The Vanguard Australian Property Securities Index ETF (ASX: VAP) is one of the larger exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Australia.

It gives investors exposure to the commercial property sector by investing in real estate investment trusts (REITs) within the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO). The ASX ETF is approximately $3 billion in size and has 33 holdings.

There are a couple of reasons why this ASX ETF could be a good way to invest in property. Let’s take a look.

Diversification

The VAP ETF is invested in several property sectors, including industrial, retail, office, self-storage, healthcare, hotels, farming, and more.

The larger the business, the greater its weighting in the Vanguard Australian Property Securities Index ETF portfolio.

I’ll point out that one REIT owns a portfolio of properties, which is much more diversified than a single residential property. This ASX ETF owns a portfolio of REITs, so there are a lot of underlying properties.

At 31 May 2024, these were the biggest 10 positions:

• Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) – 37.9%
• Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) – 10.7%
• Stockland Corporation Ltd (ASX: SGP) – 7%
• GPT Group (ASX: GPT) – 5.2%
• Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR) – 5%  
• Vicinity Centres (ASX: VCX) – 4.9%
• Dexus (ASX: DXS) – 4.75%
• Charter Hall Group (ASX: CHC) – 3.75%
• National Storage REIT (ASX: NSR) – 1.85%
• Region Re Ltd (ASX: RGN) – 1.6%

At the end of May 2024, it included three REIT sectors with large weightings: industrial REITs (39.5% of the portfolio), diversified REITs (24%), and retail REITs (23.9%).

Low costs

One of the main advantages of choosing a Vanguard ETF is that they usually have low management fee costs. Low expenses mean more of the returns stay in the hands of investors.

According to Vanguard, the VAP ETF has an annual management fee of 0.23%.

My 2 cents on this ASX ETF

I think it’s an effective investment for people wanting exposure to the property market through REITs.

It hasn’t exactly shot the lights out. Over the past ten years, the VAP ETF has returned an average of 9.3%, with 5.2% of that being a distribution return.

It is a decent option for passive income but may not produce much capital growth because of the relatively low rental growth of some of the underlying businesses. If investors prefer a particular sub-sector, they could just go for a specific REIT such as Goodman or Scentre.

The post Is this ASX ETF the best way to invest in Australian property? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Would Warren Buffett buy this impressive ASX 300 stock?
• 3 ASX 200 passive income stocks to buy in July
• 1 ASX dividend stock down 28% to buy right now
• Buy these ASX uranium stocks for big returns in FY25
• How did the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (VAS) perform in FY24?

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 Goodman Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Region Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Goodman Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

I think S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) stock Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK) is one of the more exciting ASX retail shares around. It could be the sort of business that legendary investor Warren Buffett may want to buy.

During his stewardship of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett has demonstrated an incredible ability to invest in the right businesses at the right time. He has led the investment house to become one of the biggest companies in the United States and, indeed, the world.

The first question is whether Buffett would consider a furniture retailing business like Nick Scali. Berkshire actually owns a few furniture businesses, including Star Furniture, RC Willey Home Furnishings, and Jordan’s Furniture.

But there are a few things that make Nick Scali more interesting than an average furniture retailer.

Large store rollout planned

Nick Scali already has a sizeable national network of stores across Australia and New Zealand. The company aims to grow its Nick Scali store network from 64 stores in December 2023 to 86 stores over the long term.

The ASX 300 stock also owns the furniture retailer Plush, which had 44 stores in December 2023. In the long term, the company aims to grow to 90 to 100 stores.

Nick Scali has a long domestic growth runway, which is a big positive.

The stock also recently completed the acquisition of a company in the United Kingdom that trades under the name Fabb Furniture. Nick Scali paid just $3.82 for the business, which came with $6.7 million of secured debt. The furniture retailer also paid $1 million to exercise its option to exit the existing distribution centre arrangement. This will provide a net working capital injection of up to $11.5 million.

