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Are you looking for some new dividend shares to buy? Good news, brokers have recently named these shares as buys.

Here’s what they are saying about these ASX dividend shares:

Healthco Healthcare and Wellness REIT (ASX: HCW)

The first ASX dividend share to consider is Healthco Healthcare and Wellness REIT. It is a real estate investment trust with a mandate to invest in hospitals, aged care, childcare, life sciences and research, and primary care properties.

It could be a top option due to its exposure to a diversified portfolio underpinned by attractive megatrends and its aim of stable and growing distributions.

Goldman is bullish on the company and has a conviction buy rating and $2.08 price target on its shares. It recently said:

[T]he REIT remains one of our top picks in the sector given 1) its net cash position with over $450mn of liquidity, providing flexibility for near term opportunities, 2) its diversified mix of strong tenant covenants in sub-sectors that are majority government-backed across the care spectrum, mitigating potential tenant credit risks, 3) Healthcare and childcare assets valuations have remained resilient, 4) the expansive forecast future demand for assets across the care spectrum, underpinning development opportunities, and 5) inexpensive valuation.

As for dividends, Goldman is forecasting dividends of 7.5 cents per share in FY 2023 and FY 2024. Based on the current Healthco Healthcare and Wellness REIT unit price of $1.64, this will mean yields of 4.6% for investors.

Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG)

Another ASX dividend share that could be worth considering is Macquarie.

It is of course one of the world’s leading investment banks with operations spanning banking, financial, advisory, investment and fund management.

The team at Morgans is very positive on Macquarie. The broker believes it is well-placed for growth over the long term thanks to structural tailwinds. It currently has an add rating and $215.00 price target on the company’s shares.

The broker commented:

We continue to like MQG’s exposure to long-term structural growth areas such as infrastructure and renewables. The company also stands to benefit from recent market volatility through its trading businesses, while the company continues to gain market share in Australian mortgages.

In respect to dividends, Morgans is forecasting partially franked dividends of $7.07 per share in FY 2023 and $7.47 per share in FY 2024. Based on the current Macquarie share price of $178.59, this will mean yields of 4% and 4.2%, respectively.

The post Brokers name 2 ASX dividend shares to buy now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• How to play ASX bank shares for dividends this reporting season: expert
• Macquarie share price slips despite rumours $3.7 billion acquisition imminent
• Why has the Macquarie share price had such a lacklustre start to August?
• 5 reasons to buy this ASX healthcare share: Goldman Sachs
• Morgans names 3 more of the best ASX shares to buy in August

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 recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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ASX reporting season will heat up this week as several big-name S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares hand in their full-year FY22 results.

Tomorrow, embattled funds management company Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) and annuities provider Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF) will release their respective FY22 reports.

Meanwhile, Wednesday and Thursday promise to be busy with results expected from the likes of Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG), Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) and Tabcorp Holdings Limited (ASX: TAH).

Despite the size and stature of the companies mentioned above, stealing the spotlight this week will be the following trio of ASX blue-chip shares. 

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

The ASX’s largest company is set to reveal its FY22 results tomorrow morning. 

BHP made headlines last week after announcing a non-binding indicative proposal to acquire copper miner OZ Minerals Limited (ASX: OZL). OZ Minerals quickly knocked back the $8.4 billion bid, with the board stating it “significantly undervalued” the business. 

BHP offered $25 cash per share, representing a 32% premium to OZ Minerals’ last closing price at the time. This story will likely continue to play out over the coming weeks.

In the meantime, investors will be watching the extent of the Big Australian’s revenue and earnings growth in FY22. Free cash flow will also be in focus as this guides BHP’s all-important dividend. In February, the ASX miner declared a record interim dividend of US$1.50 per share.

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

The ASX’s healthcare market darling will lift the lid on its FY22 results on Wednesday.

Last week, CSL finalised its $16 billion acquisition of Vifor Pharma. But since the deal was completed after the end of the financial year, this won’t impact CSL’s FY22 results.

