The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose by 0.4% today to 6,770 points.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX:

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

The BHP share price went up around 1% today in reaction to the resource company’s FY21 half-year operational update.

For the six months to December 2020, compared to December 2019, petroleum production was down 12%, copper production was down 5%, iron ore production was up 6%, metallurgical coal production was down 5%, energy coal production was down 30% and nickel production was up 31%.

BHP said that it achieved record production at its Western Australian iron ore division, with record average concentrator throughput at Escondida.

Strong underlying operational performance in copper by the ASX 200 share offset the impacts of planned maintenance and natural field declines, copper grade decline and adverse weather.

BHP reported that its major projects under development are progressing to plan. The Spence growth option achieved first production in December 2020. The Jansen stage 1 project remains on track for the final investment decision in the middle of the 2021 calendar year. South Flank is “tracking well” and is on schedule for the first production in the middle of the 2021 calendar year.

Iron ore production guidance has been increased to between 245 Mt to 255 mt as a result of the restart of Samarco in December 2020. Copper guidance has been narrowed to between 1,510 kt and 1,645 kt, which reflects the strong performance at Escondida.

Full year unit cost guidance remains unchanged for the 2021 financial year.

The FY21 half-year result is expected to include an impairment charge of between US$1.15 billion and US$1.25 billion after tax relating to New South Wales Energy Coal (NSWEC).

Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV)

The Polynovo share price went up 7.25% in response to two announcements. It was the top performing ASX 200 share. 

Polynovo has made agreements with distributors to enter both Poland and Turkey.

In Turkey it has appointed Incomed Saglik Hiz and its medical sales channel LotuS as distributor. Polynovo said this expansion in the EMEA region is a significant step in bringing NovoSorb BTM to a significant number of surgeons and patients in the region.

LotuS has been supplying medical devices to the Turkish market since 2006, with a concentration on wound and burn treatments. It has a large salesforce comprised of direct sales, dealers and sub-dealers covering the whole of the Turkish region.

Polynovo believes Turkey represents good medium-term opportunities. The managing director of Polynovo, Paul Brennan, said: “We are excited by our partnership with LotuS and our entry into Turkey. The country is an important geographical and commercial link in our EMEA strategy. We will now be able to service surgeons who work across EMEA and expand the inter-surgeon referral of the benefits of NovoSorb BTM.”

In Poland, the ASX 200 share has chosen Hortho Medical Innovations as its exclusive distributor. Hortho works closely with opinion leaders in plastic/reconstructive surgery. Hortho has a direct team servicing all of Poland and plans to add dedicated personnel to support their NovoSorb BTM sales and marketing.

Hortho specialises in distributing surgical devices and has a large network of surgeons. 

Mr Brennan said: “Poland is an exciting growth market in Europe and we see this as an important step in expanding our sales in Europe.”

Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD)

The Sydney Airport share price fell over 1% after giving a passenger update.

The airport ASX 200 share said that total passengers were down 82.2% in December 2020 to 703,000. International passengers were down 97.3% to 44,000 and domestic passengers were down 71.9% to 659,000.

Sydney Airport expects that the downturn in international passenger traffic is expect to persist until government travel restrictions are eased.

More reading

• 4 ASX shares picked for returns in 2021 by brokers and fundies
• 3 high-yielding ASX 200 dividend shares
• The latest ASX stocks to be upgraded by brokers to “buy” today
• ASX 200 up 0.5%: BHP’s update, PolyNovo jumps, Ansell impresses
• Why Afterpay, Ansell, MyDeal, & PolyNovo shares are storming higher today

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of POLYNOVO FPO. 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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There are some ASX shares that have been chosen by brokers and fundies as picks to make returns in 2021.

Brokers and fund managers work full time to try to find good stocks to pick. This article is about four of them:

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

BHP is one of the top picks in the resources sector by James Gerrish from Market Matters. He said that the big resources ASX share is exposed to the right commodities at the right point of the cycle and looks poised to make fresh multi year highs. Market Matters has a 12-month price target on BHP of $45.

Fund manager Wilson Asset Management (WAM) said that the recent performance of the BHP share price has been driven by the iron ore price, but WAM likes BHP for its exposure to oil, nickel and copper in-particular.

