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The IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) share price is heading south on Tuesday following an announcement from the company.

After reaching a record high of $15.04 yesterday, it appears the battery metals producer’s shares are cooling off today.

At the time of writing, IGO shares are swapping hands for $14.50, down 3.33%.

It’s worth noting that the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) also touched an all-time high on Monday of 19,276.7 points.

Nonetheless, the sector is reversing the gains made to trade at 19,063.2, down 0.52%. This is the worst-performing sector for the day so far.

Let’s take a look at what the company updated the market with earlier today.

IGO acquisition hits roadblock

Investors are digesting the company’s latest news today, sending the IGO share price into negative territory.

In an announcement, IGO provided an update regarding the proposed acquisition of Australia-based nickel producer Western Areas Ltd (ASX: WSA).

Proposed in mid-December 2021, the scheme of arrangement would see IGO acquire 100% of Western Areas for $3.36 per share.

The consideration implies a total value of around $1,096 million for the company, subject to certain customary conditions.

However, IGO noted Western Areas’ trading halt request on the ASX today.

IGO believes an independent expert engaged by Western Areas has finalised the draft Independent Expert’s Report (IER).

IGO’s understanding is that the document concluded that the scheme is neither fair nor reasonable to Western Areas shareholders.

As such, the board of Western Areas intends to terminate the scheme of implementation deed with IGO. This is contrary to the board previously recommending its shareholders vote in favour of the scheme.

IGO stated it will look at its options once the draft IER is received and reviewed. Although it did point out that there is no guarantee that the scheme will proceed.

In addition, IGO management stated that its long-term view on the nickel price has not materially changed. This is regardless of the recent volatility in nickel on commodity markets, which saw its price soar in early March.

About the IGO share price

The IGO share price has accelerated more than 130% since this time last year on the back of surging commodities prices.

When looking at year to date, the company’s shares are almost 30% in the green.

IGO has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 17.40 and commands a market capitalisation of roughly $11.4 billion.

The post Why is the IGO (ASX:IGO) share price slipping today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• 5 ASX lithium and green metals shares hitting new 52-week highs today
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week
• The IGO (ASX:IGO) share price hit a new all-time high today. Could this be why?

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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Cryptocurrencies are fast entering mainstream acceptance and daily use.

Elon Musk led the charge – or at least garnered the most headlines – last year when he announced Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) would accept Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) as payment for its EVs. It was a move he temporarily suspended amid concerns over the massive carbon footprint from mining the world’s biggest crypto by market cap.

Since then, Musk has been joined by a growing list of major companies eager to welcome customers looking to pay with digital tokens.

Petrol, tobacco and lunch for your cryptos

As reported by The Australian, OTR petrol stations and convenience stores will accept cryptos for payment beginning in July.

OTR, a subsidiary of Peregrine Corporation, has more than 160 outlets across South Australia and Victoria. Peregrine Corporation also will begin accepting digital assets for payment at its C Coffee, Subway, Oporto, Wokinabox, Smokemart, and Giftbox stores.

How it all works

Crypto.com and DataMesh are working with Peregrine to install point of sale terminals able to process payment in cryptos across the company’s network. The terminals will convert the digital asset payments into Aussie dollars at the time of sale. That will eliminate much of the volatility risk inherent with the likes of Bitcoin.

Commenting on the decision, Peregrine’s executive chairman Yasser Shahin said (as quoted by The Australian):

The growth and mainstream acceptance of cryptocurrency adoption in Australia and the rest of the world has been phenomenal, and has offered us a clear opportunity to tap into the momentum of this fast-growing space for the benefit of our customers.

Crypto.com’s local general manager Karl Mohan added that other Aussie retailers are also interested in rolling out the option of digital asset payments to their customers. “This is mainstream now, no longer in the fringes,” Mohan said.

Indeed, a survey published by Crypto.com in February indicated that 60% of merchants are interested in accepting cryptos as payment over the coming year, while only 4% currently have that capacity.

As for customers, 40% of respondents said they’re already using cryptos for transactions with 60% planning to do so over the next year.

The post Why cryptos like Bitcoin are ‘no longer in the fringes’ appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why are ASX tech shares having such a stellar day?
• Should you buy fractional shares of Tesla before the potential stock split?
• Should investors worry about Tesla’s Q1 deliveries miss?
• Another crypto is buying $13 billion of Bitcoin. Here’s why
• Here’s what moved the Bitcoin price 20% higher in March

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Bitcoin and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Bitcoin. 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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Owners of these ASX hydrogen shares, get ready to celebrate. You’re invested in some of the best performers of the March quarter.