Instead, investors will be keeping a close eye on how CSL’s plasma collections are faring in a post-COVID world. After the pandemic put a clamp on plasma donations, industry data is showing that trading conditions for the plasma market are much improved.

CSL delivered 4% revenue growth in the first half of FY22 as the company’s plasma-derived products stalled. This was propped up by CSL’s influenza vaccine business, which posted sales growth of 18%. 

Transurban Group (ASX: TCL)

According to our Foolish reporting season calendar, toll road operator Transurban is expected to report its full-year results on Thursday.

Transurban last delivered an update when it released an investor day presentation in May. Large vehicle traffic continued to show resilience, supported by major construction projects and increased e-commerce activity.

Meanwhile, traffic volumes across airport-related corridors are seeing signs of recovery.

Investors will no doubt pay close attention to the latest traffic volumes and insights when Transurban reports on Thursday. Any commentary around the impact of fuel prices and inflation also won’t go unnoticed. 

Unlike BHP and CSL, Transurban’s dividends won’t be in focus on Thursday. This is because the toll road operator already declared a final FY22 distribution of 26 cents per stapled security back in June.

This took Transurban’s total FY22 distribution to 41 cents per stapled security, up 12% compared to the distributions paid in FY21.

The post Here are 3 ASX blue-chip shares reporting this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Can Coles shares deliver 13% growth AND tasty dividends this year?
• Could this ASX 200 share be heading for a short squeeze?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• The A2 Milk share price has had a tough week. Could this other ASX dairy company cash in?

Motley Fool contributor Cathryn Goh 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 CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Challenger Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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On Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finished the week in a disappointing fashion. The benchmark index fell 0.5% to 7,032.5 points.

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

ASX 200 expected to rebound

The Australian share market looks set to rebound on Monday following a very strong night on Wall Street on Friday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 39 points or 0.55% this morning. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones was up 1.3%, the S&P 500 climbed 1.7%, and the NASDAQ jumped 2.1%.

Oil prices fall

Energy producers Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) could start the week in the red after oil prices tumbled on Friday. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price dropped 2.4% to US$92.09 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price fell 1.45% to US$98.15 a barrel. Oil prices came under pressure on speculation that US Gulf supply disruption will ease.

Westpac Q3 update

The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price will be one to watch on Monday when the banking giant releases its third quarter update. The market is likely to be looking for an update on how Australia’s oldest bank’s cost cutting program is progressing and how its margins have fared since rates started to rise.

Gold price rises

Gold miners Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could have a decent start to the week after the gold price pushed higher on Friday night. According to CNBC, the spot gold price was up 0.45% to US$1,815.50 an ounce. The precious metal recorded its fourth straight weekly gain after the US dollar softened.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank results

Westpac isn’t the only bank releasing an update today. Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN) shares will be on watch when the regional bank releases its full year results. According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts expect the bank to report a cash profit of $502 million and pay a full year dividend of 123 cents per share.

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

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More reading

• Should investors buy Bendigo Bank shares for dividends?
• Up 12% in 30 days, is the Westpac share price still a buy?
• Can Coles shares deliver 13% growth AND tasty dividends this year?
• Could this ASX 200 share be heading for a short squeeze?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Are you looking for small cap ASX shares to buy? If you are, you may want to check out the two listed below that have been tipped as buys by brokers.

Here’s why brokers are bullish on these small cap shares:

Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART)

The first small cap ASX share to consider is this online marketplace provider for local services.

Management believes that it has a significant growth opportunity ahead of it. In fact, it estimates that it has a total addressable market (TAM) of $600 billion across Australia, the UK, and the US. This compares to the gross marketplace volume of $189.6 million that it achieved in FY 2022.