WAM thinks that oil prices will be supported in the near-term by a continuing recovery in COVID-19-related demand, with travel and industrial production being two examples. BHP could benefit from higher nickel and copper demand because of the growth of electric vehicle numbers. Electric vehicle sales are expected to grow approximately 18% per annum through to 2030.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)

The biggest ASX bank is the Australian bank choice of Mr Gerrish. He acknowledged that this isn’t an earth-shattering pick, but Mr Gerrish thought that the banks were buys when they were much lower during the COVID-19 pandemic and he thinks the bank share prices can continue to rise over the next six to twelve months at least.

Mr Gerrish reminded investors that banks borrow for a short period of time and lend for long periods of time, benefiting from a steepening yield curve at a time when loan growth is likely to surge. Market Matters is bullish on the banks and he thinks the CBA share price can go back to the mid-$90s.

Fund manager Rhett Kessler from Pengana Australian Equities Fund is also confident on the big banks, including CBA, due to reasons like rebounding home loan growth, a support federal budget, higher house prices, lowering loan deferrals and lower-than-expected loss provisioning.

Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC)

Lendlease is a pick by Mr Gerrish in the building space. He said that it’s in the sweet spot as property values rebound strongly and governments focus on infrastructure development. He said that Market Matters has a price target of $17 on Lendlease.

One of the key projects that Lendlease is working on is the San Francisco Bay area project which is a $21 billion deal with Google to develop three of the internet giant’s major districts in the San Francisco Bay area over 10 to 15 years into mixed-use communities.

The core business has a development pipeline of $113 billion, which is up 48%.

Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP)

Bapcor is an ASX share that is well-liked by fund manager WAM.

WAM said that the ASX share has benefited from an increase in domestic travel, reduced usage of public transport and increased second hand car sales. The fund manager also said that Bapcor has a strong balance sheet and WAM believes it’s well placed to make earnings accretive acquisitions.

Bapcor said recently that in the first five months of FY21, to November 2020, revenue was up 26% and net profit after tax (NPAT) was benefiting materially from operating leverage as well as lower expenses in categories like travel, lower interest rates. Profit is also being helped by the contribution from Truckline.

For the first half of FY21, Bapcor thinks revenue growth will be at least 25% and net profit after tax growth will be at least 50%.

More reading

• ASX 200 up 0.5%: BHP’s update, PolyNovo jumps, Ansell impresses
• BHP (ASX:BHP) share price in focus following first half update
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Aussies ready to splash on travel, entertainment, cars
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Bapcor. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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There are some S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) dividend shares that have higher dividend yields.

Here are three of those examples:

JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH)

JB Hi-Fi is one of the leading electronics and appliance retailers in Australia and New Zealand.

It has been regularly growing its dividend. In FY20 the final dividend shot 76.5% higher and the annual FY20 dividend went up 33.1% to $1.89 per share.

Based on the current JB Hi-Fi share price it has a grossed-up dividend yield of 5.2%.

The ASX 200 dividend share revealed that it’s going to report more growth in its upcoming FY21 half-year result. The retailer said that its sales went up by 23.7% to $4.94 billion, earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) went up 75.9% to $462.7 million and net profit after tax (NPAT) rose by 86.2% to $317.7 million. Online sales went up 161.7% to $678.8 million, which represented 13.7% of total sales.

JB Hi-Fi said that disciplined cost control combined with strong sales growth drove significant operating leverage. According to management, gross margins were well managed with strong improvements in gross margins in key categories, particularly for The Good Guys.

APA Group (ASX: APA)

This ASX 200 dividend share owns a large network of 15,000km of natural gas pipelines around Australia with a presence in every mainland state and the Northern Territory. It also owns or has interests in gas storage facilities, gas-fired power stations and renewable energy generation (wind and solar farms). APA owns, or manages and operates, a portfolio of assets and delivers half the nation’s natural gas usage.

At the current APA Group share price it has a distribution yield of 5.3%.

APA funds its distribution from the annual operating cashflow. The cashflow grows as it completes more of its energy infrastructure projects.

The business is building a new 580km pipeline in Western Australia for a cost of $460 million. The new pipeline will connect the resource rich Goldfields region to emerging gas fields. This will make an interconnected gas grid for APA.bManagement are expecting this new pipeline to be finished around the middle of 2022.

This may be able to unlock even more growth for APA because historically it gets requests for energy connections from miners that want a reliable and affordable energy source, complementing their variable renewable energy sources.

Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW)

Brickworks is an ASX 200 dividend share with one of the longest dividend records. It hasn’t cut its dividend for over 40 years.

That dividend is supported by two key asset groups.

