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It’s been a rather dreary start to the trading week for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has lost an anaemic 0.05% and is back under 6,800 points. But it’s a different story for the Australian Foundation Investment Co Ltd (ASX: AFI), or AFIC, share price today.

The AFIC share price is currently up a more robust 0.62% at $8.13 this Monday after opening at $8.08. This move comes after the listed investment company (LIC) reported its preliminary full-year results for the 2022 financial year this morning.

What did the company report?

• Net profit of $360.6 million, up 53.4% from the previous year (FY2021)
• Revenue from operating activities of $393.4 million, up 49.7% from FY2021.
• Earnings per share (EPS) of 23.3 cents
• A final and fully franked dividend of 14 cents per share

What else happened in FY2022?

As an LIC, AFIC manages a portfolio of underlying shares on behalf of its investors. Over the financial year just gone, AFIC’s net tangible assets (NTA) per share fell from $7.45 per share to $6.63 (before allowing for the final dividend).

However, AFIC has maintained its full-year dividend payments at 24 cents per share, fully franked. That’s the same level it funded over FY2021. However, 10 cents out of the 14-cent final dividend will be “sourced from capital gains, on which the Group has paid or will pay tax”.

AFIC also reported that the net profit of $360.6 million includes a (non-cash) dividend of $74.9 million that has resulted from the merger of BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)’s petroleum division with the old Woodside Petroleum Limited (WPL). Otherwise, AFIC declared that the large increase in profitability from FY2021 “was driven by higher dividends received from investee companies”.

What did management say?

Here’s some of what AFIC’s management had to say on these results:

Short-term portfolio performance was impacted by adjustments in the market resulting from geopolitical events and rising interest rates which produced a fall in many growth companies trading on high valuations.

These conditions also produced fluctuations in the more cyclical stocks, where AFIC is generally underweight given its long-term investment focus. Portfolio return for the year was negative 6.8%, including franking. The return for the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index, was negative 5.1%, including franking.

What’s next?

AFIC is not too optimistic about its own prospects in the immediate future. It declared that “the uncertain environment that produced a fall in equity markets during the financial year is unlikely to be materially different in the short term”.

However, it also stated that “in this environment we are comfortable with the current portfolio settings and can afford to be patient with our capital until attractive opportunities present themselves”.

AFIC share price snapshot

The AFIC share price has been struggling in recent months. The LIC remains down by 4.59% over the year to date. However, that is not nearly as painful as the ASX 200’s 10.5% loss over the same period.

At the current AFIC share price, the Australian Foundation Investment Co has a trailing dividend yield of 2.96%.

The post Why is the AFIC share price outperforming on Monday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Experts predict 2 companies heading for the ASX 20 (and 2 that will get kicked out)
• ASX 200 midday update: EML crashes, Flight Centre jumps on guidance upgrade
• Up 10% so far in July, is the CSL share price heading back above $300?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Is Adairs considered an ASX 300 dividend share?

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 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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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week with a small decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.1% to 6,787.6 points.

Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here’s why they are rising today:

Damstra Holdings Ltd (ASX: DTC)

The Damstra share price is up 16% to 22 cents. This follows the release of the integrated workplace management solutions provider’s fourth-quarter update. Damstra had its best quarter of the financial year, delivering revenue of $8 million. This underpinned a 25.2% half on half increase in revenue during the second half. Damstra also achieved its first quarter of positive operating cash flow.

Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT)

The Flight Centre share price is up over 3% to $17.69. This morning the travel agent upgraded its guidance for FY 2022. Management revealed that a strong finish to the financial year means that it expects to record an underlying EBITDA loss of between $180 million and $190 million in FY 2022. This is an 11.9% improvement on the mid-point of the company’s initial FY 2022 guidance.

Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG)

The IAG share price is up almost 6% to $4.45. This appears to have been driven by the release of a number of broker notes that rate the insurance giant’s shares as a buy. One of those is Citi. Although the broker was disappointed with IAG’s FY 2022 update, it sees enough value to maintain a buy rating with a $5.10 price target.

Pantoro Ltd (ASX: PNR)

The Pantoro share price is up 3% to 18.5 cents. Investors have been buying this gold explorer’s shares following an update on drilling on stage two of the open pit plan at Green Lantern at the Norseman Project. Management advised that drilling continues to increase confidence in the ore geometry and controls on mineralisation.