Nick Scali intends to invest further in the existing Fabb Furniture network and establish the Nick Scali brand in the UK. Its strategy will include store refurbishments, rebranding, establishing a new distribution centre, and new store openings. There will be a transition to the Nick Scali product range, and it will leverage its buying power and supply chain.

Considering the UK’s population is more than double Australia’s, I think this ASX 300 stock has plenty of growth potential there.

Excellent return on equity

One of the best profit measures is a company’s return on equity (ROE). This tells the market how much profit the business is making on retained shareholder money.

A high ROE can suggest it’s an appealing business, and it can earn good returns on additional generated profit, which is retained in the company.

Nick Scali’s ROE of more than 50% in FY23 suggests it’s very profitable for shareholders. I believe that expanding the store network in Australia and, hopefully, the UK can unlock significant additional profit.

Appealing metrics

ASX retail shares usually trade on a relatively appealing earnings multiple compared to other sectors. This can lead to a cheap price/earnings (P/E) ratio and a good dividend yield if the company pays a dividend.

According to the estimates on Commsec, Nick Scali shares are trading at 15x FY25’s estimated earnings and 12x FY26’s estimated earnings.

Nick Scali is projected to pay a grossed-up dividend yield of 6.7% in FY25 and 7.8% in FY26.

Whilst the ASX 300 stock is not as cheap as it could be, I think Nick Scali shares would appeal to Warren Buffett because of its quality, growth plans and lower share price – it’s down 16% since April 2024.

The post Would Warren Buffett buy this impressive ASX 300 stock? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 9 ASX All Ords shares lifted to ‘strong buy’ consensus ratings in June
• 3 ASX retail shares that could benefit from potential interest rate cuts

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 recommended Nick Scali. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The Australian share market is a great place to generate passive income thanks to the countless dividend-paying stocks that trade on the local bourse.

But which ASX 200 passive income stocks could be in the buy zone for investors this week?

Let’s take a look at three options that brokers have named as buys and tipped to offer very attractive dividends yields in the near term. They are as follows:

IPH Ltd (ASX: IPH)

The first ASX 200 passive income stock that could be a buy is IPH. It is a global intellectual property (IP) services company with a network of member firms across 10 IP jurisdictions.

Goldman Sachs is a fan of the company and currently has a buy rating and $8.70 price target on its shares.

Its analysts are bullish due to the company’s “defensive earnings, strong cash flow, M&A optionality and potential MtM FX upside.”

As for income, Goldman is forecasting fully franked dividends of 34 cents per share in FY 2024 and then 37 cents per share in FY 2025. Based on the current IPH share price of $6.21, this represents yields of 5.5% and 6%, respectively.

Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN)

Goldman Sachs also think that Suncorp could be a top ASX 200 passive income stock to buy. The broker currently has a buy rating and $18.00 price target on the insurance giant’s shares.

Its analysts believe that Suncorp is well-positioned to benefit from tailwinds in the general insurance market.

The broker expects this to underpin fully franked dividends of 79 cents per share in FY 2024 and then 85 cents per share in FY 2025. Based on the current Suncorp share price of $16.80, this will mean attractive dividend yields of 4.7% and 5.1%, respectively.

Transurban Group (ASX: TCL)

The team at UBS thinks toll road operator Transurban could an ASX 200 passive income stock to buy right now. The broker currently has a buy rating and $14.80 price target on its shares.

UBS likes the company due to its positive outlook and belief that its margins are improving thanks to lower costs. Another reason to be positive is that the West Gate Tunnel project is on track to complete next year and be another boost to its earnings and dividends.

For now, the broker is forecasting dividends per share of 63 cents this year and then 66 cents in FY 2025. Based on the current Transurban share price of $12.38, this will mean yields of 5.1% and 5.3%, respectively.

