Tag: Motley Fool Australia

If you’re planning to add some dividend shares to your portfolio next week, then the ones listed below could be worth considering.

Here’s why I think they are top options for income investors right now:

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

If you don’t mind investing in the mining sector, then you might want to consider buying BHP. I think it is a great dividend option right now due to its generous yield and positive outlook. Thanks to its world class operations and their low costs, I believe BHP is well-positioned to continue generating high levels of free cash flow over the coming years. Especially with iron ore at such strong prices.

And given the strength of its balance sheet, I suspect the majority of its free cash flow will be distributed to shareholders through dividends. In light of this, I estimate that the mining giant’s shares currently provide investors with a fully franked ~5% FY 2021 dividend yield.

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)

Another option for investors to consider buying for dividends is NAB. The banking giant’s shares have fallen heavily this year due to concerns over a potential spike in bad debts because of the pandemic. While I feel a rise in bad debts is inevitable, I’m optimistic the provisions it has made are more than enough to cover the potential damage.

In light of this, I feel the worst is behind the bank and now would be a good time to consider a long term investment in its shares. Especially for income investors in this low interest rate environment. At present, I estimate that NAB’s shares offer a generous fully franked 5.2% FY 2021 dividend yield. This is materially better than the interest rates offered with its term deposits and savings accounts.

More reading

• Consider these blue chip ASX shares for strong dividend yields
• These were the best performers on the ASX 200 last week
• Short-sellers are stepping up their attack against these popular ASX shares
• ASX 200 up again, ASX retailers make big gains
• The ASX big bank stock with the best forecast dividend yield for the new year

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.

The post 2 blue chip ASX 200 dividend shares to buy next week appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/313gwX9

The price/earnings (p/e) ratio is one of the most commonly used investing metrics.

There are lots of different ways to evaluate shares. You can look at the share price, the market capitalisation, the net profit, the dividend yield, the net tangible assets (NTA), the return on equity (ROE), the (free) cashflow and so on.

Different sized shares make different amounts of profit. How are you supposed to decide whether Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) or Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) is cheaper?

The price/earnings ratio allows investors to try to compare different businesses based on how expensive they are compared to their earnings, even if they’re from different industries and there are big market capitalisation differences.

How the price/earnings ratio works

The price/earnings ratio will tell you what multiple the current share price is compared to the earnings.

I’ll try to give you an easy example so you can get your head around it. Imagine there’s a café or shop that makes $100,000 of profit a year after paying for all expenses and costs. How much would you buy that business for? Assuming the business is going to be profitable for the foreseeable future, you’d probably pay more than $100,000. If you’d be willing to pay $300,000 then the business would have a price/earnings ratio of 3.

If that shop had lots of growth potential then perhaps you’d be willing to pay $500,000 or maybe even $1 million. That would be a p/e ratio of 5 or 10.

With big ASX shares like Telstra or Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: COH), you can do the same sort of calculation. For example, in FY20 Macquarie made $7.645 of diluted earnings per share and it currently has a share price of $122, which translates to a price/earnings ratio of 16. This could also be described as 16x FY20’s earnings.

How to compensate for faster-growing businesses

It starts getting tricky when you try to factor in the growth of a business. You could have one business with a FY20 p/e ratio of 20 and another with a FY20 p/e ratio of 30. One looks a lot more expensive than the other on this year’s earnings.

But what if the second business is projected to double its profit in FY21 and the first doesn’t grow profit at all? Compared to FY21’s future earnings, the first business has a forward p/e ratio of 20 and the second has a forward p/e ratio of 15. The second business now looks cheaper.

If a business is growing at a good pace then you need to think about the estimated earnings of future years, not just the current year.

The positives of using the price/earnings ratio

I like how universal the p/e ratio can be. You can use it to compare a $100 billion giant and a small $100 million company.

The price/earnings ratio is easy to calculate. All you need is the share price and the earnings, which is available in the annual report. For future earnings you’ll have to find an earnings projection or do some estimates yourself, which can be tricky.

Investors should focus on (long-term) profitability, so it’s good to look at a metric that compares profitability of different shares.

The negatives

However, the p/e ratio can be simplistic at times in my opinion.

The accounting profit, and therefore the p/e ratio, can give an impression of excessive profitability. Depreciation is one of the worst types of expenses, the money goes out of the door whilst the deduction takes several years to be fully recognised. Some businesses may end up (legitimately) spreading out the cost of depreciation, which boosts near-term profit. There are some businesses that just fully expense things upfront in their accounts – I respect these companies.