The post Why Damstra, Flight Centre, IAG, and Pantoro shares are pushing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Why are ASX 200 travel shares having such a stellar session?
• Why is the IAG share price lifting 6% higher today?
• ASX 200 midday update: EML crashes, Flight Centre jumps on guidance upgrade
• Flight Centre share price storms 5% higher on guidance upgrade

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 Damstra Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Insurance Australia Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Damstra Holdings Ltd and Flight Centre Travel 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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This year has been rough on the Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold producer’s stock was rocked in late June when the company downgraded its production guidance while upping its expected production costs. And a falling gold price hasn’t helped at all.

At the time of writing, the Evolution share price is $2.40. That’s 41% lower than it was at the start of the year.

Comparatively, the ASX 200 has slumped around 10% in that time while the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (ASX: GDX) has shed 15%.

But has the Evolution share price’s poor performance presented a buying opportunity? Let’s see what experts are saying.

Is the embattled Evolution share price a buy?

The Evolution share price has been recently battered by an earnings downgrade and a falling gold price.

While the yellow metal is often spruiked as an inflation hedge, it doesn’t pay interest. That means rising rates may have encouraged investors to move away from gold. At the same time, a stronger US dollar makes the metal more expensive for those trading in other currencies, as my Fool colleague Zach Bristow reported last week.

But is there light at the end of the tunnel for the Evolution share price? Well, that depends on who you ask.

Atlas Funds Management chief investment officer Hugh Dive is reportedly bullish on Evolution – just. The fundie told Livewire it’s a “very soft buy” in his books, adding:

Evolution’s production issues are not insurmountable. The gold price could go up, and if they get their production back together, its [share price will] go up.

The publication also heard the far more bearish opinion of Investors Mutual Limited’s Hugh Giddy. Giddy believes the stock is a ‘hold’ amid negative sentiment on the price of gold.

And there appears to be mixed opinions all round. The Motley Fool Australia reported on brokers’ outlooks for the Evolution share price earlier this month.

Then, seven brokers believed the stock was a buy, eight had slapped it with a ‘hold’ rating, and two were tipping it as a ‘sell’.

However, the consensus price target was $3.30 – representing a potential 44% upside.

The post Is the Evolution share price a buy after falling 40% this year? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Evolution share price lifts as results fall ‘in line’ with forecasts
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• What’s the outlook for Evolution Mining shares in FY23?

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper 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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

While cryptocurrency is an exciting emerging asset class, not every cryptocurrency is a buy. Crypto investors are constantly bombarded with information on what cryptocurrency to buy next before it “goes to the moon”.

Let’s take a look at some cryptocurrencies that readers would be better off avoiding. It may be because of a lack of utility, questionable value, or the fact that it’s being made obsolete by developments elsewhere in the crypto space. Three cryptos to avoid are Bitcoin Cash (CRYPTO: BCH), Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE), and Hex (CRYPTO: HEX).

1. Bitcoin Cash

RJ Fulton (Bitcoin Cash): Bitcoin Cash was created as the result of a hard fork from Bitcoin in 2017. Its original purpose was to solve some of Bitcoin’s shortcomings, like high fees and slow speeds. However, new innovations in blockchain technology have caused Bitcoin Cash to potentially become obsolete. 

One of the primary differences between Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin comes down to the block size. Bitcoin Cash’s block sizes are 32 times larger than Bitcoin’s. The thinking goes that larger blocks are capable of holding more data. Subsequently, transaction speeds are faster and fees are lower since block sizes are more efficient.

At first glance, it would seem that Bitcoin Cash has an advantage. Yet in recent years, new technology now allows Bitcoin to become just as efficient as Bitcoin Cash without sacrificing any of the security or decentralization that makes Bitcoin unique. 

Known as the Lightning Network, this solution helps Bitcoin transactions to be fulfilled faster and more cheaply. The Lightning Network processes transactions in batches separately from the main Bitcoin blockchain.

Without getting too much in-depth, the Lightning Network creates channels between users to send transactions. These channels keep a running tab of balances. Once a user cashes out, the channels are closed. Then transactions are bundled up and added to the main Bitcoin blockchain.

