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The outlook for S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) mining shares is under the spotlight as we enter the 2023 financial year.

Australia is “the lucky country” with large deposits of resources including iron ore, gold, copper and so on.

Thanks to the commodity-rich nature of Australia, there are plenty of ASX 200 mining shares such as BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG), Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO), Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM), Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) and Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS).

Resource prices can act like a rollercoaster. The relationship between supply and demand can affect prices. The last two and a half years have been pretty volatile. Several months ago, there were strong commodity prices almost across the board, but things have dropped off in recent times.

For example, the iron ore price has fallen by approximately US$20 per tonne since the beginning of June 2022. Copper is close to a 19-month low.

What is the outlook for ASX 200 mining shares in FY23?

A one-year period is a relatively short amount of time in the investment world. However, with how quickly resource prices change, a lot could happen in one year with resources.

With the recently declining commodity prices, some brokers have gone increasingly negative on ASX 200 mining shares.

For example, it decreased its expectations for businesses involved with iron, copper, alumina and nickel. However, it does think that thermal coal businesses and lithium could be more attractive.

UBS is neutral on BHP with a price target of $38. The broker is also neutral on Rio Tinto, with a price target of $98.

Morgan Stanley is a broker that is negative on Fortescue with an underweight rating and a price target of $14.20. It points out that the lockdowns in China haven’t helped and there could be a global slowdown of growth.

The broker Macquarie is particularly bullish about the prospects for ASX lithium shares after a recent decline. Macquarie thinks that the lithium price is supportive for some of these businesses. It rates Pilbara Minerals as a buy, with a price target of $4.20. Macquarie also rates Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) as a buy, with a price target of $17.

Morgan Stanley has also recently cut its expectations for most resources. However, it noted that the lower share prices reflect the impact of lower commodity prices. The broker cut its expectations for gold and copper, however, it thinks Newcrest has a solid longer-term outlook, which is why the price target is $28.60.

Macquarie is quite bullish on Northern Star, with a price target of $11. That implies a potential rise of over 50%, partly due to attractive growth options.

So, even though commodity prices have fallen, brokers seem to think there are opportunities with the largely lower share prices for ASX 200 mining shares.

The post Is this a good time to go digging for ASX 200 mining shares for FY23? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Can the Pilbara share price charge up returns in FY23?
• BHP share price on watch as court clears the way for potential $9 billion ‘day of reckoning’
• Where is the Fortescue share price headed in 2023?
• How did ASX 200 travel shares go in FY22?
• Broker names 2 ASX 200 dividend shares to buy in July

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Fortescue Metals Group Limited. 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 Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price had a tough end to FY22. In fact, it is still down around 40% from mid-January 2022. But heading into a new financial year, could Pilbara shares be about to recharge returns for investors in FY23?

Pilbara Minerals is one of the largest ASX lithium shares in Australia. In the latest update for the three months to June 2022, the company said there was a significant increase in its quarterly production to between 123,000 dry metric tonnes (dmt) and 127,000 dmt. That’s an approximate 54% increase from the last quarter and shows how much more the business is expecting to produce.

Strong cash flow

The business saw “further improvements” in pricing outcomes during the three months to June 2022, which reflected “strong demand conditions”.

Pilbara recently announced the latest digital auction on the Battery Material Exchange (BMX), with a sale equating to an approximate price of just over US$7,000 per dmt. Management says that demand remains “incredibly strong with a continued healthy outlook for the foreseeable future”. This could bode well for FY23.

Pilbara Minerals notes that, combined with increased shipment volumes, this will substantially increase its cash position to around $850 million to $855 million.

Estimated shipments for the three months to 30 June 2022 are for between 127,000 dmt and 132,000 dmt. That is an approximate 118% increase compared to the shipments for the three months to March 2022.

That will bring total shipments in FY22 in the range of 355,000 dmt to 360,000 dmt.

What will Pilbara Minerals do with all that cash?

Its Pilgangoora project is a key area of focus for the business, which says:

An expansion and diversification pathway underpins our long-term strategy to unlock the full value of the Pilgangoora project and become fully integrated within the lithium raw materials and chemicals value chain.

The company is working on a ‘mid-stream’ project aiming to generate a higher-value and more environmentally-friendly product for the battery materials industry.