Brickworks owns around 40% of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL), which is an investment conglomerate with a diversified portfolio. It owns ASX shares like TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG), Brickworks, Clover Corporation Limited (ASX: CLV), Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API), Palla Pharma Ltd (ASX: PAL), Bki Investment Co Ltd (ASX: BKI) and Milton Corporation Limited (ASX: MLT). It’s also invested in private businesses in sectors like financial services, resources and agriculture. 

Soul Patts pays Brickworks (and all other shareholders) a growing dividend. The Soul Patts dividend per share has risen every year since 2000.

The other dividend-supporting asset for Brickworks is its industrial property trust that it owns along with Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) in a joint venture. This trust pays a growing stream of rental profit to Brickworks (and Goodman).

That property trust is now building two huge distribution warehouses, one each for Amazon and Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL). Once these two warehouses are finished it’s expected to increase the gross assets of the trust to more than $3 billion and the rental profit distribution will increase by more than 25%.

At the current Brickworks share price it has a grossed-up dividend yield of 4.6%.

More reading

• Why Frontier Digital Ventures, JB Hi-Fi, Regis, & Tyro are dropping lower
• The latest ASX stocks to be upgraded by brokers to “buy” today
• ASX 200 up 0.5%: BHP’s update, PolyNovo jumps, Ansell impresses
• Here’s why the Regis Healthcare (ASX:REG) share price is crashing 11% lower
• 3 top ASX dividend shares to buy for income

Tristan Harrison owns shares of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Clover Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Brickworks and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of APA Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX) share price closed 2.12% higher at $2.41 today after the miner released its December 2020 quarterly report.

Let’s take a closer look at the results and the recent history that’s led to here.

A strong period for gold sales

Westgold reported gold production and sales of 65,214 ounces and 65,167 ounces respectively for the December quarter. Both of these numbers are in line with the company’s previously published guidance.

The company reported an 11% increase in operating cash flow quarter-to-quarter reaching $65 million. Westgold also increased its revenue by 11% quarter-to-quarter reporting a revenue of $156.4 million for the period.

During the quarter, no environmental breaches were filed against Westgold’s operations. Westgold operates the Fortnum Gold operation, the Meekatharra Gold operation and the Cue Gold operation.

Regarding prospects across these locations, Westgold noted that excellent results continue across all operations despite subdued exploration efforts during the quarter.

A bumpy six-month ride for the Westgold share price

Over the past six months, the Westgold share price has stumbled around 5.5% lower to reach where it’s currently trading. In the past month, the share price has fallen more than 11%. 

However only a few weeks ago, Westgold managed to post some nice gains on a day when the market was genuinely down.

Westgold’s current market cap is $991.8 million.

Commenting on today’s results, Westgold executive chair Peter Cook said:

These results highlight the operational flexibility and diversity of the group’s assets… This flexibility in mining has allowed Westgold to carry on production, mitigating the ongoing difficulties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, such as travel restrictions and quarantining.

Mr Cook went on to say that while Westgold had managed the restrictions relating to COVID-19, it was apparent that “flow on effects such as skilled labour shortage and mobility of the workforce will cause disruption to the industry as a whole”.

Westgold’s net cash position was up 12% compared to the previous quarter balance, standing at $163 million in cash.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX drops despite promises of more US stimulus
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• These 3 ASX mining companies closed lower today
• ASX 200 down 0.4%: Afterpay tumbles, bank shares lower, gold miners crash
• Do ASX mining companies carry the Australian share market?

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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Most weeks, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) CommSec brokering platform tells us the ASX and international shares (which usually just means US shares) that are the most popular with its Aussie customers.

My Fool colleague, James Mickleboro, already looked at the most popular ASX shares today.

CommSec is one of the largest online brokers in the country. Thus, this data can be an insightful indicator of general investing trends in the Aussie market.

So here are the top 10 United States shares CommSec customers were buying last week. This week’s data covers 11-15 January. 

Most traded US shares on the ASX

1. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) – representing 7.3% of total trades with an 80%/20% buy-to-sell ratio.
2. Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) – representing 4.8% of total trades with an 81%/19% buy-to-sell ratio.
3. Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) – representing 2.3% of total trades with a 75%/25% buy-to-sell ratio.
4. Churchill Capital Corp IV (NYSE: CCIV) – representing 1.6% of total trades with a 93%/7% buy-to-sell ratio.
5. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) – representing 1% of total trades with a 57%/43% buy-to-sell ratio.
6. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB)
7. ARK Innovation ETF (NYSE: ARKK)
8. ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (BATS: ARKG)
9. Zomedica Corp (NYSE: ZOM)
10. Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ: PLUG)

What can we learn from these trades?

