The QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) share price is pushing higher in morning trade on Tuesday.

At the time of writing the insurance giant’s shares are up over 2% to $9.62.

Despite now trading 35% higher than its March low, the QBE share price is still down a sizeable 37% from its 52-week high.

Is the QBE share price in the buy zone?

One broker that sees the weakness in the QBE share price in 2020 as a buying opportunity is Goldman Sachs.

Earlier today the broker added the company to its conviction buy list with a price target of $11.26.

This price target implies potential upside of 17% for QBE’s shares over the next 12 months. This potential return stretches to over 22% if you include its estimated dividends for FY 2021 of 52 cents per share.

Why is Goldman Sachs bullish on QBE?

According to the note, the broker believes there are two medium-term opportunities for QBE that could generate value for investors.

The first is upside from putting (potential) excess capital to work, whereas the other is margin expansion from operating leverage.

In respect to its excess capital, Goldman Sachs sees ~US$100 million+ upside to its net profit after tax if QBE were to move back to its target prescribed capital amount (PCA) range.

The broker commented: “We estimate QBE is likely to report a PCA ratio around 1.9x in FY20 following the completion of its capital plan, plus what we forecast to be a small loss for the year.”

“[…] intentions behind the capital actions taken in the early days of the pandemic were a mix of fortifying the balance sheet ahead of potential COVID-19 related headwinds [and] boosting flexibility to capitalise on any dislocation in the industry.”

However, it notes that risks around the balance sheet are now receding meaningfully. As a result, the broker expects QBE to be “left with adequate flexibility to explore both selective growth and investment portfolio repositioning.”

“We expect QBE could achieve c.US$100m+ in incremental NPAT if it felt comfortable to return toward a PCA ratio closer to the mid-point of its 1.6-1.8x target range,” it explained.

Margin expansion.

The broker also believes that the pandemic is unlikely to derail the solid momentum of QBE’s efficiency program.

Combined with a positive premium mix and its belief that it is well-placed to weather hardening reinsurance rates, Goldman sees scope for ~1.2%+ margin expansion from operating leverage through to FY 2021.

Should you invest?

While I’m not a big fan of QBE, I do think Goldman Sachs makes some great points and it could be worth considering at the current level. Especially for income investors given its estimated 5%+ yield in FY 2021.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Why the Dorsavi share price rocketed 277% higher yesterday
• Fund managers have been snapping up Sonic and these ASX 200 stocks
• ASX 200 falls 0.9%, Afterpay share price hits new record
• ASX winners and losers from last week

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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The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price has been going nuts in 2020. In just six months, the share price of the buy now, pay later (BNPL) operator has risen by a staggering 120%. Afterpay now lords over a market capitalisation of more than $18 billion.

It’s an eye-popping increase and a reflection of the rapid revenue growth the company is chalking up. Investors are expecting big things and, as such, the Afterpay share price is hot.

But Afterpay does not operate in a vacuum. In a market economy, high returns attract competition like honey attracts bears and eventually the high returns can get competed away.

The BNPL sector is crawling with ASX listed competitors including Splitit Ltd (ASX: SPT), Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P), Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY) and Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL). And let’s not forget FlexiGroup Limited (ASX: FXL) which is desperately throwing the kitchen sink at the BNPL space with its products ‘humm’, ‘bundll’ and OXIPAY.

Does Afterpay have a competitive advantage?

So it’s worth asking; in such a competitive space, does Afterpay really have a sustainable competitive advantage? Without this economic moat, competitors will start to erode Afterpay’s market share. If that is likely to happen, we’ll want to ensure we pay less for the company’s shares today.

One of the reasons Afterpay has attracted so much attention is because it looks like it has the makings of a company with a growing network moat. That is, the more places you can use Afterpay, the more valuable it becomes. This helps to explain the rapid roll-out of Afterpay to as many big-name retailers as possible.

The appeal of network-based moats is that they can result in natural monopolies and oligopolies over time. Facebook, eBay and Airbnb are examples of this ‘winner takes all’ type domination.