Over the course of last year, the Lightning Network grew by more than 300%. Thanks to integrations with mobile apps like CashApp, Strike, and even Twitter, the Lightning Network can now reach hundreds of millions of users. 

Think of the Lightning Network as turning Bitcoin from a two-lane county road into a six-lane highway. Before the Lightning Network, it wasn’t unheard of for a Bitcoin transaction fee to cost more than the transaction itself. Now, with the Lightning Network, you can avoid those high fees and slow speeds to use Bitcoin for everyday purchases like your cup of coffee.

Consequently, this new solution may have ended the one use case that Bitcoin Cash had over its original predecessor. Rather than hoping that Bitcoin Cash can catch up to Bitcoin in popularity and value, investors should steer clear of this cryptocurrency that might be on its last leg. 

2. Dogecoin 

Neil Patel (Dogecoin): Despite rising more than 10% over the past week, Dogecoin is still down 91% (as of July 19) from its peak price of $0.74 set in May 2021. That’s an eye-popping drawdown in such a short timeframe, but it underscores the fact that investors should stay far away from this dog-inspired meme token. As of this writing, Dogecoin had a market cap of $9.2 billion, making it the 10th most-valuable cryptocurrency network in the world. 

Founded in 2013 by Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, Dogecoin was created as a casual and fun competitor to the largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC). But while Bitcoin, which is slowly becoming accepted as a legitimate store of value, has the longest operating history in the space with a deep developer network and a growing list of financial infrastructure supporting it, Dogecoin’s primary use thus far has been as a tipping mechanism on sites like Reddit and Twitter. 

There’s no real competitive edge that Dogecoin possesses among the more than 20,000 cryptocurrencies out there. To make matters worse, DOGE is meant to be an inflating digital asset, meaning there’s no cap on the supply of tokens. In fact, 10,000 new DOGE are mined every single minute, making price appreciation even more difficult to achieve.  

Dogecoin’s price did skyrocket in the spring of 2021 for no real reason other than the hype it received on social media. As part of the meme-stock craze that propelled otherwise struggling companies like AMC Entertainment and GameStop to new heights, Dogecoin benefited from renewed interest among younger speculators. Believing in the community might be the only bull argument for Dogecoin, but even this factor may have already peaked. 

The token’s most prominent supporter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has been known to occasionally tweet about DOGE, which unsurprisingly causes the crypto’s price to pop, albeit for a short time. Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the National Basketball Association’s Dallas Mavericks, is also a well-known supporter of Dogecoin. Both of these businessmen have even gone so far as to allow their respective organizations to accept payment in Dogecoin for certain items. I see no objective for this other than to use the token’s popularity to drive interest as a publicity stunt. 

Hoping for renewed interest from the crypto community to push DOGE’s price higher in the hopes of making a quick profit is not a worthwhile investment strategy. For this reason, it’s best to avoid Dogecoin altogether. 

3. Hex 

Michael Byrne (Hex): For a coin just outside of the top 200 tokens in market cap, Hex (CRYPTO: HEX) is garnering a lot of attention on social media and beyond. This is largely thanks to its charismatic founder and extensive advertising lauding the returns investors can make and the high yields they can earn by holding Hex. The advertising makes bold claims such as, “Hex is designed to go up 10,000x in only the first 2.5 years” and compares it to investing in Bitcoin at $1.

I’m wary of the fact that the Hex website states that it’s “like Bitcoin, but better”. The section that asks, “Is Hex a Ponzi, pyramid scheme, MLM, scam, or security?” with the simple answer “No,” also raises eyebrows.

Hex users essentially send Ethereum to a wallet address and receive Hex tokens in return. They can then leave these tokens on the Hex blockchain, where Hex advertises that staking them leads to average returns of 38% a year.

This is purportedly akin to a blockchain version of a certificate of deposit where holders are paid for locking their money in for a period of time. However, the Hex tokens they earn can just be created by Hex whenever they want and are inflationary in nature, offering little in the way of utility or revenue generation.

I also don’t like the idea of investors sending their hard-earned Ethereum to an unknown wallet. The better strategy would be to simply hold on to Ethereum as the Ethereum network readies itself for exciting developments like The Merge.

As we have seen with countless projects offering high yields that have imploded over the past few months, the high yields are not usually sustainable and are best treated with caution. Hex is down from a high of just under 50 cents that it hit in September 2021, and today it trades at just 5 cents. Like many smaller cryptos, Hex may find it difficult to return to previous highs during the crypto winter.