A scoping study has provided preliminary support for the technical viability of constructing a demonstration-scale chemicals facility. The facility will produce value-added lithium phosphate salts through an “innovative” refining processing at Pilgangoora.

The company recently announced a final investment decision for its P680 project, including both primary rejection, and crushing and ore sorting, to deliver production capacity of between 640,000 dmt to 680,000 dmt per annum for a total estimated capital investment of $297.5 million.

Shareholders could also be in line for a dividend in FY23.

Ord Minnett rating

The broker Ord Minnett currently rates Pilbara Minerals as a buy, with a price target of $3.50. That implies a rise of almost 50% over the next year.

It has estimated an annual dividend in FY23, which would equate to a dividend yield of around 6%.

At the current Pilbara Minerals share price, Ord Minnett puts it at under 4x FY23’s estimated earnings.

The post Can the Pilbara share price charge up returns in FY23? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ASX battery metals shares trying to power up after a horror June
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Friday
• These 3 ASX 200 lithium stocks are exploding on Friday
• Pilbara Minerals share price blasts 8% higher as lithium regains attention

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price will be on watch on Monday morning.

This follows some big news out of the United Kingdom on Friday.

Why is the BHP share price on watch?

The BHP share price will be on watch today after the mining giant was dealt a blow in the English courts at the end of last week.

Law firm PGMBM announced on Friday that it successfully overturned BHP’s victory in the Court of Appeal relating to Samarco dam disaster a class action. PGMBM and its Brazilian litigants are suing the Big Australian for 5 billion pounds or approximately A$8.8 billion.

In response to the news, PGMBM stated:

Victims of Brazil’s worst environmental disaster are celebrating today after a landmark ruling ensured that FTSE 100 mining giant BHP will now finally face their day of reckoning in the English courts.

PGMBM’s Managing Partner, Tom Goodhead, added:

This is a monumental judgement that means the victims of the worst environmental disaster ever seen in Brazil are a step closer to justice. BHP is a multinational that generates huge profits in the regions where it operates, and it is only right that they are held directly accountable in the UK. The days of huge corporations doing what they want in countries on the other side of the world and getting away with it are over.

What drove the decision?

The court found that the previous Judge’s decision to strike out the proceedings for abuse of process was flawed in a number of respects and wrong.

The court documents revealed five key reason for this:

(1) the fact that a claim properly advanced is said to be “unmanageable” does not as such make it an abuse;

(2) in any event, the Judge’s conclusion that the proceedings were “irredeemably unmanageable” is not sustainable;

(3) the Judge was wrong to rely on forum non conveniens factors as part of his analysis on abuse of process;

(4) whilst a properly arguable claim may in principle be abusive if it is (clearly and obviously) pointless and wasteful, the Judge’s error in relation to the manageability of the litigation infected his conclusion on whether that was the case here; his reasoning that there was nothing to be gained by the claimants in the English courts was premised fundamentally on his (unjustified) view that their claims here were unmanageable;

(5) the Judge failed properly to analyse the position of the 58, and the consequences of their position for other claimants; he treated the claimants as a single indivisible group against whom the application must succeed or fail altogether, rather than treating the application as constituting an application against each claimant, with the position of each claimant or group of claimants being considered individually.

Though, this isn’t the end of the story. Far from it. BHP has the option to appeal Friday’s decision in the Supreme Court. Though, at the time of writing, the Big Australian was still considering its response to the news.

The post BHP share price on watch as court clears the way for potential $9 billion ‘day of reckoning’ appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Broker names 2 ASX 200 dividend shares to buy in July
• Own BHP shares? Top broker warns of looming oversupply of iron ore in 2H 2022
• Why BHP and other ASX mining shares are making strides on Friday
• What’s the outlook for ASX 200 dividend shares in FY23?
• Is now the time to be buying beaten down ASX 200 mining shares?

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

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Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) shares currently boast a higher dividend yield than its S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) ‘big four’ peers.

The smallest big four bank by market capitalisation offers those invested in its stock a dividend yield of more than 6% right now.

Let’s take a closer look at the bank’s significant yield and how it stacks up to those offered by its peers.

ANZ shares boast a 6.3% dividend yield

The ANZ share price is $22.70 as of Friday’s close. That leaves the bank’s stock trading with an impressive 6.3% dividend yield.