It is a juicy prospect. However, most powerful network moats also need to have high switching costs to keep users around. For example, a new auction website competing with eBay will have fewer buyers and sellers, making it hard for me to get a great price for what I’m selling.

Can the Afterpay share price continue rising?

What does Afterpay have to protect itself from the onslaught of competition, to trap both retailers and consumers on its island? You might think all that data is worth something. But as respected venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz notes, data itself offers little additional protection to network moats.

Perhaps Afterpay can use its scale to lower the costs to merchants and therefore prevent competitors from stealing market share. But I feel like merchant fees are likely to be competed down over time anyway. The BNPL service is essentially a commodity offering and there is little that will stop competitors undercutting each other to win share.

Foolish takeaway

I think it could be argued that Afterpay’s rapid growth has formed a small, network-based moat. But moats aren’t worth much to us unless they are sustainable. My concern is that aggressive competition will compete away Afterpay’s advantage over time and I would be careful to factor that in to the price I pay for its shares today.

More reading

• Sezzle share price rockets 20% higher on record Q2 result
• Afterpay expects sales to double to $11bn and launches $800m cap raise
• The FlexiGroup share price is lagging its BNPL peers. Should you buy?
• Are Afterpay shares the next Visa?
• ASX 200 falls 0.7%, Qantas and Afterpay make a partnership

Regan Pearson has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

You can follow him on Twitter @Regan_Invests.

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended FlexiGroup Limited and Sezzle Inc. 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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On Monday, the Allegra Orthopaedics Ltd (ASX: AMT) share price soared 502.27% as it announced the acquisition of patents from the University of Sydney.

What were the patents?

The patents acquired were related to a bio ceramic material that can be used as a synthetic bone substitute. The material is known as Sr-HT-Gahnite. 

Allegra Orthopaedics issued 4,806,000 ordinary shares to the University of Sydney in exchange for the patents.

The company has been working with the University of Sydney since 2014, exclusively licensing the Sr-HT-Gahnite material.

According to the announcement, the material is able to simulate the performance of natural bone by achieving the mechanical strength required for load-bearing application. It is also capable of the bioactivity required for bone regeneration. The material can be reabsorbed, which reduces long term complications. Additionally, it is suitable for 3D printing.

With the use of this material, Allegra is working towards developing and commercialising implants that it says will offer a revolutionary approach to surgeries.

Allegra has previously commenced the commercialisation of an interbody cervical spinal cage that utilises the material. This device could be the world’s first fully synthetic spinal cage that will be able to regenerate bone under spinal load conditions and be completed absorbed by the body which will leave the body free of foreign materials. 

Commenting on the news, Allegra CEO Jenny Swain stated:

We are very excited about the acquisition of these patents as we believe this material will enable us to create and commercialise highly desirable implants with unique properties that we can bring to the market. The acquisition of these patents is recognition of our ability to identify and work collaboratively with academic organisations such as the University of Sydney to bring innovative products to market and strengthens our company’s innovative capacity.

About the Allegra Orthopaedics share price

Allegra Orthopaedics develops and supplies various bone replacement technologies. Its primary product is the Active Total Knee, which works as a prosthetic knee. It is also licensed to distribute hip, knee and lower limb replacements.

The company reported in June that it expects sales revenue for the 2020 financial year to be 20–25% higher than sales revenue in the 2019 financial year. Sales growth was driven by the company’s LINK orthopaedic implant product range and the introduction of a new face shield product in April 2020, which has seen high demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, Allegra expects only marginal improvement in its net profit or loss for the 2020 financial year due to costs from its innovations division.

As at yesterday’s close, the Allegra Orthopaedics share price has risen 783% from its 52-week low of $0.06, and is up 165% since the beginning of the year. Since this time last year, the Allegra Orthopaedics share price is up by 382%.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Kogan and 1 other ASX share to buy and hold beyond 2025
• 2 ASX shares I would buy for growth and income
• 2 five-star ASX shares for strong long-term growth
• The most popular US shares that Aussies are buying includes a few surprising names

Motley Fool contributor Chris Chitty 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 Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) share price has been a strong performer on Tuesday.