In addition to the concerns above, there’s also the simple question of opportunity cost. In the current market environment, investors can accumulate positions in blue chip cryptos like Bitcoin or Ethereum at a steep discount to where they were just a few months ago.

The crypto market is speculative and volatile. It’s probably wiser to add to positions in the top assets at these levels, rather than speculate on tokens with a more questionable future or use case like Hex and Dogecoin, or ones that are becoming obsolete, like Bitcoin Cash.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post 3 cryptos to avoid no matter what appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Did Elon Musk’s comments support or hurt meme tokens?
• Why Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin are falling today
• Does this crypto rally have legs?
• Here’s why the Bitcoin and Dogecoin prices are rocketing
• Shiba Inu, Dogecoin, Solana surge higher: Where are meme coins headed from here?

Michael Byrne has positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. Neil Patel has positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. RJ Fulton has positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tesla, and Twitter. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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Once a week I like to look at ASIC’s short position report to find out which shares are being targeted by short sellers.

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

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

• Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) continues to be the most shorted ASX share despite its short interest easing to 15.8%. Short sellers will have been disappointed to see the travel agent’s shares jump today following a guidance upgrade.
• Betmakers Technology Group Ltd (ASX: BET) has seen its short interest soften to 11.9%. This appears to be due to valuation concerns. The betting technology company’s shares trade on lofty multiples.
• Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN) has short interest of 11.7%, which is down slightly week on week again. Short sellers will be pleased to have seen this infection prevention company’s shares tumble on Monday following a business update. There are ongoing concerns about a potential jump in costs relating to a sales model change.
• Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) has short interest of 11.4%, which is up slightly week on week again. There’s also a similarly high level of short interest for the payments company’s shares on Wall Street.
• Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE) has short interest of 9.2%, which is down week on week. This month this lithium developer was hit with a short attack from J Capital. Prior to that, the company’s CEO left with immediate effect, without comment, and sold all his shares.
• EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) has short interest of 9.1%, which is down meaningfully week on week. The short sellers that didn’t close positions will have been celebrating today after the payments company’s shares crashed lower following an update on regulatory issues facing its European operations.
• Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) has short interest of 9.1%, which is up week on week. This gold miner’s shares have been under-fire this year amid production issues.
• PolyNovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) has seen its short interest ease to 8.5%. One short seller previously revealed that it was targeting the medical device company’s shares due to the belief that they have been valued incorrectly by the market.
• Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) has seen its short interest soften to 8.4%. Poor inventory management, supply chain headwinds, higher marketing costs, and increasing competition from Amazon are all weighing on sentiment.
• Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) has returned to the top ten with short interest of 8.1%. Short sellers don’t appear confident that this buy now pay later provider will achieve its profitability targets.

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

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More reading

• Why are ASX 200 travel shares having such a stellar session?
• Why are ASX 200 tech shares having such a lousy start to the week?
• Swings and roundabouts: What’s with the Zip share price today?
• ASX 200 midday update: EML crashes, Flight Centre jumps on guidance upgrade
• EML share price crashes 22% on Ireland warning

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 Betmakers Technology Group Ltd, Block, Inc., EML Payments, Kogan.com ltd, Nanosonics Limited, and POLYNOVO FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc., EML Payments, Kogan.com ltd, and Nanosonics Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Betmakers Technology Group Ltd and Flight Centre Travel 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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The Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price is taking off on Monday, trading in the green despite no news having been released by the online travel agency.

However, one of its ASX travel peers released an optimistic update regarding its upcoming earnings this morning.  

At the time of writing, the Webjet share price is $5.13, 1.89% higher than its previous close.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 0.09% right now.

So, what’s bolstering the ASX 200 travel giant higher today? Let’s take a look.

What’s boosting the Webjet share price?

The Webjet share price is soaring alongside its ASX 200 travel peers today. Their gains are likely driven by promising news from Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) camp.

The travel giant announced it had experienced strong demand for global travel towards the end of financial year 2022. So much so that it’s upgraded its guidance.

The travel agency now expects to post an underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) loss of between $180 million and $190 million.

Previously, it expected to post an underlying EBITDA loss of between $195 million and $225 million.