Last quarter was a rough one for many ASX shares, with the broader market tracking relatively flat over the period.

In fact, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) gained just 0.7% and 0.1% respectively over the 3 months ended 31 March.

Luckily, these 5 ASX shares – each somehow involved in hydrogen – bucked the trend.

Let’s take a look at the 5 top performing ASX hydrogen stocks of the quarter just been.

Last quarter’s best performing ASX hydrogen shares

A quick note before we start: This list doesn’t include ASX hydrogen shares with market capitalisations of less than $50 million.

Frontier Energy Ltd (ASX: FHE) – up 96%

This dark horse swooped in at the last minute to take out the crown of the top performing ASX hydrogen share of the March quarter.

Frontier Energy, formerly known as Superior Lake Resources, relisted on the ASX in early March with a new focus – the Bristol Springs Solar Project.

Recently, the company announced a study into producing green hydrogen at the project.

On 11 August, the Superior Lakes share price closed trading at 13 cents. Additionally, the company raised $8 million through a prospectus earlier this year, wherein it offered shares in the company for 13 cents apiece.

The rebranded Frontier Energy was instated to the ASX on 3 March. Its share price surged to 16.5 cents at its first close.

As of the final close of March, it was trading at 25.5 cents.

That represents a 96% gain on its final close of 2021 and its prospectus’ offer price. It’s also 54% higher than the company’s first close of 2022.  

Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) – up 46%

While the ASX petroleum giant might not be the first stock that comes to mind when discussing hydrogen shares, Woodside is wrapped up in a $1 billion Western Australian hydrogen project.

The company is working with the state’s government to build H2Perth – a “world-scale” hydrogen and ammonia production facility that could produce 1,500 tonnes of hydrogen each day.

Construction on the project is estimated to begin in 2024.

Additionally, Woodside entered an agreement to look into shipping hydrogen from the project to Singapore and Japan in late 2021

It’s also working towards building a liquid hydrogen production facility in the United States. It’s hoping production at the facility will begin in 2025.

The Woodside share price closed the final session of the March quarter at $31.20.

AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL) – up 25%

AGL is another traditional energy giant tangled up in hydrogen.

The company entered the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain project way back in 2018. The project aims to produce hydrogen at AGL’s Loy Yang coal-fired power plant and transport it to Japan.

AGL also entered an agreement with Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)’s green energy leg, Fortescue Future Industries late last year. The pair are looking into developing a green hydrogen facility at AGL’s envisioned ‘Hunter Energy Hub’.

The hub is currently home to the energy producer and retailer’s Liddell and Bayswater power stations.

The AGL share price gained 25% over the March quarter, ending it trading at $7.72.

Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) – up 19%

Another strong performance from a big name ASX energy share with activities in the hydrogen sphere – the Origin share price is the fourth best performing hydrogen stock of the March quarter.

Origin has a number of hydrogen initiatives.

In 2020 it announced a feasibility study into producing hydrogen and ammonia for export in Tasmania.

Last year, it partnered with major shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines to explore the transportation of the energy commodity.

It also announced that it’s exploring a potential export-scale liquid hydrogen project in Townsville and a green hydrogen hub in Newcastle.

The Origin share price ended the March quarter trading at $6.23 – up from $5.24 at the final close of 2021. That represents an 18.89% gain.

Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX: IPL) – up 17%

Finally, Incitec Pivot has come in as the fifth best performing ASX hydrogen share of the March quarter.

The explosives, industrial chemicals, fertiliser producer and exporter has a few interests in hydrogen.

Mainly, its partnership with Fortescue Future Industries. The pair announced their collaboration –exploring green ammonia production at Incitec Pivot’s Gibson Island fertiliser facility – in 2021.

The entities believe the site could produce around 50,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen each year, which would be converted to green ammonia and sold to markets.

The company is also involved in a partnership investigating green ammonia supply from hydrogen hubs in Queensland and NSW.

The ammonia could be used as a direct fuel for electricity. Or, it could be repurposed to produce green hydrogen to be used as a fuel feedstock.

The Incitec Pivot share price grew 16.98% last quarter, ending the period trading at $3.78.