Also, with some businesses you may see revenue recognised quite a long time before the cash is actually received into the bank. There are risks with this. It’s important to look at the ongoing cash conversion. Indeed, some investors just prefer to look at the operating cashflow or the free cashflow rather than the accounting profit.

If you just focus on the p/e ratio you may miss cash generative businesses. Some businesses like Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) and Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD) have high annual non-cash costs like depreciation. If you focus on just the profit then you may miss how much annual cash they (normally) produce which can be distributed to shareholders.

The price/earnings ratio doesn’t work well for loss-making businesses – there’s no ‘p’ because there isn’t any profit yet. Avoiding loss-making businesses could mean missing out on a lot of future capital gains. Businesses like Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH) just needed to reach a certain scale before they show very attractive levels of profitability.

Foolish takeaway

I think the price/earnings ratio is a useful metric that can be used to quickly look at most businesses. However, there are some situations where it’s not the best metric to use. It’s also important to understand the relationship between the profit and cashflow for each business. I like to use the forward p/e ratio to assess the valuation of growth shares. 

More reading

• Consider these blue chip ASX shares for strong dividend yields
• How to become a millionaire in 25 years with $20 a day
• ASX 200 up again, ASX retailers make big gains
• The ASX big bank stock with the best forecast dividend yield for the new year
• Brokers just upgraded these ASX 200 stocks to “buy” today

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited, PUSHPAY FPO NZX, and Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Transurban Group. 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.

The post What is the price/earnings (p/e) ratio? appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2zNM6gv

S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares are a great hunting ground to find good opportunities for your portfolio.

To get into the ASX 200 a business must have already shown a sustained period of growth or stability.

There are some very large ASX shares like Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and Telstra Corpoation Ltd (ASX: TLS) which are popular but I don’t think they have a lot of growth potential. They are mature businesses which already command a large market share. 

Instead, I think these ASX 200 shares would be good picks next week for the long-term:

Share 1: InvoCare Limited (ASX: IVC)

The funeral operator has seen its share price decline by 24% since the start of its COVID-19 decline. It’s a morbid idea but I think it has solid return potential.

InvoCare has been affected by COVID-19 this year. There’s no doubt about that. The restrictions on funeral numbers will reduce FY20 earnings. But thankfully Australia has only had a small number of coronavirus deaths compared to many other countries.

This probably means that the actual 2020 death rate will be similar to the projected death rate. Death volumes are expected to grow by 1.4% per annum between 2016 to 2025 and then increase by 2.2% per annum from 2025 to 2050. This is a powerful long-term tailwind. 

Indeed, there may even be less deaths in 2020 because of impacts like increased personal hygiene. This is a good thing for the country and for families. For InvoCare, it’s a delay of funeral numbers. But not lost entirely.

The ASX 200 share has a solid dividend record. I think good dividends will continue to flow from InvoCare in future years. With InvoCare, I think investors could see solid total returns with a good dividend yield and steady earnings (and hopefully share price) growth. Its capital raising also improved the strength of the balance sheet.

Interest rates are now incredibly low so bond-like businesses such as InvoCare theoretically should be valued higher.

It’s priced at 19x FY22’s estimated earnings.

Share 2: Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW)

In my opinion, there are few ASX 200 shares that make more sense than Brickworks in book value terms.

Brickworks currently has a market capitalisation of $2.29 billion. Its industry property trust stake is worth $710 million (growing) and its shareholding of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) is worth $1.84 billion. Those two divisions have a combined pre-tax value of $2.55 billion.

I like that Brickworks’ dividend is entirely supported by the cash flow paid by those two assets.

However, the rest of the business is also exciting for the long-term. Brickworks recently acquired three brickmakers in the US. That strategy now means that Brickworks is the leading brickmaker in the northeast of the US. America is a huge market and there’s plenty of long-term growth potential for Brickworks, particularly with efficiency gains.

The ASX 200 share is best known for its Australian building product subsidiaries. Bricks, paving, masonry, precast, roofing – it sells a lot of different products.

COVID-19 is probably going to cause the Australian construction sector to have a tough year. But construction is usually cyclical. When immigration returns there is likely to be a bounce back of activity, which would be beneficial for Brickworks. The $25,000 HomeBuilder scheme could also help Brickworks in the shorter-term.

A bonus with Brickworks is that it has one of the best dividend records around. It hasn’t cut its dividend for over 40 years. I think the grossed-up dividend yield of 5.5% looks attractive to me.