Each share in the bank has handed investors $1.44 in dividends over the last 12 months.  

That pay-out was made up of a 72-cent final dividend for financial year 2021 – paid out in December. Another 72-cent interim dividend for the first half of financial year 2022 – offered to investors earlier this month – topped it off.

Additionally, both dividends were fully franked, meaning they could provide extra benefits to some shareholders at tax time.

Here’s how the other big four bank’s dividend yields stack up to that of ANZ:

• Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)
  • Offers a dividend yield of around 6%
• National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)
  • Offers a dividend yield of nearly 5%
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)
  • Offers a dividend yield of around 4%

Unfortunately, however, the ANZ share price has posted a worse performance than its big four peers in 2022. It has tumbled nearly 19% year to date.

For comparison, the ASX 200 has slipped 12% this year while the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) has fallen 11.3%.

Meanwhile, the CBA share price has fallen around 9.7% and those of Westpac and NAB are posting losses of 7.9% and 4.4% respectively.

The post ANZ shares offer the best dividend yield of the big four in July appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why did the ANZ share price plunge 22% in FY22?
• Here are 2 ASX 200 dividend shares analysts rate as buys
• What’s the outlook for ASX 200 dividend shares in FY23?
• Could rising rates hurt ASX 200 bank shares in the longer run?
• ASX 200 midday update: Chalice Mining jumps, Zip sinks on bearish broker note

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 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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The Dusk Group Ltd (ASX: DSK) share price has been very volatile in recent months. As an ASX retail share, it is exposed to the Aussie consumer.

The business has seen its share price drop by around 50% over FY22, marking one of the more painful drops on the ASX in the 2022 financial year.

Dusk describes itself as an Australian specialty retailer of home fragrance products. It aims to provide a range of “branded premium quality products at competitive prices from its physical stores and online store.”

Some of the products that it sells include candles, ultrasonic diffusers, reed diffusers and essential oils. It also sells fragrance-related homewares.

Lockdown start to FY22

Near the beginning of the 2022 financial year, Dusk reported a strong year of growth compared to FY20. It showed total sales growth of 47.4% to $148.6 million and net profit after tax (NPAT) growth of 225.5% to $26.8 million.

When it released its trading update for the first seven weeks of FY22, it said that it had been disrupted with around 35% of potential trading days because of COVID-19 related restrictions and store closures. As a result of that, top line sales went down 28%, or $4.4 million in dollar terms.

However, Dusk said that in the stores that were open or had reopened, it was seeing “strong customer conversion rates and elevated average transaction value.”

It noted that November and December trading were key because of the seasonality of its sales. In other words, Christmas trading could be an important factor for the Dusk share price.

Potential acquisition subsequently terminated

In mid-December 2021, Dusk announced that it was planning to buy Eroma Group – Australia’s leading supplier of candle making inputs, including fragrance oils, waxes, packaging, containers and candle making kits, according to Dusk.

The deal was priced at an enterprise value of $28 million, which was around five times the FY21 earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) and a lower multiple than the FY22 forecast of EBIT. The acquisition was expected to add over 20% to earnings per share (EPS) before synergies.

However, that deal was only a conditional agreement. Dusk said not all of those conditions had been achieved, so the transaction wouldn’t be proceeding.

FY22 first result and trading update

The latest that investors have heard from the business was in late February 2022 during reporting season.

It said that in the FY22 first half result, total sales were down 12% year on year, but up 36.5% over a two-year period. The ‘pro forma’ gross profit margin was 68%, up from 67.7% in the prior corresponding period.

Dusk said that it generated pro forma EBIT of $21.3 million, compared to $28 million in the first half of FY21 and $9.6 million in the first half of FY20. Profitability can have a key influence on the Dusk share price.

The ASX retail share also gave a trading update for the first eight weeks of the second half of FY22. It said that total sales were down 11.8% year on year, though up 28.4% over two years. Online sales were up 19.4% year on year.

Dusk noted that consumer sentiment “continued to be soft and shopping entre foot traffic was sharply down.” However, in what may be a positive signal, Dusk said that its sales conversion rates and average transaction value remained up against the prior corresponding period.