In morning trade the buy now pay later provider’s shares are charging 20% higher to a record high of $4.88.

Why is the Sezzle share price surging higher?

While Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) may be stealing the headlines today with its capital raising and impressive trading update, its smaller buy now pay later rival has also released a very positive update of its own.

According to the release, Sezzle’s strong form continued in the second quarter with stellar underlying merchant sales (UMS) growth.

Sezzle reported UMS of US$188 million (A$272.3 million) for the quarter. This represents a 58% quarter on quarter increase and a 349% year on year increase.

Key drivers of this growth were increases in active customers, active merchants, and usage.

At the end of the quarter there were 1.48 million active customers using its platform. This is up 28% from the last quarter and 243% from the prior corresponding period.

It was a similar story for active merchants, which rose 27% quarter on quarter to 16,112. This is an increase of 219% from the same period last year.

Management also notes its improving consumer profile. Repeat usage improved over 10 points year on year to 87.5% for June 2020 compared to 77.2% in June 2019. Pleasingly, its performance in June represents the 18th straight month of sequential improvement.

Sezzle’s Executive Chairman and CEO, Charlie Youakim, commented: “In these uncertain times, we are fortunate to announce record Q2 results across a number of our key metrics. Our performance reaffirms our product’s utility to consumers looking for a smarter way to budget their personal finances and the overall market shift to eCommerce.”

“Our strong performance in Q2 is reflective of an improving consumer profile combined with an accelerated adoption of eCommerce due to the pandemic. The undercurrent of organic growth that we are experiencing is exciting to see as our business matures. The gains in repeat customer usage and frequency of purchases by cohorts are key drivers to lower loss rates and greater net transaction margin (NTM),” he added.

Outlook.

Management appears confident that its strong form can continue.

It anticipates that by the end of 2020, it will have achieved an annualised run rate for UMS exceeding US$1 billion (A$1.4 billion) per annum.

More reading

• Does Afterpay have a competitive advantage?
• Afterpay expects sales to double to $11bn and launches $800m cap raise
• The FlexiGroup share price is lagging its BNPL peers. Should you buy?
• Are Afterpay shares the next Visa?
• ASX 200 falls 0.7%, Qantas and Afterpay make a partnership

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Sezzle Inc. 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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On 1 July, the Prime Minister announced a $270 billion defence spending plan to upgrade the Australian Defence Forces (ADF). He made specific references to long-range missile systems, highly sophisticated sensor technology, as well as a very large spending commitment on ships. Reinforcing the need for the ramp up, Mr Morrison said:

“We have moved into a new and less benign strategic area, one in which the institutions and patterns of cooperation that have benefitted our prosperity and security for decades are now under increasing, and I would suggest, almost-irreversible strain“.

The Prime Minister’s many references to the Indo-Pacific region also raises the possibility of additional defence spending from other countries in our region over the coming years.

Which ASX shares are likely to benefit from the defence spending spree?

Some of the companies below already have sizable contracts with the ADF. Others are likely to see increases in revenue from this newly announced spending program. Less clear is the impact on ASX shares of any additional regional spending resulting from increasing global tensions.

Shipbuilding

The announcement of the $270 billion investment in Australia’s defence forces made mention of ship building activities already underway. On 1 May, Austal Limited (ASX: ASB) announced it had won a $324 million contract from the Royal Australian Navy to design and construct 6 Cape-class patrol vessels. This addition will grow the nation’s fleet to 18. Furthermore, in June the company announced a US$43 million modification to a previously awarded Littoral Contract Ship (LCS) contract with the United States Department of Defence. 

Highlighting the importance of Austal to the US defence forces, the company also announced in late June the provision of US$50 million in funding from the US government. This is to maintain, protect, and expand US domestic production of steel shipbuilding capabilities for capital projects over the next 24 months.

