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The Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) share price is on course to end the week on a positive note.

In early trade, the health imaging technology company’s shares were up 4.5% to $49.34.

The Pro Medicus share price has since pulled back but remains up by 2% currently.

Why is the Pro Medicus share price charging higher?

The catalyst for the rise in the Pro Medicus share price on Friday has been the announcement of a major new contract win.

According to the release, the company’s US business, Visage Imaging, has signed a $32 million, eight-year contract with Inova Health System.

Inova is the leading non-profit healthcare provider in Northern Virginia. It has 20,000+ team members supporting more than two million patient visits each year through an integrated network of hospitals, primary, and specialty care practices, emergency and urgent care centres, outpatient services, and destination institutes.

The release notes that the agreement is based on a transactional licensing model and will see the company’s Visage 7 Enterprise Imaging Platform implemented throughout Inova and Fairfax Radiology. This will provide a unified diagnostic imaging platform across both networks.

Pro Medicus advised that planning for the rollout is to commence immediately, with initial go-lives targeted for the second half of the calendar year.

The implementation will be fully deployed in the public cloud, which management notes is a favourable trend that has taken a foothold in the global healthcare IT market.

Management commentary

Pro Medicus CEO, Dr Sam Hupert, commented: “This is our fourth major contract in the IDN space in less than 18 months which further underpins the strong momentum we continue to build not only in this segment of market but also the North American market as a whole.”

“Our pipeline remains strong. Deals like this confirm our view that Visage 7, with its proven cloud native technology provides us with a significant strategic advantage that addresses these opportunities across a growing segment of the market both in North America and other regions.”

The post Pro Medicus share price jumps on $32m contract news appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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. owns and has recommended Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Pro Medicus 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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The Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) share price struggled through March, but could April see an uptick?

While there was no news from the winemaking and distribution company last month, its share price dipped 0.34%. And it hasn’t improved since.

At the time of writing, the Treasury Wine share price is $11.56, 0.17% lower than it was at the end of March.

For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index(ASX: XJO) rose 6.39% in March. Though, it has dumped 0.39% so far this month.

So, what might the future bring for the Treasury Wine share price? Here’s what brokers are saying could be in store for the creator and purveyor of some of Australia’s most iconic wine brands.

What’s next for the Treasury Wine share price?

The future looks green for the company’s stock, according to brokers at Morgans and Citi.

As The Motley Fool Australia’s James Mickleboro recently reported, the ASX 200 share is on Morgans’ radar. The broker is expecting big things from the company in the future.

It’s particularly impressed by the company’s results for the first half of financial year 2022 and its management team.

Treasury Wine posted around $1.26 billion of revenue and $109.1 million of net profit after tax (NPAT) for the half-year, despite facing what Morgans called “material headwinds”.

“The foundations are now in place for TWE to deliver strong double-digit growth from 2H22 over the next few years,” Morgans continued.

Citi also believes the stock has strong medium-term growth prospects, according to Mickleboro.

He reported the broker’s view is based on the re-opening of Treasury Wine’s higher-margin channels as well as its potential future distribution growth and margin expansion.

Both brokers believe the Treasury Wine share price has an upside of at least 19%.

Citi has slapped it with a $13.78 price target while Morgans is slightly more optimistic at $13.93.

The post Can the Treasury Wine share price have a better month in April? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 more of the ‘best’ ASX 200 shares to buy this month: Morgans
• The Treasury Wine (ASX:TWE) dividend is being paid today. Here’s the lowdown
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Broker names 2 ASX 200 shares to buy with almost 20% upside

Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. 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 Treasury Wine Estates 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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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

Twitter‘s (NYSE: TWTR) stock price surged 27% on April 4 after Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed he had bought a 9.2% stake in the social media company for about $2.9 billion. Musk’s investment dwarfs co-founder Jack Dorsey’s 2.25% stake and makes him Twitter’s largest single or institutional investor. Twitter appointed him to its board of directors the following day.

Musk made his investment after asking his 80.8 million Twitter followers if the platform “rigorously adheres” to the principle of free speech. Over 70% of the poll’s 2.04 million respondents said Twitter didn’t follow that principle.

