Tag: Motley Fool

  • Lithium watch: Broker tips Lake Resources share price to rocket 42% higher

    A wide-smiling businessman in suit and tie rips open his shirt to reveal a green t-shirt underneath

    A wide-smiling businessman in suit and tie rips open his shirt to reveal a green t-shirt underneath

    The Lake Resources (ASX: LKE) share price was a strong performer on Monday.

    The lithium developer’s shares ended the day 7% higher at $1.99 thanks to the announcement of an offtake agreement with auto giant Ford. This was the second agreement of its kind in as many weeks.

    Following yesterday’s gain, the Lake Resources share price has now risen 82% in 2022.

    Where next for the Lake Resources share price?

    The good news for investors is that one leading broker believes the Lake Resources share price can still climb a lot higher from here.

    According to a note out of Bell Potter this morning, the broker has retained its speculative buy rating and lifted its price target by 55% to $2.83.

    Based on the current Lake Resources share price, this implies potential upside of 42% for investors over the next 12 months.

    What did the broker say?

    Bell Potter was pleased to see the company sign another offtake agreement, noting that it now has exposure to both Japanese and North American electric vehicle markets.

    It commented:

    “LKE has now announced two non-binding Memorandum of Understandings covering all of the proposed 50ktpa initial lithium product offtake from its Kachi Project (LKE 75%). The Hanwa Co., Ltd non-binding MoU (announced 29 March 2022) for 25ktpa will potentially align LKE with Japanese battery and auto manufacturers. Today’s announced non-binding MoU with Ford Motor Corporation covering 25ktpa adds a further highly credible potential counterparty with a focus on North American markets.

    The agreements and the counterparties add support to ongoing financing and predevelopment activities for Kachi. They also highlight auto manufacturers’ increased interest in participating further up the battery minerals supply chain and with an eye to the ESG credentials of raw materials providers.”

    As for its valuation, the broker has bumped up its price target on the Lake Resources share price materially to reflect a lowering of its risk profile.

    It explained:

    “LKE’s key project is the 50ktpa lithium carbonate Kachi Lithium Brine Project in Argentina. This project is expected to employ direction lithium extraction technology which has enormous ESG benefits compared with incumbent brine and hard rock lithium production methods. […] we have upgraded our valuation to $2.83/sh (previously $1.82/sh) through a reduction in risk discount.”

    The post Lithium watch: Broker tips Lake Resources share price to rocket 42% higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Lake Resources right now?

    Before you consider Lake Resources, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Lake Resources wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of January 13th 2022

    More reading

    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 Bruce Jackson.

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  • Here’s a look at the laggards from ASX tech shares last quarter

    Kid with a brown paper bag on his head which has a sad face.Kid with a brown paper bag on his head which has a sad face.

    Global tech shares have been rocked in 2022 as equity markets test themselves against a morphing investment landscape.

    Whilst Australian benchmarks like the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) have snapped back in the past month of trade, the tech index has failed to enjoy such a luxury.

    Instead, the S&P All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) started the year up at 2,984 and slipped down to 2,536 by the quarter’s end, eventually booking a 15% loss.

    Now as yields on government bonds – also used as the discount rate in share valuations – surge past 3% for the first time in years, pressure remains on heavily volatile tech shares at present.

    The trend’s been in situ since trade restarted back in January, and there have been some seriously underwhelming performances in that time. Here’s a look at the laggards in the tech industry from last quarter.

    TradingView Chart

    Last place in from March quarter goes to…

    Undoubtedly there was some serious carnage last quarter for ASX tech shares. Taking the bottom 41 names in descending order, as a group, the average loss was 31.84% whilst the median loss (exactly in the middle) was 28.43%.

    Leading the way was Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT) with a stunning 68% loss for the three months, whilst Advanced Human Imaging Ltd (ASX: AHI) also lost 67%.

    Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) wasn’t far behind printing a 55.5% backstep for the quarter, whilst Marley Spoon AG (ASX: MMM) topped out the number 10 spot, with a 46% slippage.

    In fact, checking a list of the top and bottom performing ASX tech names provided by Bloomberg data, the two top performing names were Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN) and Computershare Ltd (ASX: CPU) at 42% and 24.80% respectively.

    However, there were only 6 names that finished in the green, with all the other tickers posted in the top and bottom performing stocks each falling deep into the red.

    As a basket, tech shares have been weighed down by a number of non-specific macroeconomic catalysts. Most easy to see is the rotation out of growth and tech shares back into defensible such as mining and financials.