In February, Austal had a forward order book of $4.9 billion and has announced several contract wins during the lockdown period. In fact, the company upgraded its earnings guidance for FY20. It is on schedule to deliver earnings before interest and taxes of $125 million, up by $15 million or 13.6% on the prior corresponding period.

Advanced weaponry

Electro Optic Systems Holdings Limited (ASX: EOS) saw its share price rise by 23.31% on Monday. This was on top of a 10.8% increase the previous week. 

The company has been hot property since the Prime Minister’s speech. On Friday, Electro Optic Systems announced that it was in negotiations with the Commonwealth Government for 251 remote weapons stations (RWS) to be purchased over 12 months. Electro Optic is the global market leader in lightweight remote weapons systems.

The company sells a range of products for the defence sectors. These include a communications platform it recently acquired after purchasing the satellite communications business, Audacy Corporation. So while it is an early beneficiary of the $270 billion defence spending, I certainly don’t think this will be the last contract the company will win under the plan. 

While Electro Optic is necessarily opaque, we do know it has a range of active defence contracts with various navies in NATO as well as previous RWS sales in South East Asia. I expect Electro Optic will continue to benefit from additional sales within the South East Asian region in the near future. 

Defence materials

There are a number of small-cap defence contractors with proven track records listed on the ASX. Many of these are likely to benefit from increased defence spending both locally and from within the region. 

One such example, with a market cap of $71 million, is Quickstep Holdings Limited (ASX: QHL). The company is Australia’s leading independent manufacturer of advanced carbon fibre composite components. These are used across the defence aviation sector. 

Quickstep is an approved supplier for the international Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program – the largest military aerospace program in the world. Quickstep supplies more than 30 individual components with content on every aircraft produced. It has has an international client base and saw total sales lift by 14% in H1 FY20.

Unlike Electro Optic and Austal, this company is not a primary supplier of machines, it provides materials to others. Nonetheless, it has a rolled gold client list, including; Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, and Boeing Defense. As defence spending rises not only in Australia but also within the region, I expect Quickstep to be a beneficiary.

The Quickstep share price has jumped 25% since the Prime Minister’s speech outlining the $270 billion defence plan.

Foolish takeaway

The companies listed above are active defence contractors with robust and largely local supply chains. Additionally, all three have mature manufacturing capabilities and are trusted suppliers to both the ADF and US defence forces. As the $270 billion defence spending starts to roll out, I’m confident these companies will benefit, both locally and internationally.

More reading

• 3 innovative ASX shares to buy
• Why Electro Optic Systems, Mayne Pharma, Tyro, & WAM Leaders are racing higher
• EOS share price on watch following defence spending talks
• Electro Optic Systems share price on watch after winning major government defence contract
• Why you can expect further gains for ASX shares this quarter

Daryl Mather owns shares of Austal Limited and Electro Optic Systems Holdings Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Austal Limited and Electro Optic Systems Holdings Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Electro Optic Systems Holdings 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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Talk about making hay while the sun shines! BNPL superstar of the ASX is capitalising on the record high Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price to launch an $800 million capital and issue a trading update.

The meteoric rise of Afterpay from March’s bear market trough and the structural shift towards online sales created a perfect time for the company to tap investors on the shoulder for cash.

It also gives its two co-founders, Anthony Eisen and Nicholas Molnar, a chance to off-load 4.1 million shares in the process to net them a cool $250 million plus cash pile.

Capital raise details

The new share offer is priced at $61.75 a pop, which is a relatively skinny 9.2% discount to yesterday’s closing price (the stock is in a trading halt this morning).

The cap raise is made up of $650 million fully-underwritten placement to institutional investors and a circa $150 million share purchase plan.

It’s always tricky to raise cash when key executives are not only not participating, but are selling part of their holdings.

But Afterpay is hoping investors won’t be spooked as it announced a very bullish trading update.

Should you worry about the drop in earnings?

Management is expecting FY20 revenue to surge 112% to $11.1 billion although underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) is expected to fall to between $20 million to $25 million.

That’s quite a fall given that Afterpay posted a proforma underlying EBITDA of $35.5 million in FY19.

But as long as investors are only watching the growth in active customers, who cares about profit right?