The post 3 ASX 200 passive income stocks to buy in July appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 5 ASX dividend shares to buy next week
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now
• The best ASX 200 shares to buy when interest rates fall
• 3 strong ASX dividend stocks for income investors to buy

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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 Goldman Sachs Group and Transurban Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended IPH. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The ASX dividend stock Step One Clothing Ltd (ASX: STP) has seen its share price fall significantly over the last few months, as shown in the chart below. It’s down 28% since April 2024.  

Why valuation decline can be a good thing? When a share price falls, it boosts the dividend yield. For example, if a dividend yield was 6% and the share price fell 10%, then the yield from the ASX dividend stock would become 6.6%, assuming the dividend payout remained the same in dollar terms.

Now, I’m not purely interested in the dividend – there are other factors to like about Step One Clothing. Before I get to that, here’s what the company does. It’s a direct-to-consumer online retailer of innerwear that is “high quality, organically grown and certified, sustainable, and ethically manufactured”, which suits a broad range of body types, according to the company.

Global growth

In my opinion, one of the most important factors that can unlock potential big returns for a smaller ASX share is whether it’s growing overseas in larger markets than Australia. A large addressable market gives a stock plenty of room for growth, if a company can execute well on its plans.

Of course, short-term progress does not guarantee a company will become a multi-billion-dollar winner. But, Step One is showing good signs of growth and attracting customers.

In the FY24 first-half result, the ASX dividend stock’s total revenue increased by 25.5% to $45 million – despite challenging economic conditions. Australian revenue rose 8.9% to $26.2 million, revenue in the United Kingdom increased 38% to $14.6 million, and United States revenue jumped 256% to $4.1 million.

If the business can grow its revenue (over time) at a double-digit percentage rate, then it could deliver good returns for shareholders.

There are plenty of other countries that Step One can grow into, such as Canada.

Rising margins

When a business can grow its profit margins, profit can grow faster than revenue. Rising profit is good news for shareholders because it can encourage the market to pay more for the business and fund larger dividend payouts.

I’m not expecting profit margins to increase with every result, but the HY24 report showed that the business is capable of achieving operating leverage.

In that half-year period, it reported the gross profit margin improved by 0.5 percentage points to 81.2%, and the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin improved 1.7 percentage points to 22.5%.

The ASX dividend stock’s HY24 EBITDA jumped 35.6% to $10.1 million, and net profit after tax (NPAT) grew by 34.7%. This enabled the business to pay a dividend per share of 4 cents.  

Generous dividend payout

The payout of 4 cents per share represented a dividend payout ratio of 100%. Step One said its funding level after paying the dividend was “deemed sufficient to support future expansion and ensure ongoing financial stability”.

Step One said it’s targeting a full-year payout ratio of 100% of net profit, which demonstrates “the board’s commitment to aligning the interests of its investors with the company’s financial success”.

According to Commsec, the ASX dividend stock is expected to pay a grossed-up dividend yield of 6.3% in FY24, 6.9% in FY25, and 7.4% in FY26.

The post 1 ASX dividend stock down 28% to buy right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Top ASX shares to buy in July 2024
• Overinvested in BHP shares? Here are two alternative ASX dividend stocks

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 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 Scott Phillips.

The uranium industry has been a great place to be over the past 12 months.

Due to supply shortages and increasing demand, the price of uranium has surged.

And with many analysts expecting these dynamics to remain for a long time to come, the price of the chemical element looks set to remain elevated for the foreseeable future.

This bodes well for ASX uranium stocks, which stand to benefit greatly from these very favourable industry conditions.

With that in mind, let’s now take a look at two ASX stocks that have been named as buys and tipped to generate big returns by analysts at Bell Potter. They are as follows:

Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE)

Bell Potter remains positive on this ASX uranium stock despite a slower than expected ramp up of the Honeymoon project. This morning, the broker has reaffirmed its buy rating with a trimmed price target of $5.90. Based on its current share price of $3.82, this implies potential upside of 54% for investors over the next 12 months.