Foolish takeaway

I really like the look of both of these ASX 200 shares. Many others may be too expensive considering all of the COVID-19 uncertainty. At the current prices I’d probably go for Brickworks because of its defensive property and investment assets. But I’d happily buy both next week.

More reading

• Why I’m desperate to add CSL and 2 other ASX shares to my portfolio in 2020
• What are the best ASX shares for dividends?
• Top brokers name 3 ASX 200 shares to sell today
• Forget bank interest, try these ASX 200 dividend shares!
• Why G8 Education, InvoCare, Megaport, & Webjet shares are tumbling lower

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Brickworks, Telstra Limited, and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended InvoCare 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.

The post 2 great value ASX 200 shares I’d buy next week appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2Cpd3Ii

Interest rates look set to remain at historic lows, at least for the next few years. So, keeping your money in a high-interest savings account or a term deposit will barely keep up with inflation. Maybe you’re currently in or nearing retirement, or maybe you are still working and just looking for a handy way to supplement your income stream?

Either way, here are 3 blue chip ASX shares to consider for strong dividend yields: Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG), Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) and Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS).

All 3 of these companies pay attractive dividends and are well-positioned for long term growth.

Macquarie

Macquarie is a global financial services business with a core focus on international investment banking.

In terms of ASX listed blue chip shares to select from, I definitely prefer Macquarie over Australia’s big 4 major banks: Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) and Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ).

I’m more attracted to Macquarie due to the quality and diversity of its earnings base. In particular, it is less exposed to downturns in the local residential property market. It could be quite a rocky road ahead for this sector over the next few months.

Macquarie currently provides investors with a forward fully franked dividend yield of 3.59%.

Wesfarmers

Wesfarmers is a highly diversified business. It has operations in retail segments including general merchandise and office supplies. It also has exposure to the industrial sector with operations in energy and fertilisers, and industrial and safety products.

This high level of diversification across a broad spectrum of the Australian economy is the core strength of this blue chip ASX share.

Wesfarmers business performance during the coronavirus pandemic has been stronger than most. It revealed in early June that it has experienced particularly strong demand from both its Bunnings and Officeworks stores.

Also, Wesfarmers offers investors a forward fully franked dividend yield of around 3.55% right now.

Telstra

Another blue chip ASX share I would consider buying now for strong dividend yield is Australia’s largest telco provider, Telstra. It currently offers investors a handy forward fully franked dividend yield of around 3.1%.

Telstra has been restructuring into a leaner company, so it can remain in a dominant no. 1 market position. Telstra also has had to absorb increased investments in its 5G network to gain an upper hand in this emerging market. However, these investments are now paying off. It is currently a world leader in terms of 5G network rollouts.

I believe that 5G could be a real game-changer for Telstra. The 5G network has the potential to offer even faster broadband speeds than the NBN.

More reading

• 2 blue chip ASX 200 dividend shares to buy next week
• What is the price/earnings (p/e) ratio?
• The ASX big bank stock with the best forecast dividend yield for the new year
• Australian retail sales up 16.3% in May
• Brokers just upgraded these ASX 200 stocks to “buy” today

Motley Fool contributor Phil Harpur owns shares of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Limited, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Telstra Limited, and Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited and Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers 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.

The post Consider these blue chip ASX shares for strong dividend yields appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2zNLR55

The potential for further stock price declines after the recent market crash may dissuade some investors from buying high-quality businesses today.

However, predicting the stock market’s performance over a short time horizon can be problematic due to the wide range of inputs that can affect its prospects.

Therefore, buying companies while they offer wide margins of safety could be a shrewd move. They may be able to deliver impressive performance in the coming years.

Predicting a stock market crash

Trying to forecast when a market crash will occur is exceptionally difficult. For example, the recent pandemic was an unprecedented event that was not on the radar of the vast majority of investors. Trying to predict what happens next when risks such as a possible second wave and geopolitical challenges between the United States and China are ongoing may prove to be an equally difficult task.

Other crises such as the global financial crisis were also not foreseen by many investors. And, perhaps more importantly, the scale of recovery from them was not anticipated by most investors while the economic outlook was at its worst and stock prices were at their most attractive.

Buying undervalued stocks

Therefore, predictions about the prospect of a further market crash may prove to be of little value in the coming months. By contrast, a strategy that focuses on buying the best-quality companies in an industry that faces an uncertain future could be highly profitable. They may be in a strong position to survive a period of economic difficulty, and could even seek to expand their market positions through taking market share away from competitors.