    But there’s more at play, as we’ve now got the first conflict in Europe in decades, and let’s not forget that crazy little virus called COVID-19.

    With the current commodity inflation, backed by the prospects of rising interest rates, this only adds fuel to the fire in these two industries, which appear to have stolen the gains tech shares posted last year.

    Not only that, but the tech industry’s earnings per share (EPS) are also the lowest in the last 7 years for the segment, according to Bloomberg data.

    It remains to be seen where the direction of earnings will go from here.

    The post Here’s a look at the laggards from ASX tech shares last quarter appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for over ten years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes could be the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at near dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now.

    *Returns as of January 12th 2022

    More reading

    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. owns and has recommended Cettire Limited and Marley Spoon AG. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cettire Limited and Marley Spoon AG. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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  • How is the CSL share price performing against its sector in 2022?

    A CSL scientist looking through a telescope in a labA CSL scientist looking through a telescope in a lab

    The CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price has wobbled since the beginning of the year.

    This has been caused by a challenging environment brought about by the ongoing impacts of the global COVID pandemic.

    At Monday’s market close, the global biotech’s shares finished 0.09% lower to $265.47.

    Below, we take a look at the company’s most recent performance, and comparison against its sector in 2022.

    What’s happened to CSL recently?

    On February 16, CSL provided investors with its half-year results for the 2022 financial year. The CSL share price rose 8.5% on the back of the details.

    The company noted that its immunoglobulin portfolio faced headwinds caused by industrywide constraints on collecting plasma in FY21. This was due to the global pandemic, with government-mandated restrictions causing foot traffic numbers to fall.

    Under the CSL Behring banner, sales of its leading subcutaneous immunoglobulin product, Hizentra, fell 9%. Nonetheless, this contributed to overall revenue of US$4.4 billion for the CSL Behring portfolio, down 2% on H1 FY21.

    Meanwhile, its Seqirus business experienced a strong surge in seasonal influenza vaccines, up 20%. A record volume of around 110 million doses was distributed around the world. As a whole, Seqirus revenue jumped to US$1.7 billion, up 17% from the prior corresponding period.

    In addition, CSL responded by implementing multiple initiatives in its plasma collections network. Programs included using social media influencers, speeding up the donation sign-up and check-in process, and paying donors more for blood.

    Investors were also updated on the company’s plasma collection numbers, with volume up 18% over H1 FY21.

    CSL opened 18 new facilities in the first half of FY22 to attract lapsed and new donors through its doors. For the remainder of the financial year, the company plans to open another 35 centres, expanding its presence, mostly across the United States.

    Also in February, CSL announced the completion of a share purchase plan. The SPP – first announced in December – raised $750 million for CSL’s acquisition of Vifor Pharma.

    How does the CSL share price compare to the health sector?

    Over the last 12 months, the CSL share price is more or less flat, but is down almost 8.7% this year to date. The company’s shares hit a 52-week high of $319.78 in November 2021, before moving in circles.

    In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Health Care Index (ASX: XHJ) has lost 2.6% from this time last year, and is down 11.3% in 2022. The sector also registered a record high of 48,213 points in late-August.

    Both the CSL share price and broader health index are down around 3.5% over the past month.

    As you can see, CSL shares are slightly tracking ahead of the Health Care Index. The latter has failed to take off this year amid the expected rise in interest rates which weakens investor sentiment.

    Based on today’s price, CSL commands a market capitalisation of roughly $127.88 billion, with approximately 481.71 million shares on issue.

    The post How is the CSL share price performing against its sector in 2022? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in CSL right now?

    Before you consider CSL, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and CSL wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of January 13th 2022

    More reading

    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. owns and has recommended CSL Ltd. 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 Bruce Jackson.

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  • Leading broker upgrades Mineral Resources shares to buy rating amid lithium exposure

    Two brokers analysing the share price with the woman pointing at the screen and man talking on a phone.

    Two brokers analysing the share price with the woman pointing at the screen and man talking on a phone.

    The Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) share price has been on form in recent weeks.

    Since this time last month, the mining and mining services company’s shares have risen a sizeable 27%.

    This has been driven by rising iron ore and lithium prices, which Mineral Resources has exposure to through its world class portfolio of mining operations.

    Can the Mineral Resources share price keep rising?

    Despite its recent gains, one leading broker still sees plenty of value in the Mineral Resources share price.

