The Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL) share price is burning bright today.

Shares in the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) coal stock closed on Friday trading for $6.62. In early afternoon trade on Monday, those same shares are swapping hands for $6.90, up 4.2%.

For some context, the All Ords is down 0.4% at this same time.

As you can see on the chart above, today’s leap higher puts the coal mining stock up a whopping 46% over 12 months. and that doesn’t include the 69.5 cents a share in fully franked dividends paid out over the year.

This also marks a new 52-week high for the All Ords coal share, and puts it within a whisker of setting new all-time highs.

Here’s what’s spurring investor interest today.

Why is the Yancoal share price surging on Monday?

The Yancoal share price is joining in with the broader rally in ASX coal stocks today.

As we reported here earlier, investors are snapping up shares in the big Aussie coal producers after Anglo American (LSE: AAL) was forced to halt production at its Grosvenor coking coal mine in Queensland following an underground fire over the weekend.

ASX coal shares look to be benefiting after Anglo reported it would likely be several months before coal mining at Grosvenor could be resumed. Some industry insiders believe that estimate may be optimistic.

The mine was forecast to produce around 3.5 million tonnes of coal over the full 2024 calendar year. Second-half production now remains in doubt.

The post The Yancoal share price just rocketed to new 52-week highs. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Beat the ASX with these cash-gushing dividend stocks
• Is the 11% dividend yield from Yancoal shares too good to be true?
• How to earn $1,900 in passive income with just $10,000 in savings
• Guess which ASX All Ords stock has rocketed 37% in a year AND pays an 11% dividend yield!

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.

With the new financial year underway, many investors are wondering what ASX stocks to buy in the current market cycle.

The artificial intelligence (AI) theme dominated markets in FY 2024. Names like NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) surged to record heights of over $1,000 per share before its 10-for-1 stock split.

Whereas AI frontrunner Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) rallied 31% over the past year following its purchase of OpenAI, owner of the well-known “ChatGPT” language model, in 2023.

Various money managers are now sceptical about AI’s dominance moving forward. Global fund manager GQG Partners is one such entity. After a strong run riding the tech rally, the firm is reportedly rotating out of tech and into the consumer staples sector.

Two notable consumer staples stocks recently catching the attention of investors are Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) and Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN). Brokers currently recommend these two ASX stocks as buys. Here’s why.

Why GQG is shifting away from AI and tech

As to what ASX stocks to buy outside of tech, GQG Partners recently offered some insight. The global fund manager recently slashed its tech exposure, including AI-related stocks like Nvidia, according to The Australian Financial Review.

The GQG team reduced its tech holdings from 43% of the portfolio to just 21%, citing concerns over the sustainability of the AI-driven rally.

“From the semiconductor standpoint, things weren’t broadening out as much – spending was really isolated to that cluster around AI and data centres,” said portfolio manager Brian Kersmanc, per the AFR.

Additionally, GQG found that the market was pricing in some “blue sky scenarios” for these shares. This could impact what ASX stocks investors buy in FY 2025.

“[A]lthough optically [they] looked cheap on a price-to-earnings basis”, Kermansc added, “to get to the estimates that were prevailing in the market, you had to get to some pretty aggressive assumptions”.

Instead, GQG is now focusing on consumer staples stocks. It believes these are more attractively priced. For instance, Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO) – now considered a defensive name – is a major holding. This is due to the combination of lower valuations and stable earnings.

“We’re seeing staples stocks trading at 52-week lows because they had a multiple de-rating, falling from around 29 times earnings as people realised they didn’t want to pay a premium for safety because a recession wasn’t happening,” Kermansc said.

Are these two ASX stocks to buy?

Coles shares are currently trading at around $17 apiece, equating to a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 22 times. This represents a significant drop from its P/E of 33 times in January 2021.

Analysts at Morgans suggest that Coles remains an ASX stock to buy. According to my colleague James, the broker has an add rating on Coles with a price target of $18.95, suggesting a potential upside of 11.5% at the time of writing.

For FY 2024, Morgans also forecasts fully franked dividends of 66 cents per share, yielding approximately 3.8%, and 69 cents per share in FY 2025, yielding around 4%.

If an investor were to buy the ASX stock today, the total shareholder return could be around 15.5% over the coming 12–24 months if Morgans is right.

Qantas could be another ASX stock to buy according to Goldman Sachs. Shares in the airline are trading at a P/E ratio of 6.3 times at the time of writing. This is down from a P/E of 22 times in June 2023.

Despite its recent regulatory hurdles, Qantas has caught the eye of investors.