As always, some interesting results here. Right off the bat, the dominance of electric car and battery manufacturers in Tesla and Nio once again continues to clean up investor interest here on the ASX.

We can probably put this continuing trend down to a combination of excitement over these companies’ futuristic plans, and the sheer fact that both are up more than 1,000% over the past 10 months.

Traditional tech stocks like Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook also make a small resurgence. These companies have been put on the backburner somewhat in recent months as newer growth stories excite ASX investors.

Churchill Capital makes an interesting debut though.

Churchill is what’s known as a SPAC (special purpose acquisition vehicle). This is a unique US corporate structure where a company is formed with the sole purpose of merging with an unlisted company in the future. SPACs have been growing in popularity over the last 12 months or so as an exciting alternative tot eh traditional IPO.

According to Bloomberg, Churchill has reportedly been enchanting investors over rumours that it is set to merge with an unlisted electric vehicle manufacturer called Lucid Motors. Lucid is apparently backed by the Audi Arabian sovereign wealth fund.

We discussed the emergence of ARK Invest exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on this list last week, so it’s interesting to see ARKK and ARKG carry over this week.

Finally, Plug Power and Zomedica also appear for the first time. Plug is a hydrogen fuel cell company that is up more than 100% year to date. Meanwhile, Zomedica is a pharma company that is up more than 200% year to date.

Our Foolish colleagues over in the US recently (and salaciously) discussed how Zomedica may have been in a promotional scheme with Tiger King’s Carole Baskin. No comment there.

More reading

• Tesla debuts China-made Model Y SUV
• Here’s the biggest investment opportunity since the internet
• Top fundie Hyperion to launch new growth ETF
• The worst mistake Tesla investors can make right now
• Stop worrying about a market crash: Do this instead

Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Facebook and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple and Facebook. 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 Weebit Nano Ltd (ASX: WBT) share price is breaking into a new 52-week high today. Shares in the computer memory developer hit $4.27 earlier in trade today, before slipping its current $4.11. That means the Weebit share price is up 10% for the day, but more impressive is the yearly netted returns – a staggering return of 925%.

There appears to be no news out from the company today, which leaves us to take a look at what recent developments might still have investors excited.

Refreshing our memory on recent developments

Back in December last year, Weebit offered a share purchase plan (SPP) to eligible shareholders to raise $3 million at $1.70 per share. After the offer had closed, the company announced that the offer was heavily oversubscribed, with applications received totaling $19,957,528.

Consequently, management decided to scale back the offer to the originally set $3 million.  

Following the capital raise, Weebit Nano announced that the company was filing 2 new patents in conjunction with its development partner, CEA-Leti. Weebit’s first patent defines a process improvement to enable high memory yield and high uniformity across memory cells and throughout the wafer.

The second patent reportedly pertains to the selector development for ‘very fast’ read, which enables reduced power consumption and selector stress during the read operation. Both patents are relevant to optimising the company’s ReRAM technology.

More recently, Weebit announced the appointment of non-volatile memory veteran Ishai Naveh. Mr Naveh will assume the role of chief technology officer and focus on driving the strategic direction of the company’s technology development.

Mr Naveh co-founded Adesto in 2007, being one of the early entrants into ReRAM. Adesto was acquired by Dialog Semiconductor PLC last year for $500 million.

Looking ahead

In Weebit’s first quarter FY21 update, the company mentioned that it was in discussions with a production partner ahead of shifting the technology to the partner’s fabrication.  

Additionally, the development of its embedded memory module is a primary focus. The company claimed it was on track at the time.

Weebit Nano’s management provided comment on the progress towards commercialisation of its memory:

Weebit is moving closer to commercialisation within the embedded memory market with significant technical progress made over the quarter and ongoing discussions with potential partners and customers.

In parallel, we are progressing our development within the standalone market, where our ReRAM technology can address ongoing demand for increased and more efficient memory storage.

Weebit share price snapshot

The Weebit Nano share price is now up 57% year to date (YTD). Comparatively, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 1.3% YTD.

Including today’s gain, the Weebit Nano market capitalisation is now $484 million.