It also expects to break even over the six months ended June and to post a healthy fourth-quarter profit.

Of course, that also likely bodes well for Webjet. The company returned to profit over the six months ended 31 March. It’s expected to release its full-year earnings in November.

The Webjet share price is also joined in the green by many other ASX 200 travel shares.

Notably, Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) and Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD). They’re currently up 1.8% and 5%, respectively.

The post Why is the Webjet share price having such a great start to the week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why are ASX 200 travel shares having such a stellar session?
• What’s in store for the Webjet share price in FY23?
• Why Accent, Humm, IAG, and Webjet shares are dropping
• Why are Flight Centre, Webjet, and other ASX travel shares sinking today?
• ASX 200 midday update: Brickworks higher, IAG drops on prelim results, Zip rockets

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper 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 Corporate Travel Management Limited, Flight Centre Travel Group Limited, and Webjet 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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On the back of rising commodity prices, the Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) share price has surged 50% since 2017.

In early August 2021, the mining giant’s shares hit an all-time high of $137.33, buoyed by record iron ore prices.

The steel-making ingredient touched above US$220 a tonne which resulted in strong profits for Rio Tinto.

But this was short-lived as its shares plummeted below $90 two months later before moving in circles ever since.

Notably, Rio Tinto is well-known in the investing world for paying large dividends to shareholders over the years.

Let’s take a look below at how much the company has distributed.

A brief recap on the Rio Tinto dividend history

Here’s a rundown of the Rio Tinto dividends that have been paid out to shareholders over the last five years.

• September 2017 – $1.38 (interim)

• April 2018 – $2.29 (final)

• September 2018 – $1.71 (interim)

• April 2019 – $5.90 including special dividend of $3.39 (final)

• September 2019 – $3.08 including special dividend of 89 cents (interim)

• April 2020 – $3.50 (final)

• September 2020 – $2.16 (interim)

• April 2021 – $5.17 including special dividend of $1.20 (final)

• September 2021 – $7.60 including special dividend of $2.51 (interim)

• April 2022 – $6.63 including special dividend of 86 cents (final)

Rio Tinto has paid a total of $39.42 in dividends to shareholders from September 2017 to today. This is quite significant given the figure represents almost 40% of the current share price.

Rio Tinto share price snapshot

Over the last 12 months, the Rio Tinto share price has fallen 24% amid the market’s extreme volatility.

Year to date, its shares have been impacted by lower iron ore prices but are relatively stable, down 3% for the period.

Rio Tinto presides a market capitalisation of roughly $36 billion and has a dividend yield of 11.35%.

The post Guess how much Rio Tinto shares have paid in dividends over the last 5 years appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Leo Lithium, Rio Tinto, Santos, and Woodside shares are dropping today
• Rio Tinto share price stumbles following near-$1b ATO settlement
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• ‘We have clearly seen the peak’: Sector veteran gives earnings season warning for ASX mining shares
• What’s the outlook for the iron ore price in 2023?

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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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ASX 200 travel shares are leaping today after Flight Centre delivered some good news to the market.

Travel shares rising today include Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT), Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN), and Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB).

Let’s take a look at how ASX 200 travel shares are performing today.

Why are ASX 200 travel shares rising today?

Flight Centre shares are 4% higher, while the Webjet share price is leaping 1.79%. Qantas shares are also up 2% today.

Investors appear to be encouraged by Flight Centre’s FY22 market guidance, released today. The travel company reported its underlying EBITDA loss will be less than expected. The company is expecting to break even on an underlying EBITDA basis for the first six months of this calendar year.

The company also provided broader insight into the travel market, potentially providing hope for fellow ASX 200 travel share investors.

Flight Centre said “demand accelerated” after the government relaxed travel restrictions. Managing director Graham Turner said:

The scale of our recovery exceeded our initial expectations and meant that we should now
exceed our preliminary FY22 result target, with early trading results pointing to a breakeven
second half result and a healthy fourth quarter profit (underlying EBITDA).

There will inevitably be ongoing challenges for the industry over the next six to twelve
months as new strains of the virus emerge, airline capacity returns and as we rebuild staff
numbers to required levels, but we feel that we are well placed to overcome these concerns
given our corporate business’s continued rise and our leisure business’s ongoing strength.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has resisted calls from the Opposition to close Australia’s borders to Indonesia due to Foot and Mouth disease. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said the government’s response is “significant. He said in comments cited by Nine News:

We have got more biosecurity officers on the job. We’re looking putting in place the biosecurity zones around a number of our airports.