Goldman Sachs rates Qantas as an ASX stock to buy with a price target of $8.05. This indicates a potential upside of over 36% as I write. The brokers also notes that Qantas’ FY 2024/2025 earnings projections are ahead of pre-pandemic levels.

Consider ASX stocks to buy over AI?

AI stocks have enjoyed a massive rally, but the excitement may be waning. GQG Partners’ shift from tech underscores the risks of over-reliance on high-growth sectors with uncertain future prospects.

In contrast, experts say Coles and Qantas could offer stable earnings and dividends, making them potential ASX stocks to buy in economic turbulence.

The post Why these losing ASX stocks could be a better buy than AI right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Are Qantas or ANZ shares a better buy?
• Can Wesfarmers shares keep beating the ASX 200 index?
• Should Coles shares be in your shopping basket with its FY25 outlook?
• How much could $10,000 invested in Coles shares be worth in a year?
• Here are 3 ASX retirement shares to buy in July

Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow 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 Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Coles Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

It’s been a rough start to the trading week for ASX shares so far this Monday. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has slumped by 0.35% and is back down to around 7,740 points. But let’s talk about one ASX tech share that is getting even more severely punished today.

That ASX tech share is none other than WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC). This logistics company closed at $100.30 a share last week. But this morning, those same shares opened at $98.54. They have since dropped a hefty 4.33% to $96.07 each.

It’s a hefty drop for this former WAAAX star. Wisetech shares have had a stellar showing over 2024 to date. Even after today’s plunge, the Wisetech share price remains up a sturdy 26% or so over 2024 to date. The company has also risen by 23.9% over the past 12 months.

But what’s going on this Monday that has elicited this awful drop?

Well, it looks as though a new ASX filing that was released last Friday after market close may be responsible.

This ASX filing revealed that Wisetech co-founders Richard White and Marie Isaacs have offloaded a significant chunk of this ASX tech share.

Should ASX tech share investors be worried about this massive founder sell-off?

Yep, the form reveals that White and Isaacs, through a holding company RealWise Holdings Pty Ltd, sold 478,415 shares of Wisetech between 21 June and 28 June in a series of on-market trades. Realwise received an average sell price of $95.19 per share for these sales, meaning that the holding company has bagged a whopping $45.54 million for these efforts.

Wisetech CEO Richard White owns 91.83% of RealWise Holdings, while Isaacs owns the remaining 8.17%. This means that White has benefitted to the tune of $41.82 million from these sales, while Isaacs has bagged $3.72 million.

So should investors be worried about this Wisetech founder sell-off?

Well, that’s up to them. No investor likes to see the management team of their companies sell down their stakes in the business they are being handsomely paid to manage. After all, it decreases any financial alignment that management has with shareholders.

But founders, CEOs and members of a company’s management have their own financial obligations to tend to. Perhaps they have a large tax bill to pay or a new house they want to buy. Perhaps they just want to diversify their wealth away from one single investment.

Even after these significant sales, White and Isaacs retain massive stakes in Wisetech. White still indirectly owns 117,837,565 shares of this ASX tech share, valued at $11.32 billion at today’s prices. So this sale is something of a drop in the ocean for him.

Meanwhile, Isaacs retains 10,479,200 shares, worth just over $1 billion.

So again, it’s up to Wisetech investors to decide if they approve or disapprove of White and Isaacs’ recent moves regarding this ASX tech share. But judging by today’s share price sell-off, it has put at least some investors offside.

The post Guess which ASX tech share is sinking after $45 million founder sell-down appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s how the ASX 200 market sectors stacked up last week
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• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) coal shares are smoking hot today.

How hot?

Well, at the time of writing, the ASX 200 is down 0.46%.

But don’t blame the big Aussie coal shares for that retrace.

Here’s how these three leading coal stocks are performing at this same time as we head into the Monday lunch hour:

• Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) shares are up 6.8%
• New Hope Corp Ltd (ASX: NHC) shares are up 3.8%
• Coronado Global Resources Inc (ASX: CRN) up 10.1%

Now, none of these companies have released any price-sensitive information.

So, what’s spurring investor interest?

ASX 200 coal shares lift on Anglo’s woes

Investors look to be snapping up ASX 200 coal shares today after Anglo American (LSE: AAL) reported that it has suspended production at its Grosvenor metallurgical coal mine in Queensland.

Metallurgical, or coking coal, is primarily used for steel making, as opposed to thermal coal, which is mostly used to generate electricity.

The global miner, the subject of a recently rejected takeover offer from BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), said it is halting work after an underground coal gas ignition hit the mine on Saturday.

Anglo American’s workers were all safely evacuated from the mine without injury.

Its mine team is now working with specialist teams from the Queensland Mines Rescue Service and the regulatory authorities to extinguish the underground fire.