    According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts have upgraded the company’s shares to a buy rating and lifted their price target by a sizeable 42% to $70.80.

    Based on the current Mineral Resources share price of $59.29, this implies potential upside of 19.4% for investors over the next 12 months.

    Why did Goldman upgrade the company’s shares?

    Goldman made the move in response to rising iron ore and lithium prices and changes to its volume and growth assumptions.

    The broker explained its bullish view, stating:

    “MIN has a 20yr track record of delivering high return growth and value creation across mining services, iron ore and lithium in Western Australia. MIN’s strategy has always been to increase earnings from their high margin annuity style long life mining services business which generates c. 30% EBITDA margins.

    The company is about to commence another rapid growth phase in WA with the construction of two major greenfield iron ore projects with combined 80-90Mtpa of production capacity (MIN’s share c. 25Mtpa), >1Mtpa increase in lithium spodumene (MIN’s share ~600ktpa) with the ramp-up of the Wodgina mine and expansion of the Mt Marion mine and ~100ktpa of Lithium hydroxide or carbonate (MIN’s total share 40-50kt LCE), ongoing growth in external mining services volumes (10-15% or 20-40Mtpa) from existing large Pilbara customers (RIO, BHP, Hancock) and internal (>50% or >150Mtpa), and potential gas production from the Lockyer Deep onshore discovery in the Perth basin (MIN 80%) in 2024/2025.”

    The post Leading broker upgrades Mineral Resources shares to buy rating amid lithium exposure appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Mineral Resources right now?

    Before you consider Mineral Resources, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Mineral Resources wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of January 13th 2022

    More reading

    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 Bruce Jackson.

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  • Is the ANZ share price a smart idea for dividend income?

    Man holding different Australian dollar notes.

    Man holding different Australian dollar notes.

    Could the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price be an attractive option to consider for dividend income?

    ANZ is one of the big four ASX banks, alongside National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC).

    The big banks have a reputation as ASX dividend shares.

    How big is the ANZ dividend going to be?

    Commsec has estimated what the ANZ dividend could be looking ahead, based on numbers provided by external data providers.

    In FY22, the ANZ annual dividend is projected to be $1.44 per share. That would translate into a grossed-up dividend yield of 7.4% at the current ANZ share price.

    Then, in FY23, that dividend is expected to increase to $1.55 per share. This would mean the FY23 grossed-up dividend yield could be 8%.

    In FY24, the annual dividend could rise again to $1.65 per share. If that happened, the ANZ grossed-up dividend yield would be 8.5%.

    The latest dividend

    The last time investors got a dividend update was the FY21 final dividend paid on 16 December 2021, which was 72 cents per share. That brought the full-year dividend to $1.42 per share, an increase of 82 cents compared to the 60 cents per share dividend in FY20.

    The FY21 ANZ grossed-up dividend yield represents a grossed-up dividend yield of 7.3%.

    Is the ANZ share price a buy?

    Morgan Stanley recently called the ANZ share price a buy, with a price target of $30.30.

    The broker thinks that the net interest margin (NIM) of ANZ could benefit as interest rates rise.

    ANZ economists predict that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will start raising the interest rate in June 2022. All the big four banks now believe that the RBA will increase the interest rate.

    However, the NIM could be impacted by higher costs for term deposits, which ANZ apparently has a lot of.

    Morgan Stanley puts the ANZ share price at 13x FY22’s estimated earnings and under 12x FY23’s estimated earnings.

    Latest profit update from ANZ

    In February 2022, the ANZ gave a quarterly update for the three months to 31 December 2021. The bank advised the net interest margin fell eight basis points for the quarter, but the impact of rising rates was expected to moderate headwinds such as competition.

    The bank added that it had made progress in Australia to improve its systems and processes.

    It also said that the credit quality environment remained benign.

    The post Is the ANZ share price a smart idea for dividend income? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in ANZ right now?

    Before you consider ANZ, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and ANZ wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of January 13th 2022

    More reading

    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 Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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  • 3 factors that could make the Adore Beauty share price too good to miss

    a happy woman wearing a white towel around her chest and another around her head laughs heartily while holding two slices of cucumber over her eyes as part of a beauty regime.

    a happy woman wearing a white towel around her chest and another around her head laughs heartily while holding two slices of cucumber over her eyes as part of a beauty regime.

    The Adore Beauty Group Ltd (ASX: ABY) share price has suffered in 2022. But there are a few factors that could make it a compelling proposition.