More reading

• Here are 3 ASX small cap shares with exciting product launches in 2021
• Why the Weebit Nano (ASX:WBT) share price surged 12% 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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The Fenix Resources Ltd (ASX: FEX) share price is trading nearly 2% higher at 26.5 cents a share today. The price bump follows the release of the company’s quarterly results.

The company has experienced significant growth over the previous 12-month period with the Fenix share price powering up close to 400% higher.

Here’s what we learned.

Everyone is loving iron ore

In its December quarterly activities report, Fenix advised that iron ore production is underway at Fenix’s Iron Ridge project in Western Australia.

Fenix estimates “approximately 60,000 tonnes of combined lump and fines product scheduled for early February”.

With the price of iron ore up around 79% for the year trading close to $170 a ton, that’s roughly a $10.2 million pile of iron ore before costs and fees are considered.

The Federal Government has been vocal about iron ore prices soaring and how this benefits the Australian economy, as discussed during the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook.

A strategic offtake agreement

During the December quarter, Fenix announced an offtake agreement with Sinosteel International Holding Company Limited.

This means that Fenix has sales arrangements that are now in place for 100% of the company’s projected iron production. Atlas Iron subsidiary Weld Range Iron Ore Pty Ltd has already staked 50% of production and sales for Iron Ridge.

Additionally, the Sinosteel deal also entitles Fenix to acquire an iron ore storage shed, truck unloading, and conveyor systems located at the Geraldton Port.

Port lease agreement

Importantly, Fenix has secured the access necessary to export the company’s iron ore products.

Also in today’s announcement, the company advised that during the December quarter, it had executed a port lease agreement and a port access and services agreement with Mid West Ports Authority (MWPS) for the export of iron ore products through the port of Geraldton. The agreement allowed Fenix to export 1.25 million tonnes per annum of iron ore.

More reading

• Here’s why the Australian Primary Hemp (ASX:APH) share price is rocketing 31% higher
• 2 outstanding blue chip ASX shares to buy right now
• What analysts expect from the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) first half result
• Maggie Beer (ASX:MBH) share price dips following record earnings
• Netflix is considering a stock-buyback program

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 Australian Primary Hemp Ltd (ASX: APH) share price is rocketing higher today.

This comes after the company announced it has secured firm commitments through a placement to fund its growth strategy.

At the time of writing, the company’s shares are up an astonishing 16% to 44 cents.

It’s worth noting that during the opening minutes of trade, the Australian Primary Hemp share price reached a multi-year high of 62 cents.

Placement in detail

According to the release, Australian Primary Hemp welcomed the firm commitments to raise roughly $5.2 million through a strategic placement with an offer price of 32 cents per share price.

Under the placement, approximately 16 million ordinary shares will be issued with an offer price of 32 cents per share. This represents a steep discount of 36% on the current Australian Primary Hemp share price.

The company noted that the placement received strong support from new investors, existing institutional investors, and high-net worth investors.

Monies raised from the placement will complement its proposed $1 million share purchase plan. Together, the funds will be used to assist Australian Primary Hemp in driving its growth strategy and ongoing transformation process.

This included investment in capital equipment purchases, marketing and sales costs, general capital working requirements, and strengthening the balance sheet.

Australian Primary Hemp revealed that it is seeking to transition its business into a branded, value-added health and wellness company.

To be an eligible shareholder for the share purchase plan, you needed to be on the company’s register by last night.

For those who were lucky enough, the offer period of the share purchase plan closes on February 10, 2021.

Management commentary

Australian Primary Hemp managing director and CEO, Mr. Neale Joseph, touched on the placement, saying:

We are highly encouraged by the level of support investors have shown for APH.

There are significant tailwinds and growing consumer demand for high-quality, plant-based ‘superfoods’, particularly hemp-based products. This growing demand is reflected in the retail distribution agreement we have recently secured with Woolworths and 7-Eleven, which will see our Mt. Elephant brand of health and wellness products made available to consumers across Australia.

About the Australian Primary Hemp share price

The Australian Primary Hemp share price has performed quite well over the last 12 months, gaining over 170%.

Its shares took a tumble during COVID-19 where they were swapping hands for as little as 4.9 cents in March.

However, since then, the Australian Primary Hemp share price took a turn to march higher over the last 9 months.

More reading

• Why is the Fenix Resources (ASX:FEX) share price higher today?
• 2 outstanding blue chip ASX shares to buy right now
• What analysts expect from the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) first half result
• Maggie Beer (ASX:MBH) share price dips following record earnings
• Netflix is considering a stock-buyback program

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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 want to build a balanced portfolio, having a few blue chip ASX shares in there could be a smart move.

