Reporting season is all but over, which means the brokers have had plenty of time to mull over the results and reassess which companies they think are undervalued at current prices.

I’ve selected three major companies that brokers have put a buy rating on over the past week or so.

Let’s see who they like.

Qantas Ltd (ASX: QAN)

The team at Morgan Stanley liked what they saw from the Qantas result and believes the national carrier can continue to perform.

They have called the pick one of their “highest conviction Australian industrials ideas”, with a bullish price target to go along with it.

Why do they like the stock? In their own words:

The FY26 result reinforced our view that QAN can offset near term fuel pressure through pricing and capacity actions, while International earnings potential remains underappreciated. We see improving earnings quality, resilient demand and a clearer path to higher International margins.

Morgan Stanely said the airline was trading below the valuation level of its international peers by about 20%, despite its high returns.

The broker noted that there was some risk that jet fuel prices would remain elevated and fares would fail to offset the increase.

Morgan Stanely has a price target of $12.80 on Qantas shares.

Brambles Ltd (ASX: BXB)

UBS has had a look at information such as Nielsen data on fast-moving consumer goods sales to get a handle on the sort of demand Brambles might be enjoying.

The data is mixed, with US food and beverage sales down less than 1% from June to August, while European volumes were up 5% year on year in July.

In terms of the impact on Brambles’ CHEP business, volumes were up 1% in the second half of FY26, “with -2% like-for-like volume more than offset by net new business wins”.

UBS said Brambles is currently trading at a discount to the ASX industrials, not including health and financials.

The broker’s price target on Brambles is $24.50.

Pexa Group Ltd (ASX: PXA)

Property sales compliance platform Pexa is likely to be affected by the decline in property transactions resulting from the Federal Government’s changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing rules.

Macquarie’s recent research report on Pexa indicates that settlement activity in New South Wales and Queensland did indeed fall sharply in August compared with the same month a year ago.

The broker has not changed its price target on Pexa, however, meaning recent share price weakness theoretically means more upside for investors.

Macquarie’s price target on Pexa is $13.90. Pexa is currently valued at $1.33 billion.

The post 3 ASX 200 shares tipped to return 27% to 87% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Morgan Stanley tips Qantas shares to climb 38%
• 6 ASX shares tipped by brokers to rise 34% to 87%
• Here’s the dividend forecast out to 2029 for Qantas shares
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week

Motley Fool contributor Cameron England has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment fell 5.2% in September to 84.4.

Any reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists.

However, some ASX shares actually do better when households run out of confidence.

Why consumer sentiment is important for ASX shares

Assessments of family finances dropped 9.2%, and among homeowners the fall reached 13%.

Nearly two-thirds of consumers now expect mortgage rates to rise within twelve months.

The report stated the following of the cause:

The fall takes sentiment back towards the deeply pessimistic levels seen earlier in the year. Both fuel prices and interest rates again look to be driving the move.

Consumer discretionary shares were the worst sector on the ASX on Tuesday, falling 1.88%.

Trouble right? Well, the businesses that sell things households cannot easily cancel are in a different position entirely.

Woolworths sells everyday fundamentals

Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) is the most obvious beneficiary on the market.

People trade down within a supermarket, but they do not stop buying groceries.

FY26 showed this phenomenon in action.

Group sales rose 3.6% to $71.54 billion and earnings before interest and tax before significant items climbed 12.7% to $3.11 billion.

Net profit before significant items jumped 15.4% to $1.60 billion.

The Australian Food business lifted sales 4.6% and EBIT 8.5%, while BIG W returned to profit after a loss.

Group eCommerce sales grew 15.9% to $10.6 billion and the final fully franked dividend rose 15.6% to 52 cents.

Chief executive Amanda Bardwell was clear about the challenges facing the company:

Looking ahead, while we expect the challenging economic environment to continue with household budgets remaining under pressure, our strategy to deliver low prices and the best range and convenience gives us confidence we can be first choice for customers while delivering for our team and shareholders in the year ahead.

Telstra sells the second last thing to be cut

Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) is on the same side of the coin.

That is because nobody cancels their mobile plan because the Reserve Bank raised rates.

FY26 revenue actually fell 0.8% to $22.94 billion, which sounds unimpressive until you look further down.

Underlying net profit after tax rose 4.9% to $2.5 billion and cash earnings per share climbed 14% to 25.5 cents.

Underlying EBITDA after leases increased 4% to $8.3 billion, and management guided FY27 to between $8.5 billion and $8.8 billion.

Mobile income grew 3% to $11.4 billion.

The dividend is the attraction here.

Telstra lifted its full-year payout 10.5% to 21 cents and announced a buyback of up to $1 billion.

At $4.79 that is a yield of about 4.4%, or roughly 6% once franking credits are counted.

Foolish takeaway

Defensive ASX shares are not exciting, and they are not supposed to be.

But what they do is keep earning while the discretionary end of the market repriced 1.88% lower in a single session.

I find Telstra the better value of the two today, purely because Woolworths has already been rerated.

The mistake would be buying either one expecting them to rise when sentiment recovers.

The post Consumer sentiment is low. These ASX shares stand to benefit appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mark Verhoeven has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Telstra Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

On Tuesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had a disappointing session and dropped deep into the red. The benchmark index fell 1% to 8,920.8 points.

Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Wednesday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 to rise

The Australian share market looks set for a better session on Wednesday despite a poor night on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 17 points or 0.2% higher. In the United States, the Dow Jones fell 1.2%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.6%, and the Nasdaq was 0.3% lower.

Oil prices jump

ASX 200 energy shares including Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a good session on Wednesday after oil prices jumped overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 3% to US$94.25 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 2.4% to US$99.36 a barrel. This follows reports of an Iranian attack on US Navy ships.

Accumulate Paladin Energy shares

Morgans has been looking at Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) and particularly the Patterson Lake South resource. In response, it has maintained its accumulate rating with a trimmed price target of $13.30. It said: “We expect the resource and mine life to increase materially in time. Simply simple – PLS is one of the highest-grade undeveloped uranium projects globally, but its development plan is surprisingly conventional, with a TBM decline, proven mining methods, a standard Athabasca processing flowsheet and uncomplicated tailings storage reducing technical risk. We maintain an ACCUMULATE rating with a reduced price target A$13.30ps (previously A$14.10ps) with the removal of our 10% price premium.”

Gold price falls

ASX 200 gold shares including Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could have a poor session on Wednesday after the gold price pulled back meaningfully. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is down 1.7% to US$4,400 an ounce. Traders were selling gold ahead of the release of US inflation data.

ASX 200 shares going ex-dividend

A number of ASX 200 shares are going ex-dividend today and could trade lower. This includes Brambles Ltd (ASX: BXB), CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL), Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN), IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO), and Northern Star. CSL will be paying shareholders 227.7 cents per share early next month on 2 October.

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in CSL. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended CSL. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended CSL. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.