Musk’s poll and subsequent investment foreshadow a potential clash with Twitter’s CEO Parag Agrawal, the former chief technology officer who succeeded Jack Dorsey after his abrupt resignation last November.

Whereas Dorsey had often promoted Twitter as a platform for free speech, Agrawal previously told MIT Technology Review that the company’s role was “not to be bound by the First Amendment.”

So is it too late for investors to buy shares of Twitter after Musk’s massive purchase? Or could Musk finally shake things up at Twitter and enable the stock to generate better returns for its long-term investors?

Twitter’s biggest problems

Twitter went public at $26 per share on Nov. 7, 2013. Its shares started trading at $45.10, and eventually hit an all-time high of $77.63 last March. But today, the stock only trades at about $50.

Twitter ultimately failed to outperform the S&P 500, which has advanced more than 150% since the company’s public debut, for three main reasons.

First, Twitter’s user growth decelerated. It initially aimed to reach 400 million monthly active users (MAUs) by the end of 2013, but it broadly missed that target. It eventually replaced its MAUs with monetizable daily active users (mDAUs) to filter out its spam, bot, and inactive accounts.

Twitter ended 2021 with 217 million mDAUs, which represented 13% growth from a year earlier. It believes it can hit 315 million mDAUs by the end of 2023, but that’s a lofty goal that will require its year-over-year mDAU growth to accelerate above 20% again over the next two years.

Second, Twitter’s domestic growth stalled out. Its mDAUs in the U.S. rose just 3% year over year and stayed flat sequentially at 38 million in its latest quarter. It offset that slowdown with the growth of its international mDAUs — which grew 15% year over year and 3% sequentially to 179 million — but it still generates over half its revenue from its higher-value mDAUs in the U.S.

Therefore, Twitter’s controversies in the U.S., which include its bans on former President Donald Trump and other controversial public figures, will still significantly impact its growth despite only accounting for 18% of its mDAUs.

Lastly, Twitter plans to ramp up its spending this year to expand its ecosystem. However, Twitter’s previous product launches under Dorsey — including its short-lived “Fleets,” organized topics for tweets, new tipping features, and Twitter Blue subscriptions for top accounts — haven’t moved the needle yet. Agrawal is gradually expanding Twitter as a “social shopping” platform, but that strategy could also expose it to fierce competition from Pinterest (NYSE: PINS) and Meta Platform‘s (NASDAQ: FB) Instagram.

Will Musk help or harm Twitter?

Shortly after disclosing his stake in Twitter, Musk asked his followers if they wanted the ability to edit their tweets. Nearly three-quarters of the poll’s 4.4 million respondents said “yes,” and Twitter subsequently said it had been developing an edit feature for its Twitter Blue users “since last year.”

That change seems minor, but it strongly suggests that Musk will continue to poll his followers for more decisions regarding Twitter’s future. As of this writing, Musk’s followers are already asking for the reinstatement of Donald Trump’s account and the elimination of its censorship rules.

Prior to making his investment, Musk said that as a “de facto town square,” Twitter “fundamentally undermines democracy” by “failing to adhere to free speech principles.” That statement sets up an imminent confrontation between Musk and Agrawal, who accelerated Twitter’s permanent bans on controversial accounts after taking the helm.

Removing those censorship rules might widen Twitter’s moat against conservative-oriented challengers like Digital World Acquisition Corp.‘s (NASDAQ: DWAC) Trump-backed Truth Social or Parler, but it could also make it a much bigger target for government regulators.

Furthermore, Twitter itself could still be “de-platformed” by Apple and Alphabet‘s Google — which hold a near-duopoly in mobile app stores — if the platform devolves into a sewer of fake news, misinformation, and hate speech.

Simply put, handing over Twitter’s keys to Elon Musk and his followers could be a very risky move for the company. So unless Twitter’s other board members can keep Musk in check, there’s a real risk the platform could run off the rails and alienate its users, advertisers, and investors.

Musk’s investment makes things worse

Dorsey and Agrawal understood that running Twitter as a sustainable business required a delicate balance between free speech and self-censorship, just as traditional media platforms like TV and radio have always done. Musk’s investment could disrupt that balancing act and throttle its growth.