Once that’s out, management will assess the steps towards a safe re-entry into the mine. Due to the likely damage underground, it is expected these procedures will take several months.

But some industry insiders fear that may be optimistic. Fears which look to be benefiting ASX 200 coal shares today.

As ABC News reports, Mining and Energy Union industry safety and health representative Jason Hill said workers were being sent home indefinitely, with some fearing the Grosvenor coal mine might never reopen. The mine has previously recorded high gas levels during routine monitoring.

What’s at stake?

As for what’s at stake for the ASX 200 coal shares, Anglo American’s steelmaking coal business is forecast to produce around 8 million tonnes of product in the first half of 2024. The Grosvenor mine is expected to contribute some 2.3 million tonnes of that total.

Looking at the full 2024 calendar year, Anglo’s production guidance for its steelmaking coal business is 15 to 17 million tonnes, of which Grosvenor was expected to contribute around 3.5 million tonnes. That Grosvenor guidance already represented lower production in the second half of 2024 due to a planned longwall move.

Still, the Grosvenor fire means that 1.2 million tonnes of Aussie coal now might not hit the markets in the second half of the year. And the outlook for 2025 remains uncertain.

Anglo American said it would update the market on its steelmaking coal production guidance once more information is available.

As for today, investors appear confident that the ASX 200 coal shares could benefit from the Anglo’s production hit.

The post Why are ASX 200 coal shares smashing the market today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Which ASX dividend shares are predicted to have the highest yields in FY25?
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• Why did the BHP share price go backwards in June?
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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.

ASX growth shares that are growing revenue at a relatively fast pace could achieve good returns for investors.

Smaller businesses can have much more return potential because they are typically much earlier on in their growth journeys than stocks like BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) or Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC).

One of the main elements that I like to look for is businesses with operating leverage where they can grow profit margins as revenue rises, enabling profit to grow even faster than the fast-growing revenue.

Below are two stocks that have global growth ambitions that I’m bullish about.

Siteminder Ltd (ASX: SDR)

This ASX growth share provides software called Siteminder that aims to unlock the full revenue potential of hotels. It also has Little Hotelier, an all-in-one hotel management software that “makes the lives of small accommodation providers easier.”

Siteminder is an important part of the travel sector. It has the largest partner ecosystem in the global hotel industry, generating more than 115 million reservations worth over $70 billion in revenue for its hotel customers each year.

It’s worth noting that Siteminder’s management team includes Trent Innes, who serves as the company’s chief growth officer. Innes previously held the position of managing director at Xero Australia and Asia, where he played a key role in helping the software company achieve 1 million subscribers. It’s evident that Siteminder has a strong team with high-quality individuals.

The company is also growing rapidly – in the third quarter of FY24, revenue rose by 23.3% year over year to $46 million. The contribution from Siteminder’s ‘metasearch’ offering, called Demand Plus, was especially strong, driven by accelerated adoption and strong booking activity. Annualised recurring revenue (ARR) increased 24.8% year over year to $187.6 million.

Profit margins are rising quickly – it reported underlying operating cash flow of $5.1 million for the FY24 third quarter, an improvement from a $3 million loss in the prior corresponding period, which the company attributed to sustained organic growth and operating leverage.

The business is targeting an organic revenue growth rate of 30% In the medium term, which suggests to me that profit could significantly rise from here. It looks good value, in my opinion, after falling around 10% in the past three months.

Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD)

This ASX growth share is one of the world-leading businesses that provides corporate travel management services.

The company has dropped more than 35% since 29 January 2024, making it significantly cheaper. That’s despite the business having a much stronger market position than it did before COVID-19.

Corporate Travel is aiming to grow its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15% over the next five years through new client wins, a high retention rate and project execution.

The company is aiming for revenue growth of at least 10% per annum over the next five years, with a target of winning $1 billion of new clients in FY25, with this rising to $1.6 billion per annum by FY29.

Corporate Travel also believes it can limit its cost growth to 5% per annum through productivity and innovation projects. This can help grow its market share and increase the usage of automation.

According to the profit estimates on Commsec, the Corporate Travel Management share price is valued at 15x FY25’s estimated earnings and 12x FY26’s estimated earnings. If the ASX growth share achieves those projected profit numbers, it could seem very cheap today.

The post I’d buy these 2 top ASX growth shares in a heartbeat appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Top ASX shares to buy in July 2024
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• Near its 52-week low, this ASX growth stock could be the bargain of the year!

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 Corporate Travel Management and SiteMinder. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Corporate Travel Management and SiteMinder. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

ASX dividend shares with big dividend yields could be what some investors are looking for in FY25.