The broker believes that its shares are great value after a recent pullback. Particularly given the low costs of the Honeymoon operation. It said:

We continue to see value in BOE given the pull back in the uranium sector. BOE maintains a stable balance sheet with sufficient liquidity to execute the ramp up of Honeymoon whilst progressing growth projects across Honeymoon and Alta Mesa. We continue to see Honeymoon as a low-cost restart operation, which has the capacity to generate strong margins in the current pricing environment.

Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN)

Another ASX uranium stock that could be a top buy right now according to Bell Potter is Paladin Energy. This morning, the broker has retained its buy rating on its shares with a trimmed price target of $15.70. This implies potential upside of 21% for investors.

Unlike Boss Energy, Bell Potter notes that Paladin Energy’s ramp up appears to be ahead of schedule. It commented:

The Langer Heinrich ramp up appears to be running ahead of ours and consensus estimates. We have updated our uranium price deck ahead of the quarterly results for PDN, and adjusted our earnings to reflect updated FY25 guidance provided last week. This sees our production estimates lift for FY25 to 4.5Mlbs (PDN Guidance 4.0-4.5Mlbs) and sales to 3.9Mlbs (PDN Guidance 3.8-4.1Mlbs).

The broker also highlights that a major catalyst is on the horizon that could boost the ASX uranium stock. It adds:

The most significant catalyst will be the closure of the transaction to acquire Fission Uranium which is targeted by September. […] With the updated cost and production guidance our target price decreases 2.5% to $15.70/sh (previously $16.10/sh). Our valuation includes an estimated value for Fission Uranium under the assumption that the transaction is successfully completed in Sept-24. We maintain our Buy recommendation in-line with our ratings structure.

The post Buy these ASX uranium stocks for big returns in FY25 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 10 ASX shares to buy in FY25
• Here’s how the ASX 200 market sectors stacked up last week
• These top 3 ASX 200 uranium shares went nuclear in FY24
• Best 5 ASX 200 energy shares for price growth in FY24

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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 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 Scott Phillips.

The Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) performed soundly for investors during the 2024 financial year. This exchange-traded fund (ETF) is the biggest of the sector on the ASX, so it’s an important component for many investor portfolios.

The VAS ETF tracks the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO), an index of 300 of the biggest businesses on the ASX.

An ETF’s performance is almost entirely decided by the performance of its underlying holdings. The bigger the position weighting in an ETF’s portfolio, the more influence it will have on the fund’s overall return.

We’ll look at the fund’s overall performance and then analyse which stocks appears to have driven those returns,

Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF’s FY24 performance

The VAS ETF unit price delivered capital growth of 7.4% over the 2024 financial year.

It has also paid a distribution return of approximately 3.9% for FY24.

If we add those two elements of the return together, that would suggest a total investor return of 11.3% over the 12-month period, excluding franking credits.

Vanguard will confirm those return figures in due course when it releases its monthly update for June 2024.

How did the VAS ETF deliver a double-digit return?

The biggest ASX blue-chip shares had the most impact on the return because of their weighting in the portfolio.

During the 2024 financial year:

• The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price fell 5%
• The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price rose 27%
• The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price increased 37%
• The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price went up 28%
• The ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price climbed by 19%
• The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price lifted 32%
• The Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) share price went up by 73%

Of course, past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance, particularly when it comes to short-term returns. The above stocks may not perform anywhere near as well in FY25 – they could even see their share prices go down.

Another factor that helped the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF is its annual management fee of only 0.07%, which is very low compared to what an active fund manager may charge, say 1.% plus performance fees.

What next?

The VAS ETF expects to pay its latest quarterly distribution, comprising a cash distribution of 67.2 cents and franking credits of 17.1 cents, on 16 July 2024.

In FY25, ASX mining shares and ASX bank shares could have another sizeable impact on the fund’s performance because those two sectors make up around half of the fund’s weighting.

I recently covered its outlook for the 2025 financial year in another article.