Therefore, I think it’s too late to buy Twitter’s stock right now. Musk’s investment briefly boosted the stock, but those returns could fade as the market processes the long-term implications and potential headaches. 

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

The post Is it too late to buy Twitter stock? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why are ASX tech shares having such a stellar day?
• Birds are singing as the Twitter share price soars 27% on Elon Musk’s investment

Leo Sun owns Alphabet (A shares), Apple, and Meta Platforms, Inc. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Apple, Meta Platforms, Inc., Pinterest, Tesla, and Twitter. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Alphabet (C shares) and has recommended the following options: long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Apple, Meta Platforms, Inc., and Pinterest. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson. 

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

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The South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) share price is up more than 1% today after the miner made an announcement regarding notes funding for its business.

For readers that aren’t sure what South32 is, it’s a diversified mining and metals business. It produces commodities including bauxite, alumina, aluminium, copper, silver, lead, zinc, nickel, metallurgical coal and manganese from operations in Australia, Southern Africa and South America.

South32 prices new debt

The ASX mining share announced today that it has priced US$700 million of senior unsecured notes, which are due in 2032. The settlement of this offering of the notes is expected to happen in New York on 14 April 2022, subject to customary closing conditions.

South32 said that it intends to use the cash proceeds from the offering together with cash on hand, to fully repay money it had used through its acquisition bridge facility to fund the acquisition of a 45% interest in Sierra Gorda.

How much will the notes cost?

The miner told investors what the interest rate on this debt will be. The notes will pay interest in April and October each year, commencing in October 2022, at a rate of 4.35% per annum. These notes are guaranteed by South32 and some of its subsidiaries.

Management commentary

The South32 chief financial officer (CFO), Katie Tovich, said:

We are pleased that our strong financial position and disciplined approach to capital management has been recognised by investors with the successful execution of our inaugural US dollar bond issue.

Completion will enable our repayment of the US$800 million short-term acquisition bridge facility, that was drawn in February to support our acquisition of a 45% interest in the Sierra Gorda copper mine.

What do analysts think of the South32 share price?

One of the latest ratings on South32 comes from the broker Ord Minnett, which recently increased its price target on the business to $6.30 from $5. It still rates it as a buy.

The reason for that increased price target was the increase in prices for many of its commodities amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has impacted different markets.

Based on Ord Minnett’s numbers, the South32 share price is valued at 6x FY22’s estimated earnings and 5x FY23’s estimated earnings.

The high commodity prices are expected to flow through to bigger profits for the business and then fund larger dividends.

The broker thinks that South32 offers a grossed-up dividend yield of 14.8% in FY22 and 17.9% in FY23.

The post Why is the South32 share price edging higher today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The S32 dividend is being paid today. Here’s what you need to know
• Could these ASX shares be set to benefit from increasing Russian sanctions?
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• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Tabcorp demerger update, BHP higher, Block tumbles
• Why is the South32 (ASX:S32) share price sinking 4% today?

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 Bruce Jackson.

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The lithium sector certainly was a great place to be invested last month.

Although the ASX 200 index charged notably higher over the period, some lithium stocks absolutely smashed the market return.

For example, the four shares listed below all recorded gain of over 25% last month. Here’s why investors were buying their shares in March:

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

The Core Lithium share price was on form last month and recorded a 79% gain. The key driver of this was an announcement at the beginning of the month which revealed that Core has signed a binding agreement with electric vehicle giant Tesla. The agreement will see Core supply up to 110,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate to Tesla from the Finniss Lithium Project near Darwin over a four-year period. This, and positive drilling results from the Carlton deposit, offset the surprise news that the company’s CEO is leaving.

AVZ Minerals Ltd (ASX: AVZ)

The AVZ Minerals share price was a positive performer last month and raced 35% higher. There were a couple of catalysts for this strong gain. One was rising lithium prices which boosted the whole sector, the other was news that S&P Indices added the lithium developer to the illustrious ASX 200 index at the March quarterly rebalance.

Ioneer Ltd (ASX: INR)

The Ioneer share price bounced back from a poor start to finish the month 30% higher. Almost all of this gain was made in the final days of March following the announcement of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with NexTech Batteries. It is a leader in proprietary lithium-sulphur battery technology based in Nevada. The two parties are looking at using lithium from Ioneer’s Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project to manufacture next generation solid-state batteries that are “poised to revolutionise the automotive industry.”