Morgans remains a big fan of Airtasker and believes it is well-placed for long term growth thanks to its huge TAM opportunity. It explained:

Whilst acknowledging the current volatile market conditions and broader sector sentiment, we continue to remain attracted to the strong growth opportunity ahead for ART, predicated on the company successfully implementing its strategy of penetrating the prodigious TAM opportunity both domestically and offshore.

Morgans has an add rating and $1.05 price target on the company’s shares.

Nitro Software Ltd (ASX: NTO)

Another small cap ASX share that could be a buy is Nitro Software. It is a growing software company driving digital transformation in businesses around the world across multiple industries with its Nitro Productivity Suite.

Nitro’s shares have been hammered this year due to the tech selloff and a recent guidance downgrade. And while the team at Goldman Sachs was disappointed with the update, it hasn’t changed its view that Nitro has enormous long term growth potential.

Goldman explained:

We see the update as re-basing market expectations on NTO’s growth outlook and highlighting the path to breakeven; however, we acknowledge that NTO will likely enter a “show me” phase where consecutive quarters of strong ARR performance are necessary to allay concerns over execution challenges. That said, we continue to see NTO as an undervalued global growth opportunity and highlight that the company now trades at ~12x FY24E EV/EBITDA on a capitalisation-adjusted basis.

The broker has a buy rating and $2.05 price target on its shares.

The post 2 exciting small cap ASX shares to buy according to brokers appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ‘The smaller you get, the worse the performance has been’: Should ASX small-cap shares be avoided right now?
• Experts name 2 exciting small cap ASX shares to buy with huge upside potential
• Why I think these ASX tech shares are buys in August
• Goldman Sachs names 2 small cap ASX shares to buy with 80%+ upside
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

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 recommended Airtasker Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nitro Software Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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If you’re looking to invest in exchange traded funds (ETFs), then it could be worth considering the two listed below.

These ETFs are popular with investors and it isn’t hard to see why. Here’s what you need to know about them:

BetaShares Global Banks ETF (ASX: BNKS)

The first ETF for investors to look at is BetaShares Global Banks ETF.

As you might have guessed from its name, this ETF gives investors exposure to many of the world’s largest banks. One key thing that is not given away with its name, however, is that this collection of banks excludes our own big four and regional players.

This means that if you’re looking for opportunities away from the status quo in Australia, this ETF gives you it in buckets. Among the banks included in the fund are Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, HSBC, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo. Overall, as a group, they look well-placed to benefit from central banks raising interests rates across the globe.

BetaShares Global Energy Companies ETF (ASX: FUEL)

Another ETF for investors to consider next week is the BetaShares Global Energy Companies ETF.

While oil prices have thankfully retreated from their recent highs, they are still in or around the US$100 per barrel mark. This is significantly higher than the cost of production for many of the world’s largest energy producers, which means they are rolling in cash right now. This bodes well for earnings and dividends in the near term.

The good news is that the BetaShares Global Energy Companies ETF provides investors with easy access to many of these energy producers in one single easy investment. Among the companies that you’ll be buying a slice of are BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Royal Dutch Shell.

The post 2 quality ETFs for ASX investors to buy in August appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 3 wonderful ETFs for ASX investors to buy today
• 3 highly rated ETFs for ASX investors to buy now

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 BetaShares Global Banks ETF – Currency Hedged and BetaShares Global Energy Companies ETF – Currency Hedged. 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.

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The Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) share price has gained 26.2% this past month as it makes a steep recovery from being down 20.53% year to date.

Shares in the uranium miner were trading 3.25% lower at 75 cents apiece at the close on Friday. But from a wider viewpoint, the Paladin Energy share price is outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ), up just 5.80% over the past month.

Let’s find out what might be driving the recent rally.

Paladin restarts the Langer Henrich uranium mine

One major development stands out amid the Paladin Energy share price climb over the past month.

In July, my Foolish colleague Bernd Struben reported that Paladin would restart uranium production in its Langer Henrich mine, located off Africa’s southwest coast in Namibia.