The post How did the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (VAS) perform in FY24? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Want the latest Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF dividend? Here’s what to do
• Buy these ASX ETFs in July for passive income

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 Goodman Group and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Goodman Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) share price had a tough run in the financial year just past.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) oil and gas stock closed out FY 2023 trading for $34.44. On 28 June, the final trading day of FY 2024, shares closed the day changing hands for $28.21 apiece.

That saw the Woodside share price down 18.1% over the 12 months.

For some context, the ASX 200 gained 7.8% over this same period.

So, why did the ASX 200 energy stock have such a dismal year?

Why did the Woodside share price tumble in FY 2024?

Despite some courtroom successes that helped put the company’s major growth projects, like Scarborough, back on track, the Woodside share price began a marked downtrend in late October.

By then, Woodside’s record six-month net profit after tax of US$1.74 billion for the second half of FY 2023, reported on 22 August, looked to have been forgotten. Though perhaps not the 27% cut to Woodside’s interim fully franked dividend.

In December, the markets were abuzz with news of merger discussions that would have seen Woodside combine with Santos Ltd (ASX: STO). That possibility provided a big lift for Santos shares. But the Woodside share price didn’t really get a boost, with analysts speculating Santos would be the biggest beneficiary of any merger.

Indeed, on 7 February, when the companies announced that the merger would not proceed, the Santos share price closed down 5.8% while Woodside shares gained 0.5%.

Commenting on that decision at the time, Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said:

We continue to be disciplined in our approach to mergers and acquisitions and capital management to create and deliver value for shareholders.

While the discussions with Santos did not result in a transaction, Woodside considers that the global LNG sector provides significant potential for value creation.

Then, for its full 2023 calendar year results, released on 27 February, Woodside revealed that its operating revenue declined by 17% year on year to US$13.99 billion.

Impacted by higher production costs, underlying net profit after tax was down 37% to US$3.32 billion. This saw a 58% reduction in the final dividend.

And the third quarter results of FY 2024, reported on 19 April, didn’t do much to help the Woodside either.

Quarterly revenue dropped by 12% from the prior quarter, hit by lower realised prices and lower production volumes over the three months.

As for FY 2025, the Woodside share price ended the first trading week of the new financial year up 3.7% at $29.24.

The post What happened with the Woodside share price in FY 2024? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Here’s how the ASX 200 market sectors stacked up last week
• Santos share price goes red as takeover rumours turn into hot air
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why Arafura Rare Earths, Magellan, Metro Mining, and Santos shares are racing higher

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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 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 Scott Phillips.

A cost-of-living crisis doesn’t bode well for ASX retail shares. But this trio overcame the odds to rack up impressive share price gains amid difficult trading conditions in FY24.

Best 3 ASX retail shares of FY24

Here are the best retail stocks of the ASX 200 for FY24, according to data from S & P Global Market Intelligence.

Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV)

Budget jewellery retailer Lovisa led the consumer discretionary stocks in FY24 with a 70.3% share price gain. A positive trading update in late November gave the stock new momentum.

Speculation of interest rate cuts in 2024 also helped, creating an early Santa Rally for the entire ASX 200. The retail share also got a bump in February after the company released strong half-yearly results. Lovisa shares have been largely rangebound since March, trading between about $30 and $34 per share.

The Lovisa share price closed the session on Friday at $31.28, up 0.94%.

Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV)

The second top-performing ASX 200 retail share in terms of share price growth was Premier Investments, up 53.8% over the 12 months.

Legendary rag trader Solomon Lew heads up this company, which owns popular brands such as Just Jeans, Jacqui E, Smiggle, Dotti, and Peter Alexander.

Premier is also a major shareholder of Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR). In the last week of FY24, Myer proposed that the department store acquire Premier’s Apparel Brands business in exchange for new Myer shares.

The Premier Investments share price closed on Friday at $29.64, up 0.20%.

JB Hi-Fi Ltd (ASX: JBH)

Back in November 2022, the Motley Fool’s chief investment officer, Scott Phillips, told us JB Hi-Fi shares were great value at just under $43 with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 9x.