Calidus Resources Ltd (ASX: CAI)

The Calidus Resources share price continued its positive run in March and rose a further 27%. This was driven by news that its 50% owned Pirra Lithium business has identified a “substantial lithium-bearing pegmatite with a mapped strike length of more than 1km” in the Eastern Pilbara. Management commented: “It is already clear that we are in the early stages of an exciting lithium discovery with both scale and strong grades.”

The post These were the best performing ASX lithium stocks in March appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday
• Why has the AVZ Minerals share price rocketed 34% in a month?
• The Core Lithium share price is tumbling again. What’s going on?
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts on Wednesday
• Why is the Core Lithium share price sinking 7% today?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has 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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The March quarter proved fruitful for the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price.

The bank’s stock surged 13.54% over the three months ended 31 March, closing the final session of the quarter trading at $24.24 apiece.

For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gained just 0.74% over the same period, while the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) improved 3.67%.

So, what pushed the Westpac share price to outperform most of its peers last quarter? Let’s take a look.

What drove the Westpac share price last quarter?

The Westpac share price was the worst-performing ASX 200 big four bank stock of 2021. But it bucked that trend to outperform its fellow ‘fours’ last quarter.

Firstly, it gained 2.28% on the back of its earnings for the December quarter.

The bank’s unaudited cash earnings jumped 74% over the period, reaching $1.58 billion. Meanwhile, its expenses dropped 7% to $2.7 billion.

It also recognised a $118 million impairment charge mostly brought about by provision overlays reflecting COVID-19-related uncertainty.

On top of that, Westpac cut its c-suite – converging two executive positions into one new title – in an effort to simplify the business and reduce costs.

Additionally, the bank conducted a $3.5 billion off-market buyback last quarter. That saw it purchasing its own stocks from investors for $20.90 apiece and reducing its outstanding shares by 4.6%.

And while it didn’t make price-sensitive news, Westpac announced in February it had completed the sale of its New Zealand life insurance business.

The bank sold the business for NZ$400 million (around $368.3 million at today’s exchange rate). It expects to post a post-tax gain on the sale of approximately $90.25 million in its first-half results.

Westpac will also receive ongoing payments under a 15-year distribution agreement.

What else was the bank up to in the March quarter?

There were plenty of other happenings that likely didn’t move the Westpac share price last quarter although they may have impacted market sentiment for the bank.

Firstly, Westpac technically found itself on the cusp of the big four banking group in January.

Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG)’s market capitalisation surpassed Westpac’s, making the institutional bank the third largest ASX bank at that moment in time. Westpac has since regained its crown, according to the ASX.

In addition, the talk of the ASX last quarter was inflation, as many global market watchers expected the measure’s increase to push interest rates higher.

In fact, the release of the latest consumer price index coincided with a disastrous day on the ASX 200.

On that note, Westpac upped its fixed interest rates three times last quarter.

On the bank’s latest addition to “aggressive fixed rate hikes across the mortgage market”, RateCity.com.au research director, Sally Tindall said:

Last year, Westpac had some of the lowest fixed rates in the market. Now there is daylight between the bank’s rates and the low-cost lenders.

Westpac also joined other big four banks in cutting its variable interest rate late last month.

In more positive news, Westpac entered an agreement with Microsoft last quarter. The tech giant will help push the bank’s digital strategy.

Westpac share price snapshot

Right now, the Westpac share price is trading 11% higher than it was at the start of 2022.

However, it’s 4% lower than it was this time last year.

The post How did the Westpac share price outperform the ASX 200 by 13% in the March quarter? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 ASX dividend shares with attractive yields
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• Is the Westpac share price the best value of the big four banks?
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• How did the Westpac share price perform in March?

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. owns and has recommended Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie 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 Bruce Jackson.

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National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) is one of the largest dividend payers on the ASX.

It has a market capitalisation of around $105 billion, according to the ASX.

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

So what can shareholders expect from the next NAB dividend? Let’s take a look.

How big is the next NAB dividend going to be?