Blue chip shares tend to be companies that are well-known, long-established, and have strong financial positions. 

With that in mind, listed below are two ASX blue chip shares that come highly rated:

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

The first blue chip to look at is Goodman Group. It is an integrated commercial and industrial property group which has generated consistently strong returns for investors over the last decade.

This has been driven by the diversity of its portfolio and its exposure to quick growing markets such as ecommerce. Pleasingly, the latter market has resulted in strong demand from blue chip customers such as Amazon, DHL, and Walmart. And given the way the pandemic is accelerating the shift to online shopping, these properties look set to be in strong demand for a long time to come.

One broker that is very positive on Goodman Group is Morgan Stanley. It has been pleased with its development work in recent months, its sky high occupancy rates, and the yields it is commanding. As a result, it has an overweight rating and $20.90 price target on its shares. This compares to the latest Goodman share price of $17.56.

Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC)

Another ASX blue chip share to consider is Ramsay Health Care. Trading conditions were tough for the private hospital operator in 2020 because of the pandemic, but things are certainly improving now.

In fact, a note out of Goldman Sachs this week reveals that it believes Ramsay is trading largely as normal in Australia now. It commented: “Contrary to many other hospital groups globally, most of RHC’s core market has been operating largely unencumbered since July, and entirely without volume limitations since end-November.”

This is a big positive given that almost two-thirds of its earnings are generated in the local market.

In light of this, a significant backlog of surgeries, and its belief that Ramsay is well-placed for solid earnings growth over the coming years, Goldman Sachs upgraded its shares to a conviction buy rating.

The broker has a price target of $70.00 on its shares. This compares to the latest Ramsay share price of $63.31.

More reading

• Why Data#3, JB Hi-Fi, Ramsay, & Zip shares are charging higher
• ASX 200 down 0.5%: JB Hi-Fi guidance impresses, Super Retail update, Ramsay surges
• Ramsay Health Care (ASX:RHC) share price on watch after broker upgrade
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 2 ASX 50 shares to buy

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Ramsay Health Care 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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With earnings season on the horizon, I thought I would start to take a look at what is expected from some of Australia’s most popular companies.

Earlier today I looked at Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL). You can read about that here. Whereas on this occasion, I’m going to take a look at its rival Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW).

What is expected from Woolworths in the first half of FY 2021?

Due to the favourable changes in consumer spending because of COVID-19, expectations are high for Woolworths in FY 2021.

However, one leading broker that suspects the retail giant could fall short of expectations is Goldman Sachs. In light of this, it will come as no surprise to learn that it has a neutral rating on the Woolworths share price.

According to a broker note, Goldman is expecting Woolworths to deliver total revenue of $35,789.7 million in the first half. This will be a 10.1% increase on the prior corresponding period.

Its analysts expect this to be driven by a 10.9% lift in Australian Food sales to $23,520.1 million, a 17.6% jump in Endeavour Drinks sales to $5,616.2 million, a 15.3% increase in Big W sales to $2,477.6 million, and a 1.1% rise in NZ Supermarket sales to $3,403.6 million.

Partially offsetting this will be its Hotels business, which has struggled during the pandemic from closures and social distancing restrictions. Goldman is forecasting a 25.5% decline in sales to $684.7 million.

What about its earnings?

While Goldman is actually ahead of the consensus by 0.9% on its sales estimates, it sits well and truly behind the consensus on its earnings estimates.

The broker doesn’t expect its margins to be as strong as the market is forecasting. It is expecting a net profit of $1,030.2 million for the first half. This will be up 5.3% on the prior corresponding period but is 4.7% lower than the consensus estimate of $1,080.6 million.

It is a similar story for Woolworths’ interim dividend, which Goldman is expecting to come in at 48.8 cents per share. This compares to the consensus estimate of a 54 cents per share interim dividend.

Is the Woolworths share price a buy?

As I mentioned above, as things stand, Goldman Sachs is sitting on the fence with this one. It has a neutral rating and $39.90 price target on Woolworths shares.

This compares to the latest Woolworths share price of $39.54.

More reading

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• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX drops despite promises of more US stimulus
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• How to invest in ASX shares in a post-COVID world 
• 5 ways to lose your money forever

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

The post What analysts expect from the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) first half result appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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