The post These were the 5 best performing ASX hydrogen shares of the March quarter appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• What sent ASX mining shares flaming higher in March?
• Gas is in hot demand. This is the ASX share I’d buy: expert
• What’s on the cards for the Woodside share price in April?
• How did the AGL share price perform in March?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

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

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having another great start to this day’s trading thus far. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is up a healthy 0.41% at just under 7,550 points. Although many ASX shares are in the green today, it seems ASX tech shares are leading the charge.

For one, the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) has recorded the highest gain of any ASX sector so far today. It’s currently up a pleasing 3.22%. But we are also seeing this flow into the share prices of many ASX tech shares. Take Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) and Appen Ltd (ASX: APX). These ASX tech stalwarts are up 4.17% and 2.6% respectively so far today. Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) is up 4.35%. And leading the tech sector’s gains is Block Inc (ASX: SQ2), up a whopping 6.42% so far today to $191.80 a share.

So why are ASX tech shares powering ahead so enthusiastically?

ASX tech shares rising? Thank Elon Musk…

Well, we can’t be certain. But these ASX tech share moves likely have at least something to do with the blockbuster announcement last night (our time) that Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk made.

Musk, the world’s richest person, has long been known for his, er, market antics. Musk dropped a bombshell announcement last night, revealing he has just purchased a US$3.68 billion stake in the social media company Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR). As my Fool colleague Mitchell covered this morning, Musk now owns a 9.2% stake in Twitter, making him the company’s single largest shareholder. He now owns more than four times as many Twitter shares as the company’s founder, Jack Dorsey. Dorsey is also a founder of Block, as it turns out.

So this move saw the Twitter stock price jump a massive 27% by the close of the US markets. Tesla stock was up more than 5% as well, with many other US tech shares also finishing higher.

It’s likely these events and market moves are at least partially responsible for the subsequent enthusiasm we see with ASX tech shares today. Especially with the ASX-listed Block shares. Never a dull moment with Elon Musk.

The post Why are ASX tech shares having such a stellar day? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Block (ASX:SQ2) share price jumps 6% despite reporting a data breach
• Birds are singing as the Twitter share price soars 27% on Elon Musk’s investment
• Should you buy fractional shares of Tesla before the potential stock split?
• These were the best and worst performing ASX sectors in March
• Should investors worry about Tesla’s Q1 deliveries miss?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Altium, Appen Ltd, Block, Inc., Tesla, Twitter, and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Block, Inc. and Xero. 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 200 banks have thwarted heavy losses in 2022 and surged more than 9% in the past month of trade.

The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) has headed north after testing the 6,090 mark three times this year to date, now trading around three-month highs.

Yet, its been a mixed performance within the banking basket as some names have flourished whilst others have been left in the vault.

Banks bounce back in March

Aussie banks powered back home last month and secured strong gains as a group. Within the banking majors, Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) has led the way, most notably due to its diversified portfolio that includes heavy exposure to commodities and financial markets.

Meanwhile, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) has popped 9.5% in the past month, followed by National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB).

At the other end, Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) trembled in March and eventually began to stumble downwards to close out the month.

Banks, in particular, have been impacted by mounting inflationary pressures, saturation in the mortgage market, insurance cost blowouts, and a profitless interest rate regime that now looks set to change – hard and fast.

But that hasn’t stopped ASX 200 banks posting record earnings, beefed-up dividends, and authorising juicy buyback programs for the coming periods.

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Matt Ingram noted that Aussie banks might extend gains on the back of these capital management initiatives.

“Bank payout targets of 65-80% remain below the 10-year average, with lenders preferring buybacks to reduce excess capital,” he wrote in a recent note.

“Longer-term DPS [dividend per share] growth could get a boost from lower share counts through buybacks,” he added.

The shift in interest rates appears to be the bedrock of the latest surge, spurring a similar shift in mortgage lending and banking to businesses, according to analysts at JP Morgan.

“We are upbeat on future growth and return prospects for Australian SME [small-medium enterprise] banking driven by: 1) strong credit growth/likely resilience to rate hikes; 2) stable near-term NIM [net interest margin] outlook; 3) favourable capital rule changes; and 4) attractive ROE [return on equity] and industry structure,” the broker said in a note.

“We view SME Banking industry structure very favourably. Scale is very difficult to build in SME and barriers to entry are high,” it added.

Whilst competition in the segment is dense, “it is still much less so than in retail banking”, analysts said. They noted that newer entrants – such as Judo Bank – are “niche players” that charge higher interest rates compared to the larger names.

What are the projections?