Paladin’s profile on the Langer Henrich mine states it was placed under maintenance in May 2018 due to “unfavourable market conditions”. Cameco reported that uranium fetched a $22.73 spot price at the time. Today, the heavy metal sells for $47.75, representing a 47.60% increase.

Paladin confirmed that its restart plan coincided with a more favourable backdrop for the uranium market.

The miner expects to realise first production volumes from Langer Henrich in the first quarter of 2024.

Global demand for uranium increases

As governments look toward cleaner energy sources to reach emission targets, it’s possible that nuclear energy, and by extension, uranium, could enter into an unprecedented supercycle in the power generation industry.

In July, the European Union did not object to including nuclear power generation as a sustainable economic activity. 

And according to energy, mining, and commodities expert Ben Cleary, this trend is also seen in other countries. Cleary said:

The American government are very supportive of nuclear generation. So is China. 

So uranium has a really strong governmental backing as a baseload energy source given it produces lower carbon emissions versus other fossil fuels going forward.

The development of nuclear energy as a power source is also being spurred through the research of nuclear fusion technology.

Investment specialist Michael Collins wrote in Livewire today that nuclear fusion prevented the risk of disasters such as nuclear meltdown. The second benefit is that no harmful waste is produced from its activities.

The difference between nuclear fission and fusion is how power is generated. Nuclear fission is the process of splitting an atom, while nuclear fusion is the process of combining atoms. Fusion is approximately four times more powerful than fission and is more expensive to research.

No nuclear power plants currently use fusion to generate power as the technology is still being developed. The consensus varies when it will be commercially available, but one BBC estimate puts it in the 20-year ballpark.

Paladin Energy share price snapshot

The Paladin Energy share price is down 21.5% year to date. That’s significantly below the broader market’s performance as the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) has fallen 7.41% over the same period.

Paladin’s market capitalisation is $2.2 billion at the current share price. 

The post Up 26% in a month, is the Paladin Energy share price on the comeback trail? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• The ASX shares with 30% to 50% upside: fundie
• Why did the Paladin Energy share price rocket 28% in July?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Paladin Energy share price lights up on uranium project restart
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today

Motley Fool contributor Matthew Farley 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.

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When board directors spend bucketloads of their own money buying more ASX shares in the companies they run, it’s a pretty clear sign of confidence.

To reiterate, we’re not talking about the exercising of options or rights issues. Nor director’s remuneration (where the issuing of new shares forms part of a director’s salary package). We’re talking about on-market trades using personal cash savings, super funds, or monies held within companies they own or control.

Who’s been buying shares in the ASX companies they run?

Listed companies are required to publicly advise the ASX when a director has purchased shares.

In a statement this week, Straker Translations Ltd (ASX: STG) told the ASX that director Steve Donovan had acquired 40,000 shares in an on-market trade worth more than $1.7 million on 3 August.

On Friday, the Straker share price closed at $1.13, up 7.1% for the day and down 29.4% year to date.

Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE) director Nicholas Politis AM has also made a series of share purchases through his companies, WFM Motors Pty Ltd and NGP Investments (No 2) Pty Ltd.

Politis has been buying more ASX shares in Eagers for several weeks. In July, he spent $1.5 million buying Eagers shares. By the end of the month, he held more than 70.33 million shares.

He’s bought another 100,000 Eagers shares in August, the latest being a 10,000 parcel bought on Thursday.

On Friday, Eagers closed at $13.10, making his stake in the ASX 200 company worth about $922 million.

Eagers has a market capitalisation of $3.47 billion with approximately 257 million shares on issue.

The Eagers share price dipped 3.1% on Friday and is down 6.1% year to date.

Also this week, United Malt Group Ltd (ASX: UMG) told the ASX that three directors had bought shares.

Independent chair and non-executive director Graham Bradley AM purchased 75,000 shares on the ASX between 3 and 8 August. The average price was $3.04 per share for a total consideration of $227,994. He now directly owns 196,395 shares in the company.

