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The Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) share price has tumbled in the past month as investors head for the exits.

On 19 April, the gold miner’s shares hit a year-to-date high of $28.96, before crashing more than 14%.

At Monday’s market close, Newcrest shares clawed back some ground to finish 0.81% higher at $24.78.

Let’s take a look at what’s driving the recent slump.

What’s triggering the Newcrest share price to sink?

The deceleration in the price of gold has possibly weakened investor sentiment and prompted a sell in the Newcrest shares.

Macroenvironmental factors such as China’s COVID-19 crisis, the Russian war in Ukraine, inflation movements, and rate hikes are also causing panic.

The International Monetary Fund said it expects global economic growth to slow significantly for the remainder of the year.

Current projections expect the world’s economy to expand by 3.6% in 2022, down from 6.1% last year.

In addition, the price of gold has been on a steady decline over the last 30 days to trade at US$1,822.65 per ounce. This represents a decline of around 10% over the above timeframe.

On 18 April, the precious metal almost touched the psychological US$2,000 barrier, before falling wayside.

The drop in the gold price is likely impacting Newcrest’s earnings, which could be driving investors to look elsewhere.

What do the brokers think?

A number of brokers rated the Newcrest share price with different price points following the company’s third-quarter results, announced on April 28.

The team at UBS cut its 12-month price target on Newcrest shares by 2.2% to $26.50. Based on the current share price, this implies a potential upside of 6.9% for investors.

On the other hand, Macquarie analysts reduced their rating by 2.9% but had a bullish price of $33.00. Its analysts believe the company’s shares still have some room to bounce higher. This implies a potential upside of 33.2% from the current price.

The post Why has the Newcrest share price fallen 14% in a month? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• ASX 200 midday update: Block and Xero rebound, gold miners fall
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• If gold is regarded as a ‘safe-haven’ asset, why is the Newcrest share price still tumbling?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

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 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 Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price arguably has many positives. Woolies is one of the most famous and established businesses in Australia with a commanding lead in its industry’s market share. Woolworths is also one of the largest businesses on the ASX. It’s currently the 10th-largest company on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) by market capitalisation.

But one area that Woolworths shares might not shine too brightly is dividends. The ASX 200 is known for its dividend prowess. Most of the top shares on the index pay out large dividends, exemplified by shares such as Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP). Today, Westpac shares offer a trailing dividend yield of 4.96%. BHP is even more impressive with its 10.58% trailing yield.

But the Woolworths dividend? It’s currently sitting at 2.51%.

Woolworths dividend: Why so low?

Now 2.51% is nothing to turn one’s nose up at. But it’s arguably rather small fry when compared to some other ASX shares. There are the heavy hitters, such as Westpac and BHP, of course. But consider this – at the current time, Woolworths’ arch-rival Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) is smashing Woolies with its own dividend yield of 3.28% right now. Woolies’ other major ASX-listed rival is Metcash Limited (ASX: MTS). Metcash is the company behind the IGA-branded supermarket chain. And it currently has a dividend yield of 4.32%.

When it comes to dividends in the supermarket space, Woolies is the clear loser. So why is this the case?

Well, it’s mostly a function of the Woolworths share price. See, Woolies currently trades at quite a premium compared to its rivals. Woolworths shares’ current price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 42.92 tells us that investors are willing to pay $42.92 for every $1 of earnings Woolworths makes. In contrast, investors are only willing to pay $24.69 for every dollar of earnings Coles brings in. And just $19.76 for every $1 of Metcash earnings.

If investors decided to give Woolies shares the same valuation as Coles currently enjoys, it would result in a large share price reduction for Woolworths. And thus, a big increase in Woolworths’ dividend yield. But that is not the case today. For whatever reason, investors are pricing Woolies shares at a premium to its competitors. And that comes with a lower dividend yield as a result.

At the current Woolworths share price, this ASX 200 grocery giant has a market capitalisation of $45.69 billion.

The post Why are the dividends from Woolworths shares still so small? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Here’s why the CBA share price could soon be in for some pain
• Brokers: 2 ASX 200 shares that could be top buys for growth
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday

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 positions in and has recommended COLESGROUP DEF SET. 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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If you’re looking for exposure to the mining sector, then you may want to check out the two ASX 200 mining shares listed below.

Here’s why brokers rate them as buys:

Iluka Resources Limited (ASX: ILU)

The first ASX 200 mining share for investors to look at is Iluka. It is a mineral sands and rare earths producer with a number of quality operations across South Australia, Western Australia, and Sierra Leone.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs are very positive on the company. The broker highlights the company’s attractive valuation, the favourable outlook for mineral sands, and its exposure to rare earths.