    Adore Beauty is a leading online retailer of a wide range of beauty products. The company says it has evolved into an integrated content, marketing, and e-commerce business that sells more than 11,700 products from more than 270 brands.

    The Adore Beauty share price has fallen by around 54% since the start of 2022.

    But, for these three reasons, the ASX share could be an attractive idea:

    Business growth

    Some businesses achieved booming sales during the COVID-19 years of FY20 and FY21 but then lost that momentum.

    However, Adore Beauty has grown a lot over the last two years and it continues to grow.

    In the first six months of FY22, revenue rose 18% to $113.1 million. This was an 18% increase year on year. Over two years, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) was 47%.

    It’s also seeing growth of active customers that reached 876,000 in HY22 (up 13% year on year).

    Not only is the number of customers growing, but the annual revenue per active customer is increasing as well. In the 2019 calendar year, the average active customer spend was $210. In 2020, this figure was $213 and, in 2021 it rose 5.3% year on year to $224. The company said that this reflects a larger proportion of returning customers and “strong” average order value growth. In HY22, there was returning customer growth of 56%.

    The company has implemented strategic initiatives to reduce the loss of customers within the first year and improve retention, such as its mobile app and a loyalty program.

    Adore Beauty is also growing its core product range and it’s targeting related ‘verticals’ that the company believes stay true to its ‘brand voice’ and that customers will respond to.

    Some of those verticals include ‘fragrance’ and ‘Korean beauty’.

    Growing industry

    Some businesses, or entire sectors, can benefit from a tailwind that can help grow demand and revenue.

    According to Adore Beauty’s sources, Australia’s beauty and personal care market is an $11.2 billion market, with a forecast CAGR of 3.8% to 2024.

    The online beauty and personal care sales account for $1.3 billion, or 11.4%, of the total market. It’s growing faster than the overall market and is forecast to increase at a CAGR of 26% to 2024. Adore Beauty claims to be the market leader in online beauty, with a 13% market share.

    Further, Adore thinks that the online beauty market can benefit from several tailwinds.

    First, COVID-19 has accelerated the shift from in-store shopping to digital channels.

    Second, demographics can organically help its growth. Digital native ‘millennials’ and ‘Gen Z’ are entering the online shopping world.

    Finally, online sales in Australia are “significantly under-penetrated” compared to the US and the UK.

    Long-term margin expansion

    The Adore Beauty share price could benefit in the long-term from the company’s plans to grow its profit margins.

    The ASX share plans to benefit from operating leverage to grow its contribution profit margin percentage.

    It’s going to scale its private-label offering, which is expected to increase its margins.

    The ASX share also expects to increase its marketing return on investment (ROI) as the company benefits from the impact of returning customers, the growth of brand awareness, and its mobile app.

    Adore Beauty also plans to forge closer relationships with brands to optimise terms and increase brand funding.

    Growth will also allow the business to slow its investment in fixed costs.

    The post 3 factors that could make the Adore Beauty share price too good to miss appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Adore Beauty right now?

    Before you consider Adore Beauty, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Adore Beauty wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of January 13th 2022

    More reading

    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 Adore Beauty Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Adore Beauty Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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  • ASX Earnings Insights: Motley Fool Halftime Report

    Trevor Muchedzi at The Motley Fool Australia presents the ASX Earnings Insights: Motley Fool Halftime Report.

    Scroll down to download the full report.

    The post ASX Earnings Insights: Motley Fool Halftime Report appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for over ten years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes could be the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at near dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now.

    *Returns as of January 12th 2022

    More reading

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  • 2 little-known ASX shares that brokers rate as strong buys

    Red buy button on an apple keyboard with a finger on it.

    Red buy button on an apple keyboard with a finger on it.

    Brokers are always on the lookout for ASX share opportunities. The two stocks in this article could be two compelling ideas that have been identified as buys.

    Share prices change every trading day. Over the weeks, a business can become significantly cheaper (or more expensive). This can open up opportunities for investors.

    The below businesses are ones that brokers have rated as buys.

    Kelsian Group Ltd (ASX: KLS)

    Kelsian used to be called SeaLink Travel. It describes itself as Australia’s largest integrated land and marine, tourism and public transport service provider with established international operations in London and Singapore.

    It operates around 4000 buses, 120 ferries and 24 light rail vehicles, carrying over 207 million customers, according to Kelsian.