United Malt CEO and managing director Mark Palmquist purchased 50,000 shares on 4 August at an average price of $2.95 per share for a total consideration of $147,625. He now directly owns 543,222 shares in the company.

Independent non-executive director Gary Mize purchased 17,317 shares on 4 August at an average price of $2.85 per share for a total consideration of $49,353. He now owns 48,200 shares in the company.

The United Malt share price closed Friday’s session at $3.29, up 1.9%. It’s down 27.2% year to date.

The post 5 ASX directors loading up on their companies’ shares in August appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• This ASX share rocketed 29% last month, but it’s not too late to buy: Celeste
• Winner winner chicken dinner: Expert names 2 ASX shares to buy now
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• This ASX 200 director bought $1.5 million worth of his company’s shares in July… and he’s still buying

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 no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Straker Translations. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Last week saw a number of broker notes hitting the wires once again. Three buy ratings that investors might want to be aware of are summarised below.

Here’s why brokers think investors ought to buy them next week:

GQG Partners Inc (ASX: GQG)

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts have reiterated their buy rating on this fund manager’s shares with a slightly trimmed price target of $1.92. Goldman was pleased with GQG’s results and remains positive on its outlook. This is due to its strong operating momentum and low fees. It also highlights the company’s co-founders have the majority of their wealth invested in GQG and its investment strategies. The GQG share price ended the week at $1.66.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

A note out of Citi reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating and lifted their price target on this lithium miner’s shares materially to $3.60. The broker made the move after increasing its earnings estimates for FY 2023 and FY 2024 significantly on the back of higher spodumene price assumptions. It is expecting this to underpin high levels of free cash flow. The Pilbara Minerals share price was fetching $3.12 at Friday’s close.

REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)

Analysts at Morgans have retained their add rating on this property listings company’s shares with a slightly trimmed price target of $143.00. This follows the release of a full year result that beat on the top line and narrowly missed on the bottom line. REA was particularly pleased with the performance of REA’s local operations, which delivered very strong growth over the prior corresponding period. Looking ahead, the broker believes management has levers to potentially pull to boost its growth. The REA share price ended the week at $133.85.

The post Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Up 30% in a month, can the Pilbara Minerals share price keep rising?
• 2 ASX shares that Morgans would buy after excellent results
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Up 52% since June, can the Pilbara Minerals share price extend gains?
• Equity markets threaten to ‘melt up’ as Nasdaq enters bull market territory

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 recommended REA Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) shares used to be a shining example of how an ASX tech share could give investors healthy dividend returns.

The e-commerce and online retail company spent the years between 2017 and 2020 ratcheting up its annual shareholder payouts from 7.7 cents per share to 21 cents per share.

Kogan then paid out its highest ever dividend in May 2021 – an interim dividend worth 16 cents per share.

But that, folks, is where the music stopped. All has been silent on the dividend front with Kogan since then. We are now well into the second half of 2022, and Kogan has yet to pay out any dividends of any kind since May 2021.

Where did Kogan’s dividend go?

Well, Kogan first broke the news of its upcoming dividend drought around this time last year. That was when the company reported its full-year earnings for the 2021 financial year. As we covered at the time, here’s how Kogan explained its decision to turn off the dividend tap:

Kogan.com has a strong balance sheet, and attractive short-term and long-term growth opportunities. To support the Company with its growth plans, the Board has decided to conserve cash for business investment and growth purposes and has paused dividends – having not declared a FY21 final dividend.

Back in February of this year, Kogan delivered its half-year results for the first half of FY 2022. It said something remarkably similar then as well:

To support the company with its growth plans, the Board has decided to conserve cash for business investment and growth purposes and has paused dividends – having not declared a 1H FY22 interim dividend.

Now, Kogan is scheduled to deliver its full-year earnings for FY 2022 on 23 August. So it will be interesting whether the same lines get trotted out, or if dividend payments are finally resumed.

