million share purchase plan. The placement price represents a 6.2% discount to its last close price.

This morning the company revealed that it has successfully completed its institutional placement.

ReadyTech’s CEO, Marc Washbourne, commented: “We are pleased at the success of this equity raising. We are grateful to our existing shareholders, welcome our new shareholders and thank them all for their support.”

Management added: “The Placement will support this acquisition opportunity, providing ReadyTech with certainty as it finalises its due diligence and potentially enters into binding transaction documents.  If the acquisition does not complete, ReadyTech will use the proceeds of the Placement to fund other growth opportunities, including potential M&A, consistent with its stated strategy.”

More reading

• All eyes on ReadyTech (ASX:RDY) share price Monday after acquisition bid
• 3 ASX small cap shares you must add to your watchlist

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 Readytech Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Readytech Holdings Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is pushing higher on Monday after the release of an announcement.

At the time of writing the mining giant’s shares are up 2% to $35.31.

What did BHP announce?

This morning the Big Australian provided the market with an update on its acquisition of an additional 28% working interest in Shenzi from Hess Corporation.

Shenzi is a six-lease development in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Prior to today, BHP owned a 44% interest, Hess Corporation held a 28% interest, and Repsol SA owned the remaining 28% interest.

But for the sum of US$505 million, BHP has now successfully taken its interest in the development to 72%.

Last month, BHP’s President of Petroleum Operations, Geraldine Slattery, explained the rationale of the deal, noting that it is consistent with its strategy of targeting counter-cyclical acquisitions in high-quality producing or near producing assets.

She said: “This transaction aligns with our plans to enhance our petroleum portfolio by targeted acquisitions in high quality producing deepwater assets and the continued de-risking of our growth options.”

“We are purchasing the stake in Shenzi at an attractive price, it’s a tier one asset with optionality, and key to BHP’s Gulf of Mexico heartland. As the operator, we have more opportunity to grow Shenzi high-margin barrels and value with an increased working interest,” Slattery added.

What now?

With this transaction bringing BHP’s working interest to 72%, it adds approximately 11,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of production (90% oil) as of the transaction closing date of 6 November 2020.

In light of this, BHP’s total petroleum production guidance for the 2021 financial year of between 95 and 102 MMboe will be updated at its second quarter operational review in January.

This update will reflect the additional production from Shenzi and other operational updates such as Gulf of Mexico hurricane impacts.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: US election special
• Here’s what a Joe Biden victory would mean for ASX shares
• ASX copper miners brush off latest Chinese tariff threat
• Macquarie’s latest ASX “buy” idea has a 10% yield
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX 200 has another shocker as US election approaches

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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