Goldman commented:

“We are Buy rated on mineral sands/rare earth producer ILU (on CL) on attractive valuation and compelling Zircon and TiO2 price upside and Rare Earth growth potential. ILU is trading at a >50% discount to RE peers and >10% discount to min sands/pigment peers on an EV/EBITDA basis.

The broker currently has a conviction buy rating and $13.90 price target on Iluka’s shares.

Santos Ltd (ASX: STO)

The Santos share price has been soaring in 2022 thanks to strong oil prices. But don’t worry, one leading broker doesn’t believe it is too late to invest in this ASX 200 share. In fact, it sees material upside ahead for investors.

According to a recent note out of Morgans, its analysts have retained their add rating with a slightly trimmed price target of $10.00 on the company’s shares. This compares to the current Santos share price of $8.09.

Morgans commented:

We expect the resilience of STO’s growth profile and diversified earnings base see it best placed to outperform against a backdrop of a broader sector recovery. While pre-FEED, we see Dorado as likely to provide attractive growth for STO, while its recent acquisition increasing its stake in Darwin LNG has increased our confidence in Barossa’s development. PNG growth meanwhile remains a riskier proposition, with the government adamant it will keep a larger share of economic rents while operator Exxon has significantly deferred growth plans across its global portfolio.

The post Brokers name 2 ASX 200 mining shares to buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Woodside share price lifts despite Twiggy’s latest ‘greenwashing’ accusations
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• What’s happening with ASX 200 energy shares this week?

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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I think the current ASX share market could prove to be a long-term buying opportunity. Volatility is elevated and lots of ASX shares have seen their share prices fall.

Looking at compelling businesses right now could make a lot of sense because of the uncertainty that exists in the market. Lower prices could be better value for investors.

With that in mind, I think these two ASX shares could be compelling ideas if I were investing $1,000:

Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV)

Lovisa is one of the more exciting opportunities in the ASX retail sector, in my opinion. It has a global store network that sells affordable jewellery, focused on younger shoppers.

The company earns a good amount of profit from each new store it opens. Lovisa is steadily opening more locations in the countries it’s operating in, and it’s also considering opening in new markets.

Lovisa’s number of stores in Australia grew from 153 in FY21 to 158 in HY22. The number of US stores increased from 63 to 81. Middle East stores went up from 36 to 44. The ASX share is also working on its digital offering, which it thinks is in its “infancy stage”.

In HY22, revenue grew by 48.3% to $217.8 million. Net profit after tax (NPAT) jumped 70.3%, demonstrating the operating leverage of the business.

The ASX share continues to see more growth, which can help drive profit higher. Trading in the first eight weeks of the second half of FY22 saw comparable store growth of 12.1%, with total sales up 61.7%.

I think the business can keep growing its store network, particularly in untapped markets. It’s also paying a nice dividend. In HY22 it grew its dividend to 37 cents per share, up from 20 cents per share. Lovisa offers a trailing partially franked dividend yield of 3.5%.

VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT)

This is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that is designed to own a portfolio of high-quality businesses that are valued at attractive prices.

What’s the ASX share about? The idea of a ‘wide moat’ is referring to a business’ competitive advantages. The stronger the competitive advantage, the wider the economic moat is. The moat analogy is about how difficult it is for a competitor to ‘invade’.

For Morningstar analysts, which are the people that decide the businesses that go into the MOAT ETF, they are looking for businesses where the economic moat is very likely to persist for at least the next decade and has a good chance of lasting at least two decades.

Once Morningstar has identified those businesses with strong, long-term economic moats, shares are only bought for the MOAT ETF if they are trading at attractive prices relative to Morningstar’s estimate of fair value.

At the latest disclosure from 13 May 2022, these are the investments that have a weighting of at least 2.5% in the ASX share’s portfolio: Campbell Soup, Merck & Co, Kellogg, Philip Morris, Constellation Brands, Polaris, Medtronic, Western Union, Gilead Sciences and Zimmer Biomet.

The VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF has an annual management fee of around 0.49%, which I think is reasonable for what it does.

The post 2 ASX shares I’d buy with $1,000 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Experts name 2 beaten down ASX growth shares to buy after the market meltdown
• Here are 2 fantastic ETFs for ASX investors to buy in May
• Are these 2 top ASX growth shares buys right now?
• Here are 2 ETFs delivering breakneck ASX performance
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week

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 recommended Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Lovisa Holdings Ltd and VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF. 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 companies that supply commodities for the electric car industry have done pretty well the past couple of years, as the world moves to a low-carbon future.