The company wants to keep growing its store network. It noted it was going to open four new stores in time for Mother’s Day.

The post Why did investors go dark on the Dusk share price in FY22? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why did the Dusk share price flame out 16% in June?
• Sniffing out an opportunity: Why I think the Dusk share price could be a buy
• Do Dusk shares really have a 12% dividend yield right now?

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Dusk 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 Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price has fallen 19% over the past month.

After such a rough time, can things get better over the 2023 financial year?

Commodity prices can change really quickly, which can hurt or help investor sentiment. The iron ore price has fallen by around US$20 per tonne since the beginning of June 2022, so perhaps it’s not surprising that the Fortescue share price has dropped.

The company can’t do much about what happens with the iron ore price. However, there are other things that the company is doing which could.

Iron Bridge

The costly Iron Bridge Magnetite project will deliver 22 million tonnes (mt) per year of high grade iron. This could help the Fortescue share price.

Fortescue says this is a strategic project because it will enable Fortescue to provide an “enhanced product range” and increase its production and shipping capacity.

The company said that the project has made significant progress while managing the challenges relating to COVID-19, supply chain constraints and inflation.

The capital estimated cost is for a range of between US$3.6 billion to US$3.8 billion, with Fortescue’s share being between US$2.7 billion to US$2.9 billion.

First production is expected in the three months to March 2023, a bit later than the previously scheduled date of December 2022.

Fortescue Future Industries (FFI)

FFI is the Fortescue division that is aiming to take a global leadership position in green energy and energy technology. It’s committed to ‘zero-carbon green hydrogen’.

An important part of its green ambitions is Gladstone, Queensland’s green energy manufacturing centre. Construction has already started, but making progress on this facility could help build investor confidence in the company’s abilities to deliver on its plans. The first stage development is an electrolyser manufacturing facility with an initial capacity of two gigawatts per annum and an investment of up to US$83 million.

FFI has signed important partnerships recently, including with E.ON to supply up to 5mt of green hydrogen to Europe by 2030. It has also established a working alliance with Airbus to facilitate the decarbonisation of the aviation industry with green hydrogen.

If Fortescue signs more deals that take up more of its future green hydrogen production, that could help the Fortescue share price.

Broker price targets

A price target is where a broker believes the Fortescue share price will be in 12 months from now.

Let’s have a look at some of those.

Macquarie is neutral on the business, with a price target of $18.

The broker Ord Minnett has a hold rating on the business, with a price target of $18 as well.

Morgan Stanley is a lot less optimistic. It has an underweight rating, which is similar to a sell. The price target is $14.20, which implies a fall of around 18%.

However, the ASX mining share is expected to pay a large dividend yield in FY23. Ord Minnett currently has pencilled in a grossed-up dividend yield of 14.8%.

The post Where is the Fortescue share price headed in 2023? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Own BHP shares? Top broker warns of looming oversupply of iron ore in 2H 2022
• What’s the outlook for ASX 200 dividend shares in FY23?
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Fortescue share price lifts with Australia’s record high trade surplus
• Is now the time to be buying beaten down ASX 200 mining shares?

JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Fortescue Metals Group Limited. 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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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has a number of ASX travel shares within its ranks.

There are a few different players, including travel agents and an airline. Readers may have used some of their services including Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN), Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB), Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) and Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT).

The last two and a half years have obviously been all about COVID-19 for the travel sector. International travel went into hibernation and domestic travel plunged.

But since the rollout of national and global vaccination initiatives, those barriers to travel have started coming down.

Let’s look at how the share prices of the ASX 200 travel shares travelled during the last financial year.

Mixed returns for ASX 200 travel shares in FY22

The Webjet share price went up by 8.75%.

The Flight Centre share price rose by 16.9%.

The Qantas share price dropped 4%.

The Corporate Travel Management share price fell 14%.

Of course, those returns are just for a specific 12-month period. The returns are different over different periods including since the start of COVID, compared to the last five years, and so on.

Each of these businesses has different elements contributing to their recovery. For example, Corporate Travel’s recovery is with a focus on business customers. Flight Centre benefits from consumers going on holidays again, while also making the most of a COVID-19 ‘reopening’ factor.

People fly on Qantas planes for both corporate and leisure reasons, but there are also costs that investors have to factor in. Oil prices have soared since the start of 2022 amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which caused uncertainty and impacted the global supply and demand balance for oil.