NAB’s dividend has been recovering after the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, both of its dividends were $0.30 per share. The first half of FY21 saw an interim dividend of $0.60 per share. NAB increased the dividend again with the final dividend of $0.67. That brought the FY21 full-year dividend to $1.27 per share.

Many analysts believe the NAB dividend in FY22 will be increased again.

Commsec numbers, provided by third-party external data vendors, suggest the NAB dividend could increase by more than 13% to $1.44. That would represent a forward grossed-up dividend yield of 6.4% at NAB’s Thursday closing share price of $32.47.

There are different brokers with varying estimates for the NAB dividend in FY22.

Macquarie currently rates NAB as a buy, with a price target of $32.50. However, its dividend expectations for the bank are lower than the estimate on Commsec for FY22. Macquarie’s forecast for the FY22 grossed-up dividend yield is 6%. Macquarie suggests that bank margins could remain pressured by competition.

The broker Morgan Stanley thinks NAB will pay a grossed-up dividend yield of 6.2% in the current financial year.

Ord Minnett has one of the more optimistic views on the company’s potential dividend. It thinks the NAB grossed-up dividend yield could be 6.44% in FY22.

UBS may have one of the biggest predictions for the NAB dividend out of all the brokers. The broker has pencilled in a dividend which translates into a potential grossed-up dividend yield of 6.6%.

What do we know about the upcoming NAB half-year result?

NAB’s half-year result is due to be released on 5 May.

Two months ago, the bank announced its first-quarter update. NAB said it generated $1.8 billion of cash earnings. This represented cash earnings growth of 9.1% year on year. Cash earnings before tax and credit impairment charges were up 6%.

NAB said volumes were “strong” over the quarter, with lending and deposits each up $18 billion. In Australia, over the three months to December 2021, home lending grew 2.6%, and small and medium enterprise (SME) business lending increased by 3.4%. Its market share of core lending and deposit products increased. New Zealand loan growth was “strong” at 2.2%.

NAB said it was optimistic about the outlook for Australia and New Zealand. The CEO said the bank is well-positioned to continue to grow with a strong balance sheet and disciplined execution of a clear strategy.

It recently completed a $2.5 billion share buy-back and announced a further buy-back of another $2.5 billion.

The post How much is the next NAB dividend? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 buy-rated ASX 200 dividend shares analysts are recommending
• Is the NAB share price fully valued in April?
• ASX 200 banks bounce bank in March. Here are the April forecasts from analysts
• The NAB share price almost doubled the ASX 200’s return in March
• This ASX blue-chip share has notched up 9 52-week highs this month

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 Macquarie 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The GrainCorp Ltd (ASX: GNC) share price looks set to end the week in style.

In morning trade, the grain exporter’s shares are up 9% to a record high of $9.46.

Why is the GrainCorp share price racing higher?

Investors have been bidding the GrainCorp share price higher today in response to an earnings update.

According to the release, the company has been benefiting from significant ongoing global demand for Australian grain and oilseeds. It also notes that planting conditions for the upcoming east coast Australian winter crop are favourable.

In light of this, GrainCorp is upgrading the FY 2022 earnings guidance provided to the market in February.

The company was previously guiding to underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $480 million to $540 million and underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) of $235 million to $280 million.

Whereas it is now expecting underlying EBITDA of $590 million to $670 million and underlying NPAT in the range of $310 million to $370 million.

Management commentary

GrainCorp’s Managing Director and CEO, Robert Spurway, advised that this strong demand is being driven by a number of factors. He explained:

“As we outlined at our AGM in February, we are seeing high global demand for Australian grain and oilseeds and strong supply chain margins for grain exports. This has been driven by two consecutive bumper crops in east coast Australia (ECA), coupled with supply shortages in the northern hemisphere.”

The conflict in Ukraine and resulting trade disruptions in the Black Sea region have created uncertainty in global grain markets, with buyers looking for alternate sources of supply. This has further increased both the demand for Australian grain and oilseeds and export supply chain margins.

Recent weather patterns and continued La Nina conditions have provided excellent planting conditions for the 2022 winter crop to date, building confidence in grain supplies from ECA and further supporting export sales and supply chain margins.