But believe it or not, some stocks have dipped the past few weeks, giving hungry investors a potential entry point.

Here are 2 such examples that experts are rating as buy right now:

This is the new lithium

The Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) share price has dropped almost 16% since 28 April.

Marcus Today analyst Thomas Wegner told The Bull he sees no reason to shy away from it though.

“The graphite producer has been supported by increasing sales of electric vehicles.”

Although it hasn’t had the hype that lithium has enjoyed recently, graphite is another essential ingredient of high-end batteries.

Credit Suisse research analyst Phineas Glover said last month that the commodity will be in high demand in years to come.

“It looks a lot more like lithium three to five years ago,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“In five years’ time, suddenly graphite pricing will have gone up in my view quite significantly, and it will bring a huge incentive to bring all these projects on board.”

Although there are rival graphite producers on the ASX, Wegner is encouraged by Syrah’s recent deals.

“It secured a loan from the US Department of Energy to support the growing electric vehicle industry in the US and to shore up supply chains of critical minerals,” he said.

“Signing an offtake agreement with Tesla in December also adds to its appeal.”

Who wants to be a millionaire?

Lithium producers are somewhat off the boil now too.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) shares have lost more than 29% since 4 April, which Ord Minnett senior investment adviser Tony Paterno blamed on “softer volumes in the March quarter”.

But that just makes it a bargain stock now.

“Costs were lower than our forecasts and we expect them to fall into the June quarter,” he told The Bull.

“Another positive pricing result at the latest Battery Metal Exchange auction provides confidence that [lithium] prices should remain high in the near term.”

Looking at the long term is a wise attitude to take for shares like Pilbara.

The Motley Fool’s Aaron Teboneras calculated last week how wealthy you would be after investing $10,000 in two-cent Pilbara shares a decade ago.

“Those 500,000 shares would be now worth a staggering $1.28 million,” he said.

“When factoring in percentage terms, this implies an incredible gain of 12,600% or an average yearly return of 62.45%.”

For Paterno, Pilbara is the pick of lithium producers at the moment.

“Pilbara shows deep valuation support and dominates the near term earnings metrics of our lithium coverage.”

The post 2 sold-off ASX shares essential for electric cars appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Own ASX lithium shares? Here’s a global expert’s outlook on lithium demand (and supply)
• Do any ASX lithium stocks pay dividends?
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Why are ASX lithium shares off to such a flying start this week?
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Friday

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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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Ask A Fund Manager

The Motley Fool chats with fund managers so that you can get an insight into how the professionals think. In this edition, Glenmore Asset Management portfolio manager Robert Gregory describes the philosophy behind his fund’s industry-topping outperformance.

Investment style

The Motley Fool: How would you describe your fund to a potential client?

Robert Gregory: Glenmore Fund, it’s market cap agnostic, so it can invest in any market cap — small, mid-cap, large. And it’s only on Australian equities. And within the ASX, it’s got a focus on small to mid-cap space… probably $200 [million] up to $2, $3 billion. That’s where most of the outperformance has been identified.

I’m really a buy-and-hold type investor looking to buy stocks that I can see [are] undervalued, and then hopefully hold them for quite a few years, if possible.

In terms of the reasons why I see a stock as being undervalued, that can often just be the market underestimating that company’s earnings potential. Or it might be the market’s [underreaction] to an improving earnings outlook, or an acquisition that’s been particularly positive. Or it might just be that stock is going through a temporary difficult period for its earnings, but I think it’s temporary and not long-term. 

It’s still neutral — so it’s not really growth nor value. It probably has a slight bias towards what I’d call quality businesses, where I’m not really interested in early-stage development-type businesses. I’m really much focused on established businesses that have been profitable for a long period of time. Hence, you can have more confidence that they can sustain themselves through challenging economic periods.

The vast proportion of the fund would pay dividends, for example. So they’re quite established businesses and companies that I’ve got to know over a long period of time and got to know the management over a long period of time as well. A lot of the companies know that they’re in my fund, I’ve dealt with the CEOs and CFOs for many years now.

MF: Mercer ranked Glenmore as the best-performing fund in Australia for the year ending 31 March, with a 50.8% return. Congratulations, and can you tell us if there were any star performers that carried you to that amazing result? 

RG: It was probably four to five stocks that created a fair amount of the outperformance, but it was reasonably well spread even below that top five. 

But some of the top performers were Uniti Group Ltd (ASX: UWL), MA Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MAF), Bowen Coking Coal Ltd (ASX: BCB), and also Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC).