COVID-19 winner

On that front, active users on its platform jumped 116% to 9.9 million as the COVID-19 pandemic provided a windfall for the group.

Consumers are largely stuck at home and have seen wages fall. The BNPL industry couldn’t have designed a better environment to grow.

The question is whether investors should participate in this capital raise. History seems to favour the brave as those who ploughed money into every other cap raise undertaken by Afterpay are well in the money (assuming they hung on).

The BNPL bubble

There’s also little doubt that Afterpay is the industry leader with enviable scale and lots of room left to grow. And that’s what the new cash is meant to fund.

On the flipside, some have warned that the BNPL space looks like a bubble as Afterpay’s peers like the Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price and Splitit Ltd (ASX: SPT) share price have been on a wild ride.

I can’t help but to think of the pot stocks that went pop not that long ago.

Medicinal marijuana is a real business and we know at some point it is likely to become a significant industry. The question is how much are investors willing to pay for the promise land now.

Should you buy Afterpay shares?

The other thing to think about is first mover advantage and Afterpay has lots of that. But there’s nothing stopping a retailer on signing on several BNPL providers, and the same can be said for consumers.

Afterpay looks cheap if you believe it can build and maintain its leadership in this space. Just remember that history holds plenty of examples of companies that opened a category only to lose out to rivals (think Atari and IBM personal computers), and vice versa (Apple Inc.).

If you can work out why some succeed while others fail, you will have a strong advantage over other retail investors.

More reading

• Does Afterpay have a competitive advantage?
• Sezzle share price rockets 20% higher on record Q2 result
• The FlexiGroup share price is lagging its BNPL peers. Should you buy?
• Are Afterpay shares the next Visa?
• ASX 200 falls 0.7%, Qantas and Afterpay make a partnership

Brendon Lau has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Connect with me on Twitter @brenlau.

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. 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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Yesterday, the Xtek Ltd (ASX: XTE) share price was up 11.39% to $0.88 cents following the release of the company’s unaudited revenue guidance for the 2020 financial year.

What was in the announcement?

Xtek announced that it expects financial year 2020 revenue to be in excess of $42 million. This compares to financial year 2019 revenue of $37.9 million. According to the announcement, revenue growth was driven by strong performance by a company that was recently acquired by Xtek, HighCom Armour Solutions. Revenue was additionally boosted by the supply and support of small unmanned aircraft systems. 

The company also announced that margins are improving as it shifts toward the supply of proprietary products. According to the announcement, this trend of improving margins is set to continue going forward.

The company also announced that its manufacturing capabilities had been improved. This would allow it to produce a higher volume  of its products and increase revenue. According to the company, these capabilities have the potential to produce up to around $40 million per year in revenue, which is double previous forecasts. The enhanced capabilities in manufacturing by the company included optimisation of its XTclave body armour production. Xtek has added XTclave manufacturing equipment to its production facility in Adelaide and is also adding a second machine in the US.

According to the announcement, improved manufacturing facilities will assist the company in achieving its goal of becoming a $100 million dollar business in the medium term.

Xtech also included in its announcement that it is well placed to serve a growing interest in its ballistic solutions. It expected to receive further orders in the near to medium term which underpin future revenue expectations.

About the Xtech share price

Xtech provides products for use by governments, law enforcement agencies, military, the space sector and other commercial sectors. Its products include composites, small aerial unmanned aircraft, body armour and real time contextual video. Its products are in use by Western military forces and other government agencies. 

This year has seen Xtech reach significant milestones with the opening of a production facility, initial orders received for some of its products and a grant received for work on a satellite launch by the Australian Space Agency.

The Xtech share price is up 131.6% from its 52 week low of $0.38 cents. It has risen 15.8% since the beginning of the year. The Xtech share price is up 100% since this time last year.