On Friday, the JB Hi-Fi share price closed at $62.33. The stock now has a P/E of 14.87x, according to the ASX website. The retailer was also the third best-performing stock of the retail sector in FY24, with a 39.9% share price gain.

What’s happening with retail sales?

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released new retail trade figures last Wednesday.

Retail trade turnover increased by 0.6% (seasonally adjusted) in May, a big improvement on the 0.1% gain in April and the 0.4% fall in March.

The gain was driven by consumers taking advantage of early end-of-financial-year promotions and mid-year sales, according to ABS head of business statistics, Robert Ewing.

Ewing commented:

Many retailers started end-of-financial-year sales early, offering larger discounts than usual and noted that shoppers remain price-sensitive in response to persistent cost-of-living pressures.

Retail businesses continue to rely on discounting and sales events to stimulate discretionary spending, following restrained spending in recent months.

While the May bump was positive for retailers, consumer spending is still generally weak. It’s up only 1.5% in annual trend terms despite 2.5% population growth over the 12 months ending 31 December 2023.

Looking ahead, Deloitte Access Economics partner David Rumbens said stage three tax cuts and eventual interest rate cuts would help the retail sector.

In Deloitte’s latest retail forecast report, the consultancy predicts no growth at all in retail spending for the calendar year 2024 but a 2.5% uplift in 2025.

The post Top 3 of FY24: The ASX retail shares defying the cost-of-living crisis appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 10 ASX shares to buy in FY25
• Here’s how the ASX 200 market sectors stacked up last week
• These top 3 ASX 200 uranium shares went nuclear in FY24
• Best 5 ASX 200 energy shares for price growth in FY24

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen 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 Lovisa. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Jb Hi-Fi, Lovisa, and Premier Investments. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

At the start of each week, I like to look at ASIC’s short position report to find out which shares are being targeted by short sellers.

This is because I believe it is well worth keeping a close eye on short interest levels as high levels can sometimes be a sign that something isn’t quite right with a company.

With that in mind, here are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX this week according to ASIC:

• Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) continues its very long run as the most shorted share after its short interest increased week on week to 21.3%. Short sellers are betting on lithium prices remaining weak and weighing on the company’s profits for some time to come.
• IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) has 13.1% of its shares held short, which is down slightly since last week. This language testing and student placement company is being impacted negatively by student visa changes in a number of key markets.
• Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) has 11.1% of its share held short, which is down slightly week on week. Liontown is expected to start lithium production at Kathleen Valley in the coming weeks. Prices are very different to when commissioning first commenced.
• Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) has seen its short interest remain flat at 10.3%. This high level of short interest appears to have been driven by concerns over weak consumer spending and revenue margin headwinds.
• Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) has short interest of 10.3%, which is up week on week. Investors have been selling off this graphite miner’s shares over the last 12 months due to weak battery material prices, production suspensions, and further cash burn.
• Australian Clinical Labs Ltd (ASX: ACL) has short interest of 9.4%, which is up since last week again. Short sellers have been increasing their positions in this health imaging company since it warned that is expecting to report another sizeable decline in profits.
• Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN) has short interest of 9.4%, which is down slightly week on week. This mineral exploration company’s shares have lost almost 80% of their value over the last 12 months. It is still several years until Chalice Mining is hoping to commence mining activities.
• Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX) has short interest of 9.2%, which is down week on week. The gold miner’s proposed merger with Canada-based Karoa Resources appears to have caught the eye of short sellers.
• Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) has short interest of 9.1%, which is down since last week. Short sellers have been targeting the miner due to its costs being higher than the price of its lithium.
• Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) has seen its short interest rise to 8.8%. Depressed rare earths prices have been weighing on investor sentiment.

The post These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 10 ASX shares to buy in FY25
• Here’s the earnings forecast to 2029 for Liontown shares
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• 3 high-flying ASX 200 stocks leading the charge into FY 2025
• Top brokers agree that Lynas shares are ‘undervalued’

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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 Idp Education. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.