MA Financial and Uniti were really situations where they delivered very strong earnings and saw their stock prices and earnings multiples rebate accordingly.

Whitehaven… was coming from a very depressed period of coal prices and its valuation was very depressed. And then, as seen, the thermal coal price rallied quite significantly and, as such, it’s earning some cash flow generation [and has] recovered very strongly.

At the small cap end, Bowen Coking Coal, which is a stock that I identified probably 18 months ago back when it had a very small market cap, was run by a management team that I had a lot of confidence in.

I saw their strategy of acquiring at very cheap, at very low cost and satellite deposits to get up and running and get into production, and build cash flow. And at that point in time, particularly when I first started buying BCB, the stock price was sort of 6, 7, 8 cents. It just looked [like] a very asymmetric situation where not much was in the stock price at all at the market cap, but I felt if they could opportunistically acquire some coal assets, then it would be worth significantly more than that market cap. 

So it’s come from a range. Certainly, coal was definitely helpful, but there’s also been a number of other stocks that have performed very strongly as well.

The post My fund just went up 51%: This is how I did it appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 ASX 200 shares clocking multi-year highs on Thursday
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday
• Why are these ASX coal shares having a top run today?
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• 3 ASX 200 energy shares storming to new 52-week highs today

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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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On Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) started the week on a positive note. The benchmark index rose 0.25% to 7,093 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Tuesday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to edge higher

The Australian share market looks set to edge higher again on Tuesday despite a poor start to the week on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 24 points or 0.35% higher. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones rose 0.1%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.4%, and the Nasdaq sank 1.2%.

Goodman shares in the buy zone

The Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) share price is good value according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. In response to its third quarter update, the broker has retained its buy rating and lifted its price target to $25.40. It commented: “GMG reported a solid 3Q update and continues to demonstrate its strong platform and positioning.”

Oil prices charge higher again

Energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a good day after oil prices charged higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 3.1% to US$113.93 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has risen 2.3% to US$114.15 a barrel. Oil prices rose amid optimism of an increase in demand in China as it reopens.

Gold price rebounds

Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) could have a decent day after the gold price rebounded overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 0.8% to US$1,823.1 an ounce. The precious metal was boosted by softening US bond yields.

Seek rated as a sell

The Seek Limited (ASX: SEK) share price could be overvalued according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. Although the broker notes that the Seek Employment Index grew 23% in April, it fears this may be as good as it gets. Goldman expects meaningful labour market headwinds to emerge as trading conditions normalise, causing a slowdown in earnings in FY 2023. Goldman has a sell rating and $26.60 price target on Seek’s shares.

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

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Here’s why the CBA share price could soon be in for some pain
• Brokers: 2 ASX 200 shares that could be top buys for growth
• Woodside share price lifts despite Twiggy’s latest ‘greenwashing’ accusations
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in SEEK 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 SEEK 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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Are you looking for some dividend options for your portfolio? If you are, check out the two ASX shares listed below.

Here’s why these ASX dividend shares have been tipped to as buys:

Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN)

The first ASX dividend share to consider is baby products retailer Baby Bunting.

Citi is a fan of the company and recently reiterated its buy rating and $6.22 price target on the company’s shares. It estimates that the company’s shares trade at 19x forward earnings, which it feels is cheap given its positive growth outlook. This is being supported by its private label business, which a recent survey indicates has a significant growth runway.

Citi commented: “The survey has revealed a range of findings into the baby goods category […] some of the findings from the survey suggest there is a significant runway for growth from the company’s private label program, a relatively small (but growing) demand for second-hand products, improving customer experience and potential that the company may not need all the 110+ stores that it is targeting.”

Citi is forecasting fully franked dividends per share of 16 cents in FY 2022 and 19 cents in FY 2023. Based on the current Baby Bunting share price of $4.23, this will mean yields of 3.8% and 4.5%, respectively.

HomeCo Daily Needs REIT (ASX: HDN)

Another ASX dividend share to look at is the HomeCo Daily Needs REIT. This property company, which recently merged with Aventus, invests in convenience-based assets across target sub-sectors of neighbourhood retail, large format retail, and health and services.

The team at Goldman Sachs is very positive on the company and has a buy rating and $1.70 price target on its shares. The broker believes its shares are cheap at the current level, particularly given its positive growth outlook.

The broker commented: “We believe HDN is undervalued at its current valuation given its diversified tenant base, and see it as well positioned to benefit from the shift to omni channel retailing, with additional external growth opportunities to drive earnings growth over the medium-term.”