The post Why are ASX 200 travel shares having such a stellar session? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ASX 200 midday update: EML crashes, Flight Centre jumps on guidance upgrade
• Flight Centre share price storms 5% higher on guidance upgrade
• What’s in store for the Webjet share price in FY23?
• Why Accent, Humm, IAG, and Webjet shares are dropping
• Why are Flight Centre, Webjet, and other ASX travel shares sinking today?

Motley Fool contributor Monica O’Shea 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 Flight Centre Travel Group Limited and Webjet 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 been a rather disappointing start to the trading week so far for ASX shares and the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO). This Monday has seen the All Ords lose 0.16% of its value at the time of writing, putting it around the 7,000 point mark. But it’s been even more disappointing for the Hawsons Iron Ltd (ASX: HIO) share price.

Hawsons Iron shares are presently trading at 41.8 cents each, down a nasty 2.91% from where the company closed last week. Rather perplexingly, this sharp move downwards comes after Hawsons initially spiked to 44 cents a share (up more than 2%) soon after market open today.

So what’s going on here?

Why is the Hawsons Iron share price lagging other ASX iron miners today?

Well, it’s a strange move to be sure. The iron ore price itself (normally a barometer for iron miners like Hawsons) is having a very strong start to the week.

As my Fool colleague Aaron covered this morning, the iron price is today fetching US$104.55 a tonne, up a pleasing 5.9% from where it was at the end of last week. As one would expect, many ASX iron mining shares are surging amid these pricing moves.

Take Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG). Fortescue shares are advancing decisively today, currently up 1.46% at $18.09 each. BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) is also rising, up 1.63% at $37.35 a share.

So it’s unclear why Hawsons Iron shares are missing out on this party. Hawsons hasn’t put out any ASX announcements or any other news that might be dragging on its share price. Perhaps, after rising more than 144% in 2022 thus far, investors aren’t willing to extend Hawsons any more rope at this time. But it’s hard to know for sure.

In the meantime, the current Hawsons Iron share price gives this ASX mining share a market capitalisation of $309.4 million.

The post What’s with the Hawsons Iron share price on Monday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is the IAG share price lifting 6% higher today?
• Dicker Data share price powers down despite record first-half profit
• Perpetual share price slides following $7.5 billion of quarterly outflows
• Netflix’s subscriber loss sell-off: Should you really ditch the stock?
• LiveTiles share price slumps 31% as quarterly cash bleed worsens

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 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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The Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) share price is trading higher today.

At the time of writing, investors have bid the IAG share price 6.41% into the green to $4.48 on no news.

In broader market moves the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) is trading 0.2% lower.

Both the index and the IAG share price have whipsawed this year to date, as seen on the chart below.

What’s up with the IAG share price?

The ASX insurance share has caught a bid today despite finishing the week in the red last Friday. It closed at $4.21 a share, not too shy of its 52-week low of $4.14 a month earlier.

Fast forward and investors have bought in at the lows today. The company has caught buyers all the way across the session at the time of writing.

It certainly wasn’t the same sentiment last week when IAG released its preliminary FY22 results.

The company revealed it expects an insurance profit of $586 million, resulting in a margin of 7.4%. That was below the guided range of 10-12%.

It also said that gross written premium (GWP) is set to increase this financial year. At the same time, it increased natural peril allowance by around 19% to $909 million in its FY23 guidance.

Not only that, but the prospect of rising interest rates could bode well for the IAG share price, according to CIO at Atlas Funds Management Hugh Dive.

“[R]ising interest rates don’t impact all companies…” he told Livewire. “I think the insurance companies will do well particularly.”

The IAG share price is down 8% in the past 12 months but is up 6% this year to date.

The post Why is the IAG share price lifting 6% higher today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Accent, Humm, IAG, and Webjet shares are dropping
• IAG share price drops despite ‘strong momentum’ for FY23
• ASX 200 midday update: Brickworks higher, IAG drops on prelim results, Zip rockets
• IAG share price on watch following FY22 profit of $347m
• Here’s why one analyst is ‘cautious’ of the IAG share price

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 no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Insurance Australia 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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