    The ASX share is currently rated as a buy by at least three brokers, including UBS with a price target of $10. This implies a potential upside of around 30%. The broker is attracted to the constant demand of the bus operations.

    When it released its FY22 half-year result, the company said that “essential services continue to run on a full schedule, while the marine and tourism portfolio is poised to take advantage of the return of interstate and international visitors.”

    In the medium-to-long term, the company said it’s in a position to take advantage of the extensive pipeline of organic growth opportunities in its contracted businesses. It’s also exploring acquisition opportunities in international markets.

    UBS thinks Kelsian is valued at approximately 20x FY23’s estimated earnings.

    Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO)

    Serko says that it’s transforming the world of business travel and expense, using technology, predictive workflows and a marketplace.

    It’s currently rated as a buy by the broker Citi, with a price target of $5.75. That implies a potential rise of around 20% over the next year.

    The broker is attracted to the quality of Serko’s offering as well as the potential for Serko to benefit from a travel restart. Serko’s partnership with Booking Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: BKNG) is seen as an important area to grow value for the business.

    In February 2022, Serko gave a ‘trading conditions update’.

    The ASX share said that the rapid spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant and related restrictions reduced business travel volumes in key markets and expected revenue for the result for the 12 months to 31 March 2022.

    Due to that disruption, the company reduced its revenue guidance range for the year to between NZ$18 million to NZ$20.5 million, down from NZ$21 million to NZ$25 million. The low end of that range assumes the volumes in each market in February and March would be materially lower than the volumes in the last week of January.

    The high end of the range assumes a gradual continuing of the improving trend in transaction volumes driven by normal seasonality. It also assumes a recovery of business volumes from Booking.com and within the Australian market as COVID-19 disruptions reduce.

    The company’s expectation was that the recovery in booking volumes would be partially offset by lower New Zealand bookings. The ASX share was seeing some “early signs of recovery” in Australia when it updated the market, but demand in New Zealand had been significantly affected.

    The post 2 little-known ASX shares that brokers rate as strong buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for over ten years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes could be the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at near dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now.

    *Returns as of January 12th 2022

    More reading

    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. owns and has recommended Booking Holdings and Serko Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Booking Holdings and Serko Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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  • These are the 2 best ASX dividend shares to buy right now: fund manager

    a young boy dressed up in a business suit and tie has a cute grin and holds two fingers up.

    a young boy dressed up in a business suit and tie has a cute grin and holds two fingers up.

    Ask a Fund Manager

    The Motley Fool chats with fund managers so that you can get an insight into how the professionals think. In part two of this edition, Senior Portfolio Manager & Co-Founder of Plato Investment Management Peter Gardner tells us how to avoid dividend traps and shares his top 2 ASX dividend shares to buy today.

    Motley Fool: Investors can get pulled in by ASX dividend shares with high trailing yields that may not be repeated. What’s your experience here?

    Peter Gardner: We often talk about avoiding dividend traps because we think this is a critically important factor in generating strong income to help our clients make ends meet.

    Dividends traps occur when you look at company data and see a large dividend yield. The problem is this yield figure is based on historical dividends and can be taken against a falling share price. When it comes to dividend traps, that super-high historical yield figure may never come to fruition because the company’s earnings may be likely to fall, causing it to reduce or completely cut its dividends.

    MF: So how do you target tomorrow’s high yielding ASX dividend shares?

    PG: You first have to eliminate the dividend traps. At Plato, we’ve developed statistical models over many years to help forecast the likelihood of dividend cuts and avoid dividend traps.

    When identifying where dividends are poised for growth, investors should remember that the ability of a company to pay and grow its dividends is linked to earnings and cash flow growth. So, a strong underlying business model is very important.

    MF: What else do you look for to avoid dividend traps?

    PG: Some other factors that can impact a company’s future profitability, and their ability to pay dividends, include macro factors like prevailing tax policy or the overall state of the economy.

    Industry-specific factors can also create issues for a subsector of the market. For example, the impact of the price of oil on airline shares.

    MF: What are the 2 best ASX dividend shares to buy right now? 

    PG: Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG). That’s because Macquarie has continued to deliver consistent earnings growth and consistent dividends in recent years despite the challenges that have faced the financial services sector. Most recently it achieved a record profit for the December 2021 quarter.

    The Group is very diversified, and we are particularly buoyed by the strong performance of its markets facing business, strong AUM [assets under management] growth, and investment in renewables.