As for dividends, it is forecasting dividends per share of 8 cents in FY 2022 and 9 cents in FY 2023. Based on the current HomeCo Daily Needs share price of $1.32, this will mean dividend yields of 6% and 6.8%, respectively.

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

More reading

• 2 ASX shares that could be buys for both growth and dividends
• Analysts name 2 ASX shares to buy with ~50% upside potential
• Are these 2 top ASX growth shares buys right now?
• Analysts name 2 high yield ASX dividend shares to buy now
• 2 ASX dividend shares analysts have named as buys for income investors

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 Baby Bunting. 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 illustrious S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is home to a good number of quality blue chip shares.

So many, in fact, it can be hard to decide which ones to include in your portfolio.

In order to narrow things down, listed below are two blue chip ASX 200 shares that are highly rated right now. They are as follows:

REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)

The first ASX 200 blue chip ASX share to look at is property listings company REA Group.

It has been a consistently solid performer over the last decade despite whatever the economy or housing market has thrown at it. The good news is that this trend is expected to continue, with REA forecasting growth during the second half of FY 2022 despite listing volumes falling. Management expects this to be underpinned by higher Residential and Commercial yields, supported by contracted price rises and increased depth penetration.

So, with the REA share price down by a third in 2022, now could be the time to make a patient buy and hold investment. That’s the view of Goldman Sachs, which recently reiterated its buy rating with a $164.00 price target.

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

Another blue chip 200 ASX share to look at is Westpac. It recently released its half year results and revealed an 8% decline in revenue to $10,230 million, a 12% reduction in cash earnings to $3,095 million, and a 61 cents per share interim dividend.

While weaker year on year, this still compared favourably to the Visible Alpha consensus estimate for first-half cash earnings of $2.8 billion and an interim dividend of 59 cents per share.

But the big news was that Westpac has reiterated its cost reduction plans. Australia’s oldest bank is aiming to reduce its cost base to $8 billion by FY 2024. This compares to operating costs of $13.3 billion in FY 2021. Though, those numbers include $2.3 million of notable items.

This went down well with analysts at Citi. In fact, its analysts believe Westpac could deliver “the strongest EPS growth in the sector” in the coming years.

In light of this, its analysts have put a buy rating and $29.00 price target on the bank’s shares.

The post Brokers name 2 ASX 200 blue chip shares to buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• This is the best ASX bank share to buy in a rising rate environment: Citi
• Hoping to bag the next Westpac dividend? Read this
• Buy these 2 ASX shares on sale right now: top broker
• Top ASX dividend shares to buy in May 2022
• Thursday thrashing: ASX tech shares tumble

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 recommended REA Group Limited and 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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Today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bolted upwards in the morning before strength moderated in the afternoon following worse than expected economic data out of China. At the end of the session, the benchmark index finished 0.25% higher at 7,093 points.

Despite the market getting a dose of concerning data from China, most ASX shares pushed onwards and upwards today. The biggest winners could be found in the tech and industrial sectors, with investors willing to bring back the bidding pressure.

At the other end of the market, the healthcare sector was the straggler at the back of the pack. A handful of healthcare shares had a green glimmer, though CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) weighed the sector down.

However, the question is: which shares delivered the biggest returns to investors on the ASX today? Here are the top ten stocks that came through for investors:

Top 10 ASX shares countdown today

Looking at the top 200 listed companies, Brambles Ltd (ASX: BXB) was the biggest gainer today. Shares in the pooling solutions company spiked 11.22% after confirming it is in early takeover talks with CVC Capital that could value Brambles at more than $20 billion. Find out more about Brambles here.

The next best performing ASX share across the market today was Qube Holdings Ltd (ASX: QUB). The logistics company’s share price strengthened by 5.76% today after announcing the completion of its $400 million share buyback program. Uncover the latest Qube Holdings details here.

Today’s top 10 biggest gains were made in these ASX shares:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Brambles Ltd (ASX: BXB)	$11.60	11.22%
Qube Holdings Ltd (ASX: QUB)	$2.94	5.76%
Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)	$2.60	5.26%
Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO)	$87.88	4.42%
Skycity Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SKC)	$2.58	4.03%
Block Inc (ASX: MFG)	$119.23	3.79%
Home Consortium Ltd (ASX: HMC)	$5.78	3.58%
Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)	$1.185	3.49%
Dominos Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP)	$70.11	3.45%
Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD)	$21.27	3.35%

Our top 10 ASX shares today countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to ensure you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check-in at Fool.com.au after the market has closed during weekdays to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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. and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Corporate Travel Management Limited and Dominos Pizza Enterprises 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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