Analysts are bullish on the space and CBA gets a mention from several experts when analysing the data. Ingram noted that CBA’s “18x P/E [price to earnings] ratio – atop its peer group – perhaps reflects its leading ESG rank among Australian and Asian financials”.

Not only that, but the sector could extend gains if the push in returning capital to shareholders continues in 2022 and beyond.

“Australian banks’ stock rallies may continue due to buybacks, which added 2-3 percentage points to their forward yields, lifting spreads above the risk-free rate to 5-8%,” Ingram added.

That’s “well above the past decade’s average”.

Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX: WBC)’s $3.5 billion buyback, for example, “puts it top of the list by this metric with a near 10% yield, while the sector as a whole is on average 40% cheaper than the 2012-22 mean.”

Meanwhile, NAB is the “largest SME bank by some distance”, according to JP Morgan analysts.

“SME business loans account for 24% of NAB’s lending book (versus 15-17% for the other majors)…Business Banking divisions account for approximately 15% to 41% of group NPAT [net profit after tax],” they say.

Elsewhere, CBA’s loan growth in business banking divisions was around 10% annualised in the last half, in line with NAB’s.

These trends are set to continue with CBA joining NAB as a likely performer in JP Morgan’s eyes.

“We see these trends persisting in the near term, with a virtuous cycle driven by investment prioritisation in these divisions, superior scale, and less distraction,” the broker said.

NAB is JP Morgan’s “top rank in [its] coverage”, with the broker retaining its buy rating on a $33.50 price target.

Meanwhile, CBA is JP Morgan’s “bottom pick on valuation grounds”.

The post ASX 200 banks bounce bank in March. Here are the April forecasts from analysts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Is the Westpac share price the best value of the big four banks?
• Considering Macquarie shares? Here’s why this expert is predicting a ‘cracker result’
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell next week
• How big will the CBA dividend be in 2022?
• The NAB share price almost doubled the ASX 200’s return in March

Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has 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 Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price is in the green today amid plans to grow the company.

Xero shares are currently trading at $107.56, a 4.06% gain. In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 0.46%.

Let’s take a look at what Xero announced today.

New executive

Xero has appointed Chris O’Neill to the position of chief growth officer. This is a newly created role and part of the global executive team.

O’Neill will lead the growth of Xero’s small business platform and strategic development of Xero in the Americas.

Xero is a technology company that provides cloud-based accounting software for small businesses. Also possibly boosting the Xero share price today is positive sentiment across the tech sector. The S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is up 2.08% today, while the NASDAQ-100 Technology Sector Index (NASDAQ: NDXT) climbed 2.33% in the United States overnight.

O’Neill has served as a senior executive, board member and investor for global technology companies such as Google and Evernote.

He will be based in San Francisco and will lead the direction and performance within the company’s new applications and services division.

Commenting on the announcement, CEO Steve Vamos said:

The global cloud-based small business applications software market is still in a relatively early stage of development and represents a huge opportunity. Chris brings extensive experience to help further develop and grow a number of exciting business areas within Xero.

I look forward to Chris helping us further scale Xero’s business in the US and Canada, building on our go to market and product efforts to date; through partnerships, acquisitions, and further development of our product capabilities to meet the needs of customers and partners.

Xero share price snapshot

The Xero share price has fallen around 18% in a year and almost 25% this year to date.

The company’s shares have soared 9% in the past month, while they are up almost 8% in the past week alone.

For perspective, the benchmark ASX index has returned about 10% over the past year.

The company has a market capitalisation of about $15 billion based on the current share price.

The post Xero share price leaps amid new growth push appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Carnage in 2022: Are these 2 top ASX 200 tech shares now buys?
• Why Xero can become ‘one of the big tech companies’: ASX expert
• Top ASX shares to buy in April 2022
• Why is the Xero share price sliding 4% lower today?
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Tabcorp demerger update, BHP higher, Block tumbles

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Xero. 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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Talk of a higher takeover offer did not stop the Pendal Group Ltd (ASX: PDL) share price from slipping lower this morning.

The listed fund manager got a non-binding $2.4 billion bid from rival Perpetual Limited (ASX: PPT) yesterday, which UBS called “opportunistic”.

This leaves room for Pendal to get a better offer price as recent transactions have shown that the first offer is not the last.

Looming bidding war for Pendal?

Remember the takeover tussle for Uniti Group Ltd (ASX: UWL) and Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API)?