Moreover, even if the stock market experiences a further downturn, its recovery prospects appear to be bright. The stock market has been able to produce annualised total returns in the high-single digits over the long run. It has also successfully recovered from even its very worst bear markets to rise to new record highs. Therefore, a strategy of purchasing stocks and holding them for the long term is likely to yield a higher return that that on offer via other mainstream assets – especially since interest rates are expected to remain low over the medium term.

Portfolio management

Of course, investors may wish to hold some cash over the coming months in case there is a market crash. Doing so may provide them with the opportunity to capitalise on short-term mispricings among high-quality companies.

However, in many cases, stocks appear to include wide margins of safety at the present time that reflect the risks they face during an uncertain period for the world economy. Buying a diverse portfolio of them now and holding them through what could prove to be a volatile period for stock prices may lead to high returns that improve your long-term financial outlook.

More reading

• 2 blue chip ASX 200 dividend shares to buy next week
• What is the price/earnings (p/e) ratio?
• 2 great value ASX 200 shares I’d buy next week
• Consider these blue chip ASX shares for strong dividend yields
• How to turn $20,000 into $250,000 in 10 years with ASX shares

Motley Fool contributor Peter Stephens 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.

The post Market crash 2020: could further stock price declines be on the horizon? appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3elHb5w

I’m a massive fan of buy and hold investing and continue believe it is the best way for investors to grow their wealth.

To demonstrate how successful it can be, every so often I like to pick out a number of popular ASX shares to see how much a single $20,000 investment 10 years ago would be worth today.

This time around I have picked out the three ASX shares that are listed below:

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

Over the last decade CSL has become one of the largest biotech companies in the world. This has been driven by its high level of investment in research and development, which has created a portfolio of lifesaving and highly profitable therapies. This portfolio has underpinned consistently strong earnings and sales growth over the last 10 years, which has ultimately led to its shares generating an average total return of 24.7% per annum. This would have turned a $20,000 investment in the company’s shares into $182,000 today. The good news is that CSL still appears to have a long runway for growth thanks to its very promising development pipeline and the positive outlooks of its CSL Behring and Seqirus businesses.

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

The Fortescue share price has been a strong performer over the last 10 years. It may not have been a smooth ride, but its shares have beaten the market over the period with an average total return of 14.55% per annum. The majority of these gains have been made over the last five years thanks to favourable iron ore prices, the material improvement in its balance sheet, and a significant reduction in its operating costs. This means that a $20,000 investment in its shares in 2010 would be worth $78,000 today.

Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN)

Over the last 10 years the Nanosonics share price has been among the best performers on the market. Thanks to the strong growth in the installed base of its trophon EPR ultrasound probe disinfection system and the increasing recurring consumable revenues the product is generating, this infection control specialist’s shares have generated a total return of 28.42% per annum. This would have turned a $20,000 investment in its shares 10 years ago into just under $250,000 today. Pleasingly, with the company on the cusp of releasing several new products, I suspect this strong form could continue over the next 10 years.

More reading

• These were the worst performers on the ASX 200 last week
• 3 ASX growth shares that could be future market beaters
• Why I’m desperate to add CSL and 2 other ASX shares to my portfolio in 2020
• Is the Downer EDI share price in the buy zone?
• Where to invest for reliable dividend shares

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of CSL Ltd. and Nanosonics Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nanosonics 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.

The post How to turn $20,000 into $250,000 in 10 years with ASX shares appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3fHBy1O

Do you want to become a millionaire in 25 years by investing just $20 a day?

In this article I’m going to show you how it could work.

Reaching $1 million seems like a great goal for the average Aussie. Becoming a ‘millionaire’ has a nice ring to it. However, don’t get caught thinking that means driving a Ferrari. Inflation has meant $1 million isn’t quite as impressive as it was 25 years ago.

Why 25 years to become a millionaire? Why not 10 years?

It’s important to be realistic with your financial goals. The more unrealistic you make your goals the more likely it is you’ll never reach that goal. ‘Get rick quick’ schemes lure people in with dreams of a luxurious lifestyle, but they don’t warn of the risks, the fees and the low chance of success. 

I think 25 years is a good timeframe because it gives an investment a long enough time to utilise compound interest, but 25 years doesn’t mean your whole life either.

Even the richest people in the world take time to grow their wealth and businesses. For example, Warren Buffett didn’t become a billionaire until he was 56. He added all those other billions to his net worth when most people are thinking about retirement.