Despite recent weather-related supply chain disruptions across the ECA, we are continuing to operate our ports at close to full capacity, exporting as much grain as possible to international markets. Our supply chain resilience demonstrates the value of our infrastructure assets and is testament to the capability of our operations and planning teams.”

The post GrainCorp share price jumps 9% to record high on guidance upgrade amid ‘significant’ demand appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why ASX, Coronado, Graincorp, and Integral Diagnostics shares are dropping today
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Block and Zip shoot higher, Ampol’s acquisition boost

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

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

What happened

Although it wasn’t exactly a steep decline, Amazon‘s (NASDAQ: AMZN) stock took a bit of a fall on Thursday. The retailing giant’s shares declined to close the day 0.6% lower, while the S&P 500 index as a whole rose by 0.4%. The drop was linked to potential new struggles in labor relations.

So what

On Thursday, Reuters reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected an Amazon request to scotch a proposed shareholder vote on an audit of working conditions at its facilities. That proposal was put forward by a man named Thomas Dadashi Tazehozi. 

Tazehozi is an investor in Tulipshare, a London-based activist investment collective that aims to “promote ethical change” at companies, according to its website.

Citing the official response letter sent by the SEC to Amazon, the regulator stated, “In our view, the Tazehozi Proposal transcends ordinary business matters.”

Amazon has not yet officially commented on this development. Its upcoming annual general shareholders meeting, at which the vote will be conducted, is scheduled for May 25.

The news comes on the heels of a major victory for Amazon’s workforce. Last week, workers at a company warehouse on Staten Island in New York City voted to form the retail giant’s first U.S. union. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden expressed support for those workers and potential union creators, saying: “By the way, Amazon, here we come. Watch.”

Not surprisingly, Amazon filed a formal objection to the vote, alleging that the union used threats to win support for its cause. 

Now what

For some time, members of the general public have decried what they consider to be unfair labor practices of big companies like Amazon. These concerns are obviously gaining traction, and they’re landing with investors, too. It might just be time for the Amazons of this world to rethink their labor strategies, particularly considering that labor in certain markets is becoming scarce. 

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

The post Why Amazon stock slumped today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 3 charts that show why Amazon is an unstoppable growth stock
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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson. 

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

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The Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) share price has travelled on a rollercoaster over the course of the last few years.

The impact of COVID-19 led government at all levels around Australia to enforce mandated restrictions on passenger movements. This steered Woodside shares south as demand for oil plummeted throughout the pandemic.

However, the recent war in Ukraine and heavy-handed sanctions on Russia’s energy markets has led oil prices to spike. In turn, Woodside shares have recorded a stellar year on the back of strong demand for oil and gas.

Below, we calculate if the dividends have been worth the wait if a shareholder made an investment five years ago.

What if you had invested $10,000 in Woodside shares 5 years ago?

If you had invested $10,000 in Woodside shares on this day five years ago, you would have bought them for around $32.60 each. This would have given you approximately 306 shares without factoring in any dividend reinvestments over the years.

Fast-forward to today, and the current Woodside share price is $32.90. This means those 306 shares would now be worth $10,067.40. When considering percentage terms, this would have given you relatively flat returns for the period.

In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned a yearly average of 4.89% to shareholders in the past five years.

And the dividends?

Over the course of the last five years, Woodside has made a total of 10 bi-annual dividend payments from April 2017 to March 2022.

Adding those 10 dividends payments gives us an amount of $6.9953 per share. Calculating the number of shares owned against the total dividend payment gives us a figure of $2,140.57.

When putting both the initial investment gains and dividend distribution, an investor would have made roughly $12,207.97.

In comparison, investing the same amount in the ASX 200 would have netted you a total figure of $12,695.60.

As you can see, parking your money in the benchmark index would have retuned a slightly better result.

Woodside share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Woodside share price has accelerated by around 35%, driven by favourable market conditions.

Its shares hit a 52-week high of $34.60 in early March, before finding support around the $32 mark.

Woodside has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 12.47 and commands a market capitalisation of roughly $32.37 billion.

The post The Woodside share price has gained just 1% in 5 years. Have the dividends been worth it? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Bruce Jackson.

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