Despite the prospect of a higher offer, the Pendal share price dropped 1.5% to $5.21 in early trade. In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gained 0.3%.

But given the 18% surge in the Pendal share price on Monday after the takeover offer was announced, the pullback won’t worry shareholders.

Room for a higher takeover bid

There’s no guarantee that the takeover will proceed. But UBS reckons Pendal is worth more than the $6.23 a share price that Perpetual is putting on the table.

Importantly, Perpetual’s takeover offer is below UBS’ 12-month price target of $7.20 a share for Pendal.

The offer also comes at a time when the Pendal share price is trading at a 38% discount (pre-bid) to its historical price-earnings multiple of 14.1 times.

“The bid appears opportunistic, noting the broader sell-off in asset managers and the widening PE gap between pure-plays (PDL 8.7x) versus diversified names (PPT 12.6x)”, said the broker.

“We believe the bid undervalues PDL, with some scope for the offer to move higher and remain accretive to PPT.”

Why the Pendal share price has been derated

There are a few reasons behind the underperformance of the Pendal share price that led to the takeover bid. Fund outflows and patchy investment performance are two factors. Pendal is also in the process of bedding down its US acquisition of TSW.

The acquisition won’t put off Perpetual as UBS believes TSW’s business is well understood by Perpetual.

Perpetual’s merger with Pendal will also help the former diversify away from non-asset management businesses.

How much more can Perpetual offer for Pendal?

“With the offer valuing PDL at ~12.8x, below its long[1]term average of 14.1x we think the PDL board is unlikely to accept the current offer, but we see room for the offer price to move higher,” said UBS.

“On our analysis, the deal becomes EPS neutral at a scrip ratio to 1PPT:6.5PDL implying ~$7/shr.”

One also can’t discount another bidder entering the arena given that M&A interest remains strong. The takeover offer for Pendal also validates UBS’ view that the sector is too oversold.

The post Pendal (ASX:PDL) share price in the spotlight as analysts tip higher takeover bid appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Allkem, Iluka, Pendal, and Sayona Mining shares are charging higher
• Why Air NZ, Bank of Queensland, Domain, and Perpetual shares are dropping
• Perpetual (ASX:PPT) share price halted amid Pendal takeover bid
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO): Perpetual makes Pendal offer, Iluka hits record high
• Pendal (ASX:PDL) share price rockets 23% on $2.4b takeover approach

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau 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 Uniti 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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The Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) share price is racing higher on Tuesday.

In morning trade, the payments giant’s shares are up over 6% to $191.39.

What’s going on with the Block share price today?

Investors have been bidding the Block share price today after a rebound in the tech sector offset a potentially damaging data breach.

It isn’t just the Afterpay owner’s shares that are rising today. The S&P/ASX All Technology Index is up a solid 2% at the time of writing, which mirrors a 1.9% gain by the tech focused Nasdaq index on Wall Street overnight.

Investors unfazed by data breach

The Block share price is storming higher today despite the company revealing that a former employee downloaded certain reports of its subsidiary Cash App Investing on 10 December. These reports included some U.S. customer information.

The release notes that while this employee had regular access to the reports as part of their past job responsibilities, the downloading of these reports occurred without permission after their employment ended.

Block advises that the information in the reports included full name and brokerage account number, and for some customers also included brokerage portfolio value, brokerage portfolio holdings and/or stock trading activity for one trading day.

Importantly, the reports did not include usernames or passwords, Social Security numbers, date of birth, payment card information, addresses, bank account information, or any other personally identifiable information. Nor did they include any security code, access code, or password used to access Cash App accounts.

Other services, such as Afterpay, were not impacted, nor were customers outside of the United States.

What now?

Block is contacting approximately 8.2 million current and former customers to provide them with information about this incident and sharing resources with them to answer their questions.

It is also notifying the applicable regulatory authorities and law enforcement, and continues to review and strengthen administrative and technical safeguards to protect the information of its customers.

And while management says that future costs associated with this incident are difficult to predict, it does not currently believe the incident will have a material impact on its business, operations, or financial results.

The post Block (ASX:SQ2) share price jumps 6% despite reporting a data breach appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These were the best and worst performing ASX sectors in March
• Why Bank of Queensland, Block, Premier Investments, and REA shares are dropping
• Why Air NZ, Block, Eagers Automotive, and Harvey Norman shares are dropping
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Tabcorp demerger update, BHP higher, Block tumbles
• Why Block, Lake Resources, Nearmap, and Telix shares are racing higher

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 Block, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Block, Inc. 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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Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) is a company very familiar to most Australians. That’s largely thanks to its status as the largest supermarket chain in the country. But not only is Woolworths a popular business, it’s also a popular blue-chip share on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). Part of the appeal of Woolworths shares for many investors is arguably their reputation as a defensive investment.