You may only need $20 a day to become a millionaire

As long as you have a decent income, I think it’s possible to find $20 a day. The most important thing for your budget is to not get stuck into expensive monthly payments you can’t afford. Your home, a car loan – those big ticket items can really drain your monthly budget.

If you can save $20 a day, that’s $140 a week or $7,300 a year. If you save $20 a day then that amounts to around $146,000 over 25 years.

You might say: “Hang on. That’s not even close to $1 million.” Stuffing $146,000 under the mattress or into a safe isn’t going to compound into $1 million.

The best interest rates from savings account you can find right now in Australia are around 2%. If your daily $20 saving compounded at 2% per year you’d finish with $233,821.

I think you need to invest in (ASX) shares to make the required returns to become a millionaire these days. Businesses have the ability to generate strong returns and re-invest for growth.

If you invested $20 a day for 25 years, it’d be possible to make $1 million if you were making returns of 12.25% per annum.

It’s difficult to generate those types of returns, you’d have to find great growth shares at a fairly early stage of their growth. Shares like A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M), Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), Appen Ltd (ASX: APX), REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) and Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) have generated very strong returns for early investors. Names like Amazon, Netflix, Alphabet/Google, Facebook, Visa and Mastercard are international names that have made great returns over the years.

Two of my preferred small cap ideas right now are Bubs Australia Ltd (ASX: BUB) and Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH) for long-term returns.

However, I think it’s important to remain realistic. You may not find many of these growth shares early on. 

A realistic scenario of 10% returns

Let’s alter a few of the assumptions a little. The share market has returned an average of 10% over the long-term, so let’s use that growth rate. Let’s assume you’ve already been doing some saving and you’ve got $10,000 ready to invest at the start of the process. But to become a millionaire you’d need to save a little more per year (if shares return 10% a year), you’d have to save an average of around $25 a day.

Foolish takeaway

I think it’s possible for the average Australian household to achieve what I’ve outlined, particularly when you add the mandatory superannuation contribution amounts (and lower taxes within super) into the mix. If you’re younger you may not be able to commit much money at the start, but you can then invest a lot more in your later years as your earnings hopefully increases.

More reading

• These were the best performers on the ASX 200 last week
• Grow your wealth with these 3 ASX fintech shares
• Why the Splitit share price has shot up 135% in 2 days
• Brokers just upgraded these ASX 200 stocks to “buy” today
• Brokers name 3 ASX 200 shares to buy today

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of BUBS AUST FPO and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of A2 Milk, AFTERPAY T FPO, and Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BUBS AUST FPO and REA Group 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.

The post How to become a millionaire in 25 years with $20 a day appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3fBnbvC

Last week the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was on form and recorded a very strong 1.6% gain to end the period at 5942.6 points.

While the majority of shares on the index pushed higher, some climbed more than most. Here’s why these shares were the best performers on the ASX 200 over the period:

The Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV) share price was the best performer on the ASX 200 last week with a 21.3% gain. This was despite there being no news out of the biopharmaceutical company over the period. However, its shares have been on a strong upward trend over the last three months. So much so, they have almost doubled in value since this time in March. Despite this strong rise, Clinuvel remains one of the most shorted shares on the ASX.

The Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS) share price wasn’t far behind with a gain of 19.8%. Investors were buying the healthcare company’s shares last week after it announced the sale of Healius Primary Care, its medical centres business, to BGH Capital for $500 million. Management advised that the proceeds will be used for investments and to pay down debt.

The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price was a very strong performer last week with a 14.7% gain. This gain appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Macquarie. According to the note, the broker has initiated coverage on the artificial intelligence company with an outperform rating and $38.00 price target. Macquarie believes that Appen’s Relevance segment is well placed for long term growth. Appen’s shares ended the week at $33.83.

The Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX: VEA) share price wasn’t far behind with a 14.2% gain. Last week the fuel retailer released a trading update which included better than expected guidance for the first half. Viva Energy expects its underlying net profit after tax (on a replacement cost basis) to be in the broad range of $20 million to $50 million. This was notably higher than the consensus estimates and led to a number of brokers upgrading their price targets.

More reading

• How to become a millionaire in 25 years with $20 a day
• Short-sellers are stepping up their attack against these popular ASX shares
• ASX 200 up again, ASX retailers make big gains
• These 3 ASX ETFs are yet to recover from the market crash
• Investing experts warn of second ASX market crash

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Appen Ltd. 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.

The post These were the best performers on the ASX 200 last week appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3dimar5

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was on form last week and recorded a solid 1.6% gain to end at 5942.6 points.