More reading

• 3 ASX dividend shares to grow and diversify your income
• The Nyrada share price rocketed 34% yesterday on promising preclinical trial results
• Why did the QuickFee share price push 33% higher yesterday?
• The FlexiGroup share price is lagging its BNPL peers. Should you buy?
• 3 of the best ASX tech shares to buy in July

Motley Fool contributor Chris Chitty 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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It’s getting harder to find good sources of income these days. I think ASX dividend shares could be the answer to grow and diversify your investment income stream.

I believe that businesses can provide investors with the best source of reliable income.

Here are three great income options to consider:

Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW)

Brickworks is one of Australia’s largest building product businesses. It’s actually the leading brickmaker across the country. It also sells a number of other products including roofing, masonry and precast.

The Brickworks share price has fallen by 20% since the beginning of the COVID-19 share market declines. I don’t think that should be too surprising considering Australian building product revenue was down 10% for the four months to May 2020 and the American building product division is seeing negative earnings in recent months.

However, the ASX dividend share has had some good news recently as well. Amazon recently signed on to be a tenant at the Oakdale West site. Amazon has signed a lease pre-commitment for 20 years. Brickworks owns 50% of the industrial property trust along with Goodman Group (ASX: GMG). Once the Amazon and Coles Group Limited (ASX: COL) distribution facilities are completed the gross assets of the trust are expected to rise above $3 billion. The rental income of the trust has been unaffected by COVID-19.

Brickworks still owns a large amount of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) shares. This investment provides reliable dividends to Brickworks. Soul Patts’ biggest investment position, TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG), was finally successful at merging with Vodafone Australia.

As for Brickworks’ ASX dividend share credentials, it hasn’t cut its dividend for more than four decades. At the current Brickworks share price it offers a grossed-up dividend yield of 5.25%.

Future Generation Investment Company Ltd (ASX: FGX)

Future Generation is a listed investment company (LIC) with a big difference to most other LICs. It doesn’t charge shareholders management fees or performance fees. Instead, it donates 1% of net assets to youth charities each year. You can feel good owning this share.

What does the ASX dividend share invest in? It invests its capital into the funds of the best fund managers which invest in ASX shares. Some of those fund managers are: Bennelong, Paradice, Regal, Eley Griffiths and Cooper.

At the end of May 2020, Future Generation reported that its portfolio’s gross performance had outperformed the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Accumulation Index by 2.2% per annum.

The ASX dividend share has grown its dividend each year since 2015 when it started paying a dividend. At the current Future Generation Investment Company share price it offers investors a grossed-up dividend yield of 7.1%. It’s currently trading at a 12% discount to the May 2020 net tangible assets (NTA).

Duxton Water Ltd (ASX: D2O)

This business purely owns water entitlements and leases them out to farmers.

Water is obviously an important part of the agricultural cycle, so in drier periods water becomes particularly valuable as it did during 2019. The drought seems to be lifting a little, which has pushed down water prices a bit over the past few months.

But I think lower water prices is a buying opportunity, assuming the upcoming ACCC water report doesn’t fundamentally change things for Duxton Water.

The ASX dividend share has been entering into leases to lock in water certainty for farmers and it also locks in income for Duxton Water. The current weighted average lease expiry (WALE) is 2.8 years.

Duxton Water has guided that its bi-annual dividend can steadily increase every six months to a 3.2 cents per share dividend which will be paid in March 2022. The next 12 months of dividends is expected to be 5.9 cents per share. At the current Duxton Water share price this amounts to a grossed-up dividend yield of 6.1%.

Foolish takeaway

I think each of these ASX dividend shares can help diversify your income stream. Each of them should be capable of increasing dividends over the long-term.

At the current share prices it’s hard to pick between Brickworks and Future Generation. Brickworks’ dividend is probably more robust, but Future Generation offers more diversification and a bigger dividend yield.

More reading

• Are ASX 200 retail shares like JB Hi-Fi overvalued?
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Afterpay, Tech push ASX 200 back above 6,000
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• 5 ASX shares rated as strong buys by brokers
• 3 very reliable dividend shares I plan to pay for my retirement

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of DUXTON FPO, FUTURE GEN FPO, and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company 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 COLESGROUP DEF SET. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended DUXTON FPO. 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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