    Importantly, it has a lot of cash on its balance sheet which indicates it can sustainably grow dividends in the foreseeable future.

    MF: And your second top ASX dividend share?

    PG: Then there’s BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP).

    The big Australian is in a really good position to continue delivering big dividends for its Australian shareholders.

    During the recent reporting season, BHP announced a record first-half dividend of $1.50 per share, fully franked. This equates to a gross dividend yield of 6.2% for this dividend alone. While it was 49% larger than last year’s interim dividend, the payout ratio is still a healthy 78%.

    This dividend was announced along with increasing revenues, increasing [earnings before income, taxes, depreciation and amortisation] EBITDA, and increasing profit.

    There’s also the BHP and Woodside merger deal on the horizon which we believe will be a tax-effective income opportunity for BHP shareholders. The deal will likely see BHP’s petroleum assets spun off in the form of a special dividend with franking credits attached, in order to merge with Woodside. Franking credits are one of the most tax-effective forms of income for low-tax investors.

    We also see BHP’s recent delisting from the London Stock Exchange as a positive for Australian shareholders. This enables more of those franking credits to ultimately be distributed to shareholders.

    MF: What investment move do you most regret?

    PG: We’ve been on the right side of some of the more recent trends in the markets as bond yields rose, capturing the outperformance of commodities and missing the underperformance of expensive tech.

    But our biggest recent regret – there are always plenty of regrets in funds management – is not having a larger exposure to commodities and a lower exposure to stocks impacted by rises in bond yields.

    For example, we have holdings in James Hardie Industries PLC (ASX: JHX) and Aristocrat Leisure Ltd (ASX: ALL) whose underlying businesses have been performing well, but who have also been hit as bond yields rose.

    MF: Has Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed your investment approach? 

    PG: You can’t ignore this sort of event and we must consider how it could impact company dividends now and into the future.

    However, our investment approach has not changed, as this horrific event has just exacerbated some pre-existing trends that we were exposed to such as continued increases in commodity prices and concerns about inflation.

    We’re one of the most active, nimble income funds that I know of, and we rotate our portfolio in order to capture the strongest dividends in the market. We also continue to generate additional income through tax-effective portfolio management, something unencumbered by the sad developments in Ukraine.

    (If you missed part one of our interview with Peter Gardner, you can find that here.)

    The post These are the 2 best ASX dividend shares to buy right now: fund manager appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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    Scott just revealed what he believes could be the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at near dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now.

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  • Analysts name 2 ASX 200 dividend shares to buy now

    Are you looking for dividend shares to add to your income portfolio this week? If you are, then the two listed below could be worth considering.

    These dividend shares have been rated as buys and tipped to provide investors with attractive yields. Here’s what you need to know about them:

    Centuria Industrial REIT (ASX: CIP)

    The first dividend share to look at is Centuria Industrial. It is the largest domestic pure play industrial REIT on the Australian share market.

    These properties are in demand with tenants. For example, in February, the company released its half year results and revealed an 8.9-year weighted average lease expiry with a 99.2% portfolio occupancy. This supported strong funds from operation (FFO) and allowed management to upgrade its guidance.

    Macquarie is very positive on Centuria Industrial and currently has an outperform rating and $4.27 price target on its shares. The broker is also forecasting dividends per share of 17.3 cents in FY 2022 and 17.8 cents FY 2023. Based on the current Centuria Industrial share price of $3.86, this equates to yields of 4% and 4.2%, respectively.

    Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

    Another dividend share that could be a top option for income investors is telco giant, Telstra. Especially given that its outlook is now the most positive it has been in over a decade.

    In fact, in February, Telstra released its half year results and reported underlying earnings growth for the first time in years. This was driven by the success of its T22 strategy, which will soon be replaced with the T25 strategy.

    The latter is aiming to deliver solid and sustainable earnings growth over the coming years, which bodes well for its dividend payments.

    For now, the team at Morgans continues to forecast fully franked dividends per share of 16 cents in FY 2022 and FY 2023. Based on the current Telstra share price of $4.03, this will mean yields of approximately 4% for investors.

    Complementing this is Morgans’ belief that Telstra’s shares have plenty of room to climb higher. Its analysts have an add rating and $4.56 price target on its shares.

    The post Analysts name 2 ASX 200 dividend shares to buy now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for over ten years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes could be the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at near dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now.

    *Returns as of January 12th 2022

    More reading

    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 owns and has recommended Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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