Recovery comments

The share prices of the ASX 200 travel shares (and most shares) are usually forward-looking. So let’s see what the companies recently said.

After releasing its FY22 result, Webjet said:

Trading continues to improve on the back of demand and opening borders. First quarter trading for the group is currently tracking well ahead of FY22 fourth quarter at bookings, TTV [total transaction value], revenue and EBITDA [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation] levels. April was our most profitable month since the pandemic began with all our businesses delivering profits. May’s profitability is expected to significantly exceed that of April.

In May 2022, Corporate Travel Management said it expects to be more than 75% larger than 2019 at full recovery. The company is expecting “strong” revenue and EBITDA momentum going into FY23. And it is expecting FY22 fourth-quarter revenue to beat 2019 levels.

In June 2022, Qantas said that travel demand remains strong across all categories. However, it recently announced a reduction of 15% in domestic capacity in the short term to assist with the recovery of sustained high fuel prices. However, there were no changes announced to its international capacity plans. The airline expects capacity to be 70% of pre-COVID levels by the end of the FY23 first quarter. By the FY23 fourth quarter, it expects to reach 90% of pre-COVID levels.

In May 2022, Flight Centre said its recovery is well underway and that it generated an EBITDA profit in March 2022. It also said that TTV is rebounding “strongly” globally as it gains market share.

In August, we’ll hear results from ASX 200 travel shares Flight Centre, Qantas and Corporate Travel Management, and probably trading updates as well.

The post How did ASX 200 travel shares go in FY22? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• The NAB share price outperformed the ASX 200 by 16% over 12 months
• Expert names ASX share that could fly 67% higher
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Top broker names the ASX travel shares to buy before it’s too late

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended 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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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 15.6%. There are concerns that higher airfares and rising living costs could impact consumer spending on leisure travel.
• Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN) has short interest of 12.3%, which is flat week on week. This medical device company’s shares have come under pressure amid concerns over a major and disruptive sales model change in the key United States market.
• Betmakers Technology Group Ltd (ASX: BET) has seen its short interest remain flat at 11.8%. Short sellers aren’t giving up on this betting technology company despite it recently announcing a share buyback.
• Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) has short interest of 10%, which is down slightly week on week. This mirrors the short interest of the payment company’s shares on Wall Street.
• Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE) has entered the top ten with short interest of 8.9%. The sudden exit of the lithium developer’s CEO without comment appears to have spooked the market.
• PolyNovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) has seen its short interest rise to 8.8%. This medical device company’s mixed performance over the last 12 months appears to be behind this.
• EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) has short interest of 8.6%, which is down week on week. Short sellers appear to believe this payments company’s underperformance in the third quarter could continue into the fourth.
• Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) has short interest of 8.5%, which is down week on week. Short sellers will have been disappointed to see this gold miner’s shares surge higher last week following a record quarter.
• Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) is back in the top ten with short interest of 8.4%. Inventory mismanagement, supply chain headwinds, higher marketing costs, and Amazon’s growing presence in Australia appear to be behind this short interest.
• Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) has short interest of 8%, which is down slightly week on week. Cost of living pressures appear to have investors concerned that the travel market recovery could take longer than expected.

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

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More reading

• Top broker names the ASX travel shares to buy before it’s too late
• Why did some ASX BNPL shares plummet more than 90% in FY22?
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Friday
• Flight Centre share price fails to lift-off amid recovering aircraft engine demand
• Why Block, Bubs, Infomedia, and Zip shares are dropping

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, 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 has been an encouraging past couple of weeks for the Metcash Limited (ASX: MTS) share price.

Since the release of the company’s full-year results on 27 June, the wholesale distributor’s shares are up 4.4%.

In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained around 1.5%.

Let’s take a look below at what’s driving Metcash shares forward lately.

Ex-dividend around the corner for Metcash shares

Despite the recent volatility on the ASX, Metcash shares have continued to climb following the company’s outstanding financial scorecard.

This has led investors to take up positions in Metcash shares as the upcoming ex-dividend date approaches.

At Friday’s market close, Metcash shares finished at $4.31.