Unfortunately, not all shares on the index were able to follow the market higher last week. Here’s why these shares were the worst performers on the ASX 200:

The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price was the worst performer on the ASX 200 last week with a 14.5% decline. The lithium miner’s shares crashed lower ahead of its exclusion from the benchmark index on Monday at the June quarterly rebalance. Index tracking exchange traded funds and fund managers with strict investment mandates were potentially selling its shares.

The Mayne Pharma Group Ltd (ASX: MYX) share price wasn’t far behind with a 13.6% decline. As with Pilbara Minerals, this decline appears to have been driven by the pharmaceutical company’s exclusion from the ASX 200. Heading into the index at next week’s rebalance will be the likes of Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) and Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB).

The Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA) share price was out of form and fell 12.2% last week. All of this decline came on Friday when the packaging company’s shares traded ex-dividend for its massive special dividend. Eligible Orora shareholders will receive its 37.3 cents per share dividend in their bank accounts on 29 June 2020. This dividend was the equivalent of a 15% yield based on its last close price. It was declared following the sale of Orora’s fibre business to Nippon Paper.

The Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price was some distance behind with a decline of 6.9%. This appears to have been driven by a spot of weakness in the iron ore price and profit taking after a strong gain in 2020. Even after last week’s decline, Fortescue’s shares are up 28% since the start of the year.

More reading

• ASX 200 up again, ASX retailers make big gains
• ASX 200 up 0.9%: Big four banks rebound, Appen hits record high
• Is the Downer EDI share price in the buy zone?
• Why Air NZ, Evolution, Orora, & Suncorp shares are dropping lower
• Where to invest for reliable dividend shares

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of MEGAPORT FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended MEGAPORT 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.

The post These were the worst performers on the ASX 200 last week appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2V4HMkq

The uncertain economic outlook caused by coronavirus may not make today appear to be the best investment opportunity in a decade. After all, it is likely that many businesses will experience a period of lower profitability that negatively impacts on investor sentiment.

However, with policymakers across the world having announced major stimulus programs, an economic recovery could be ahead in the coming years. As such, the stock market could deliver a strong recovery from its low valuation – just as it did following the global financial crisis over ten years ago.

Stimulus packages

The scale of the economic challenges posed by lockdowns over recent months has prompted policymakers to introduce major stimulus packages. For example, the United States Federal Reserve has slashed interest rates to zero and introduced an ‘unlimited’ quantitative easing program.

Together, these policies create additional liquidity for businesses and encourage spending rather than saving. They could help to stimulate the world’s largest economy, while similar policies announced across other countries could also improve the outlook for global GDP growth in the coming years.

Similar policies, albeit on a smaller scale, were introduced during the global financial crisis. They had a positive impact on asset prices, and sparked a bull market that lasted for over a decade. As such, the outlook for the stock market could be much more positive than recent corporate earnings and economic data suggests.

Low valuations

At the present time, many companies trade on low valuations. This is unsurprising, since a wide range of sectors are currently experiencing highly challenging trading conditions that are causing a severe decline in sales and profitability.

It may seem unlikely that valuations across the stock market will recover, due to an uncertain outlook. This feeling was also present during the global financial crisis, as well as in the midst of previous economic crises. However, the best investment opportunities have often occurred when the economic outlook is at its most precarious. Valuations are at their lowest ebb at such times, and investors can access wide margins of safety.

Clearly, it is not possible to know that valuations are at their lowest ebb at the present time. But many companies currently offer wide margins of safety that are unlikely to persist over the long run. As such, taking advantage of low valuations today could be a shrewd move.

A volatile recovery

Of course, the stock market is very unlikely to experience a smooth or fast recovery. It can take many years for stock prices to return to their previous highs, and investor sentiment can be highly volatile in the meantime.

However, investors who are able to buy stocks today and hold them for a prolonged period of time may generate high returns. The stock market’s track record of recovery from its deepest declines and vast stimulus packages recently introduced mean that now could be the best investment opportunity since the last global downturn over a decade ago.

More reading

• How to become a millionaire in 25 years with $20 a day
• These were the best performers on the ASX 200 last week
• These were the worst performers on the ASX 200 last week
• Why I’d buy bargain shares now to get rich and retire early
• COVID-19: why hard-hit dividend shares could make you a fortune in 10 years

Motley Fool contributor Peter Stephens 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.

The post Why today could be the best investment opportunity in over 10 years appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/30XcTBY