But looking at Kogan’s ‘business update’, which was released back on 28 July, things aren’t looking too good.

In a bit of a spoiler for its earnings later this month, Kogan flagged that it is looking at a total adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $19.1 million for the 2022 financial year.

That is a substantial step backwards from the $61.8 million in earnings the company reported for FY 2021. As well as the $49.7 million reported for FY 2020.

Will FY 2023 see the return of the Kogan dividend?

Profits also look likely to slip, with Kogan indicating it is set to report a total gross profit of $184.6 million for FY 2022, down from the $203.7 million for FY 2021.

But revenues are looking a little better. Kogan reported total revenue of $1.18 billion for FY 2022. That’s up slightly from FY 2021’s $1.179 billion for FY 2021.

Although shareholders love them, dividends are one of the least productive ways a company can spend its money, seeing as it gets no return whatsoever from paying out cash as dividends.

So the fact that it looks like Kogan is still struggling to grow earnings and profits arguably doesn’t bode well for a resumption of dividends later this month.

But we shall have to wait and see what happens on 23 August.

In the meantime, the last Kogan share price gives this ASX share a market capitalisation of $449.1 million.

The post Will Kogan shares ever pay a dividend again? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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It’s no secret that ASX technology shares have struggled this year.

The trouble is not with the sector per se, but it’s that tech is an industry full of growth stocks.

Most tech firms are offering something innovative to the market rather than trying to compete in an existing category. This means they’re focused on growing the customer base. 

A growth stock relies on future earnings to justify its valuation. But now that interest rates are 175 basis points higher than three months ago, the cost of future performance is considerably higher.

This is why ASX growth and tech shares have suffered so much in 2022.

Multiple experts have told The Motley Fool that now the name of the game is to be profitable, or at least operate on positive cash flow.

The idea is that if you’re generating your own cash then you need not borrow to keep the business going. Not borrowing means your fortunes are not dependent on low interest rates.

With this in mind, the team at Forager Funds this week named two ASX tech shares it holds that are heading in the right direction:

‘Costs are well controlled’

Communications tech provider Whispir Ltd (ASX: WSP) burned through $5.2 million of cash for the quarter ending June.

According to Forager, it now has $26.1 million in its bank account.

“But the pure cash-flow numbers belie the progress the business has been making,” Forager analysts stated in a memo to clients. 

“While the full results won’t be released for a couple of weeks, commentary in the cash-flow summary suggested revenue will exceed prior guidance of 42% growth and that costs are well controlled.”

While cash flow is negative at the moment, the Forager team reckons this will turn around fairly soon.

“Next financial year should already see free cash-flow generation.”

Whispir shares have lost about half their value this year. The company will report its financials on 24 August.

Cyan Investment Management portfolio manager Dean Fergie told The Motley Fool last month that if Whispir can rein in its costs, it “could actually be quite a good business”.

“This is one of these businesses that has got a really, really strong corporate client base, which is positive, [and] really, really strong growth in revenues.”

‘Free cash flow this financial year’

Corporate software maker Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (ASX: BTH) is in a similar spot, burning through $4.9 million last quarter, leaving $39 million in the bank.

The Forager team expects positive cash flow for this ASX tech share even sooner than Whispir though.

“Growing revenue and a falling cost base should result in free cash flow this financial year,” the memo read.

“The annual revenue run-rate rose a healthy 25% organically to $120 million, slightly above prior guidance and setting the business up well for future years.”

Bigtincan shares are down about 30% year-to-date. The company will reveal its results on 25 August.

While coverage is sparse on the $400 million tech company, both analysts surveyed on CMC Markets currently rate the stock as a strong buy.

The post 2 ASX tech shares about to go cash-flow positive appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Loss-making ASX shares: Big investment opportunity or extreme risk?
• Why is the Whispir share price tumbling 10% on Monday?
• ‘Great long-term investment’: Expert names small-cap ASX share to buy for cheap

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

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