Woolworths is a consumer staples company. That means its business is providing products that are ‘needs’ and not ‘wants’. That makes sense — we all need to eat, drink and buy household essentials after all. And Woolies is a popular choice in fulfilling these needs.

That in turn lends the company stability. We saw Woolworths’ revenues rise sharply during the first year of the pandemic in 2020 – a year that saw many other ASX shares suffer due to the effects of lockdowns. This defensiveness extends to other aspects of an investment in Woolworths, such as the company’s dividend.

But does that really make this company a good investment?

Are Woolworths shares a defensive buy today?

One ASX expert investor who thinks so is WaveStone Capital’s Raaz Bhuyan. Bhuyan recently spoke to Livewire on why he likes Woolies. Here’s some of what he had to say:

It’s a buy for us. Obviously, food inflation’s coming through, and Woolworths has got pricing power, so it’s good for inflation. But the other big thing that we like is Brad Banducci, who’s the CEO, has invested quite heavily on the online side. And now, their online business is twice the size of its nearest competitor. And our view is in five years’ time, they’ll be even bigger because that part of the business is growing faster. So, it is a buy for us.

So that’s pretty emphatic. The inflation point is an interesting one to note specifically. Inflation, long a dormant issue, has raised its head once more this year. So when investors are looking for ‘defensive’ qualities, inflation is arguably now a factor, in addition to the traditional ‘recession-proof’ qualities defensive investors usually look for.

But consumer staples businesses such as Woolworths can be inherently inflation resistant to a certain extent as well. It all comes down to that needs-based business model. No one likes paying more for food and household essentials. But that doesn’t stop most customers at the end of the day, especially if Woolies’ competitors are also raising prices.

So that’s why this ASX investing expert likes Woolworths shares today. It will be interesting to see if Bhuyan’s predictions turn out to be accurate.

At the time of writing, the Woolworths share price is up 0.46% at $37.08. This ASX 200 blue chip has a market capitalisation of $44.73 billion, with a dividend yield of 2.53%.

The post Are Woolworths shares worth buying for their defensive properties? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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The Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price finished March up 6.6% for the month.

At the closing bell on 28 February, Santos shares were trading for $7.26 and by the close on 31 March they were worth $7.74.

Here’s what helped propel the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) energy giant higher.

Oil prices up and new oil zone discovered

With the bulk of its revenue coming from oil and gas, the Santos share price has benefited from rising energy prices.

As some of the biggest economies in the world embargoed Russian oil and gas imports following its invasion of Ukraine, Brent crude oil topped US$128 per barrel on 8 March. That was up from US$78 per barrel on 1 January.

Brent slipped from those highs to finish the month at US$108 per barrel, up 6.6% from the US$105 per barrel it was worth on 1 March, according to data from Bloomberg. That 6.6% gain, as you may have noticed, is in line with the Santos share price gain over the month.

The ASX 200 energy stock also released positive news over the month.

On 21 March, Santos reported a 17% increase to prior flow rate estimates from its Tanumbirini 2H and 3H horizontal gas wells in the Beetaloo Basin located in the Northern Territory. Santos operates the project as a joint venture with Tamboran Resources Ltd (ASX: TBN).

Two days later, on 23 March, the Santos share price slipped amid sliding oil prices despite the company reporting a significant oil discovery at its Pavo-1 exploration well in the Bedout sub-basin, offshore Western Australia.

Commenting on that oil discovery, Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher said: “The Pavo-1 success is expected to support a potential low-cost tie-back to the first phase of the proposed Dorado development, with Pavo north having an estimated breakeven cost of less than US$10 per barrel.”

Santos share price snapshot

The Santos share price is up 21.3% in 2022, compared to a year-to-date loss of 0.6% posted by the ASX 200.

Santos shares are up 1.96% in early morning trade today, at $8.075 per share.

The post Here’s what drove the Santos share price 6% higher in March appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 ASX shares to buy in the hottest sector right now: experts
• What sent ASX mining shares flaming higher in March?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• The Santos share price has gained 26% this year. Is it too late to buy?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

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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