Investors will need to buy the company’s shares before market close today to be eligible for the final dividend. The ex-dividend date falls on Tuesday 12 July (tomorrow).

Historically, when a company reaches its ex-dividend day, its shares tend to fall after shareholders lock in the latest dividend.

When can Metcash shareholders expect payment?

For those eligible for Metcash’s final dividend, shareholders will receive a payment of 11 cents per share on 10 August.

This brings its full-year dividend to 21.5 cents, which represents a 22.9% improvement from the previous financial year.

For context, the final FY21 dividend came to 9.5 cents per share.

Management noted that the company’s strong FY22 underlying earnings led to the board’s decision to increase the shareholder distributions.

The dividend is fully franked which means that you’ll receive franking credits to put towards your next tax bill.

Metcash share price summary

Over the last 12 months, the Metcash share price is up 10% after registering wild price swings on the ASX.

The company’s shares reached a 52-week high of $4.90 in early May, before sharply declining in the following weeks.

Metcash commands a market capitalisation of roughly $4.16 billion and has a dividend yield of 4.67%.

The post Time is running out to secure the Metcash dividend. Here’s what you need to do appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 4 ASX dividend shares to buy that aren’t banks or miners: expert
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Why Liontown, Metcash, Star, and Weebit Nano shares are charging higher
• Why Imugene, Link, Metcash, and Sayona shares are racing higher
• ASX 200 midday update: Metcash and Imugene jump, Evolution downgrades guidance again

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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The ASX All Technologies Index (ASX: XTX) fell hard in FY22, dropping by around 35%. That’s a big fall for a whole group of ASX tech shares.

Some of the names in the index include Block Inc (ASX: SQ2), REA Group Limited (ASX: REA), WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC), Xero Limited (ASX: XRO), Computershare Limited (ASX: CPU), SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK), Carsales.com Ltd (ASX: CAR), NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT), Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) and Altium Limited (ASX: ALU).

The return of an index is dictated by the performance of the underlying holdings – like Block, REA, WiseTech and so on.

Technology business valuations were running hot near the end of the 2021 calendar year. However, things have certainly come back down with a bump.

It is common for share prices to move up and down in shorter periods. That’s a key function of the share market. Not every buyer and seller is going to want to transact at the same price as last week or last month.

However, the falls we’ve seen since the beginning of 2022 have been savage for some ASX tech shares.

Inflation and interest rates could be key contributors to the volatility and valuation changes we’ve seen this year.

Interest rates

Investing is not always easy. Knowing how much to pay for a business that is growing quickly, or is expected to grow quickly, can be tricky.

For some investors, the interest rate has a major impact on the premium they’re willing to pay on today’s earnings with regard to how large future earnings are expected to be. In other words, the valuation of the ASX All Technologies Index can be significantly influenced by interest rate changes.

I think that Warren Buffett has previously explained this concept very well:

The value of every business, the value of a farm, the value of an apartment house, the value of any economic asset, is 100% sensitive to interest rates because all you are doing in investing is transferring some money to somebody now in exchange for what you expect the stream of money to be, to come in over a period of time, and the higher interest rates are the less that present value is going to be. So every business by its nature… its intrinsic valuation is 100% sensitive to interest rates.

Interest rates are now rapidly climbing higher. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has increased the interest rate by 100 basis points (or 1.00%) since the beginning of June with two hikes of 50 basis points.

The United States Federal Reserve increased its interest rate by 75 basis points (0.75%) in June. The next increase, whatever size it is, is due soon.

However, the market is largely expecting further interest rate increases over the rest of 2022. So they won’t be a surprise, unlike the scale of the first few increases.

Only time will tell how high central banks have to push interest rates to control inflation. If inflation calms down quicker than expected, that could be beneficial for the ASX All Technologies Index.

The post Why did the ASX All Technologies Index have such a dire FY22? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Broker names 2 ASX 200 dividend shares to buy in July
• The NAB share price outperformed the ASX 200 by 16% over 12 months
• Expert names ASX share that could fly 67% higher
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Broker names 2 blue chip ASX 200 shares to buy this month

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Altium. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Altium, Block, Inc., Pro Medicus Ltd., WiseTech Global, and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc., Pro Medicus Ltd., WiseTech Global, and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended REA Group Limited, SEEK Limited, and carsales.com 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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