The new 2025 financial year has just started (for most businesses) and this could be a good time to consider which stocks may deliver the biggest payouts.

Of course, dividends are not guaranteed and the highest yields of FY25 may not be sustainable in FY26, depending on what happens with their profitability.  

For a business to have a dividend yield of at least 10%, it’s likely that the company has a relatively high dividend payout ratio and a fairly low price/earnings (P/E) ratio.

Big yields from these ASX dividend shares

Forecast dividends are not guaranteed to occur, but analysts expect the upcoming payouts from the below selected stocks for FY25.

ASX coal share New Hope Corporation Ltd (ASX: NHC) is expected to pay a grossed-up dividend yield of 10.4% according to Commsec.

ASX retail share Shaver Shop Group Ltd (ASX: SSG) is projected to pay a grossed-up dividend yield of 11.9% according to Marketscreener.

Retailer Adairs Ltd (ASX: ADH) is forecast to pay a grossed-up dividend yield of 11.25%, according to Commsec.

Office property owner Centuria Office REIT (ASX: COF) could pay a distribution yield of 10.5% according to Commsec.

Salary packaging and fleet management business McMillan Shakespeare Ltd (ASX: MMS) is projected to pay a grossed-up dividend yield of 11.75%, according to Commsec.

Shoe retailer Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1) is forecast to pay a grossed-up dividend yield of 10.5%, according to Commsec.

Would I buy these stocks?

I’d be attracted to considering the retailers as ASX dividend share because they could be cyclical opportunities.

Discretionary spending isn’t always going to be consistent – weaker economic conditions can lead to less household spending in the short-term, which hurts retailers. But I believe that things could start improving in the medium-term as wages keep rising and eventually interest rates come down. I think the lower share prices are opportunities with these retailers.

I don’t know enough about McMillan or the salary packaging industry to feel confident about investing in the stock for dividends, or whether the business will be able to achieve long-term earnings growth.

Energy is integral to our western and emerging market economies, so New Hope could continue paying good dividends. However, many countries are talking about moving away from coal in the longer-term, so there could be lower demand for coal in the foreseeable future. I’d be wary of investing with that apparent dynamic to play out in the coming decade or two.

The post Which ASX dividend shares are predicted to have the highest yields in FY25? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Accent Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Adairs. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Adairs. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Accent Group, McMillan Shakespeare, and Shaver Shop Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

If you didn’t have Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares in your portfolio in FY 2024 then you missed out.

During the 12 months, Australia’s largest bank’s shares thumped the market with a gain of 27%.

As a comparison, the ASX 200 index rose 7.8% over the same period. Both figures don’t include dividends.

Why did CBA shares thump the market?

It is worth noting that CBA was not alone when it comes to strong gains in the banking sector.

In fact, as covered here, it was only the fourth best-performing ASX bank share during the period despite its mouth-watering return.

Investors were piling into the sector after a series of results and updates that were in line with expectations boosted sentiment. In addition, the Australian economy held up nicely despite rising interest rates.

In fact, there were no meaningful increases in bad debts in the sector. And with the market believing that the rate cycle is coming to an end and rates will fall from here (maybe after one more hike), the outlook for the sector was looking positive. Particularly given that mortgage competition is expected to ease.

How did CBA perform financially?

During the first half, CBA’s profits held up nicely in the tough economic environment.

The bank’s operating income was up slightly to $13,649 million. This was supported by volume growth and higher volume-based fee income, offset by margin compression.

CBA’s operating expenses increased 4% to $6,011 million due to inflationary pressures and additional spending on technology to support the delivery of strategic priorities.

While this led to cash net profit after tax falling 3% to $5,019 million, it didn’t stop the CBA board from lifting its fully franked interim dividend by 2.4% to $2.15 per share.

Since then, it was more of the same for the bank. During the third quarter, CBA reported a 1% decline in operating income for the three months ended 31 March. Management advised that this reflects one less day in the quarter and slightly lower net interest margins due to continued competitive pressures and customers switching to higher yielding deposits.

CBA reported a quarterly unaudited statutory net profit after tax of $2.4 billion, which was down 3% on the first half average and 5% on the prior corresponding period.

What’s next?

All the major brokers believe that CBA shares are overvalued at current levels.

But it is worth remembering that they were saying the exact same thing 12 months ago.

So, while it seems somewhat unlikely that the bank’s shares will deliver big returns in FY25, it certainly isn’t impossible.

The post Why did CBA shares jump 27% in FY24? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• Retirement planning guide: 710,000 Aussies to retire over next 5 years
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• The CBA share price trounced the benchmark again in June! Here’s how
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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.