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Due to increasing demand for lithium for electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy, the white metal has increased in value materially over the last 12 months.

This led to strong gains being recorded by a large number of lithium stocks in 2021. And while some of the bigger players, such as Pilbara Mineral Ltd (ASX: PLS), have struggled to build on this in 2022, that hasn’t stopped some emerging players from rocketing higher.

Listed below are three of the best performing lithium stocks on the All Ordinaries index in 2022:

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

The Core Lithium share price has rocketed 80% since the start of the year. There have been a couple of key catalysts for this impressive gain. The main one was the announcement of a binding agreement with auto giant Tesla. The two parties have signed an agreement for the supply of 110,000 tonnes of lithium spodumene concentrate across a four-year period from its Finniss Lithium Project near Darwin. Also getting investors excited were some drilling results from the Carlton deposit of the project. Management advised that eight of the nine holes intersected spodumene bearing pegmatite mineralisation. It expects this to underpin an upgrade to the mineral resource of the project.

Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL)

The Piedmont Lithium share price has been a strong performer in 2022 with a 41% gain. This was driven largely by the release of its 2022 lithium development plans. Piedmont revealed that it expects to double its US lithium hydroxide production to 60,000 tonnes per year. All in all, the company ultimately plans to produce or have offtake rights to an estimated 500,000 tonnes per year of SC6 production. This leaves the US-based lithium miner well-placed to meet demand for the metal in North America.

AVZ Minerals Ltd (ASX: AVZ)

The AVZ Minerals share price has started 2022 strongly and is up 18.1% since the turn of the year. Investors reacted positively to news that the lithium explorer has committed to invest $25 million to advance the drilling program at the Manono Lithium and Tin Project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This program is being supported by a recent $75 million capital raising.

The post These are the top performing ASX lithium stocks so far in 2022 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Up 414% in a year, why is the Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) share price leaping 11% today?
• Why Core Lithium, Nickel Mines, SG Fleet, and Whitehaven Coal are pushing higher
• Warning: Only 4 ASX shares just added to ASX 300 are profitable
• Why Argosy Minerals, Block, Core Lithium, and Mineral Resources are storming 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. 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 Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR) share price rocketed following the release of its half year results on 10 March.

While the company reported strong growth, investors appeared excited about the reinstated dividend. This is the first dividend that has been declared since the final FY17 dividend.

As such, Myer shares surged 24.39% on the day, touching a 3-month high of 53 cents. However, since then, the company’s shares have slightly retraced to close at 51 cents on Friday.

Below we take a look at the company’s financial performance and its interim dividend for investors.

Myer restarts dividend after robust H1 FY22 performance

In the half year report for the 2022 financial year, Myer recorded increases across key metrics.

In summary, sales increased by 8.5% to $1,517.4 million over the previous corresponding period. This was predominately underpinned by a combination of its online platform and store network despite COVID-19 disruptions.

Following the above result, underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) lifted by 55.2% to $32.3 million.

The group advised that momentum is being built as it moves into the second half of FY22.

In the first five weeks, Myer department store sales are up 15.2%, with stores up 9.3%, and online up 48.6%.

Based on Myer’s performance, the board declared a fully franked interim dividend of 1.5 cents per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3.7% based on the closing share price on 9 March (before the results).

When can Myer shareholders expect payment?

Myer will pay the interim dividend to eligible shareholders on 12 May.

While this is some time away, to be eligible you’ll need to own Myer shares before Wednesday 23 March. This is when its shares will trade ex-dividend, meaning anyone who purchases on this date or after, won’t be eligible.

It is worth noting that on the ex-dividend day, the share price traditionally falls in proportion to the dividend amount.

The post Hoping to bag the first Myer (ASX:MYR) dividend in 4 years? Here’s what you need to know appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why Block, Myer, Paladin Energy, and Qantas shares are storming higher
• Myer (ASX:MYR) share price up 21% amid strong half-year result and first dividend since FY17

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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ASX growth shares have seen plenty of volatility over the last three months.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to big oil price swings. Rapid inflation is adding more uncertainty for interest rates.

But after all of this volatility, are these two ASX growth shares now an opportunity?

VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT)

This is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that looks to invest in some of the leading US businesses with strong economic moats.

An economic moat refers to the competitive advantages that a business has. Moats can come in many different forms, such as brand power, intellectual property, cost advantages, and so on.

The investment analysts at Morningstar give the businesses that they cover a ‘moat’ rating. It’s only the businesses that the analysts think will almost certainly continue making excess profits for at least a decade (and, probably, for two decades or more) that get counted as having a wide moat.

From that list of businesses with long-term competitive advantages, the analysts only choose stocks for the portfolio that are at good value compared to the estimate of fair value.

The MOAT ETF provides disclosure about its biggest positions. On 17 March 2022, the positions with a weighting of at least 2.75% of the portfolio were: Cheniere Energy, Lockheed Martin, Corteva, Berkshire Hathaway, Bristol Myers Squibb, Altria, Dominion Energy, Wells Fargo, and Merck & Co.

As VanEck says, performance is not a guarantee of future results. Over the past five years, it has produced net returns of an average of 17.1% per annum.

Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT)

Cettire is a leading luxury retailer that sells many thousands of products from hundreds of brands. The Cettire share price has dropped 56% since the start of 2022.

The ASX growth share’s core business is growing quickly, even as markets reopen from COVID-19 lockdowns. In January 2022, the company achieved gross revenue growth of 242%.

Cettire said with its FY22 half-year result that it has started to unlock the growth opportunity in multiple high-value luxury goods markets. The company’s management is running the business to maximise revenue through investing in marketing and winning customers to drive long-term shareholder value.

The company recently announced that it was entering the Chinese online luxury market, as well as a partnership with China’s largest online retail platform JD.com. Cettire says this is a $150 billion potential market opportunity.

The JD.com partnership will help Cettire drive traffic, brand awareness, and accelerate growth. JD.com has more than 500 million active customers.

The ASX growth share said it has been developing a local talent pool in mainland China focusing on world-class engineering talent.

The post Are these 2 top ASX growth shares buys right now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Cettire Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cettire Limited and VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price could be about to soar higher, according to one investment expert.

Morgan Stanley thinks that the Qantas share price is undervalued. The broker has a price target close to 40% higher than where it is now.

What has happened to the Qantas share price in 2022?

Qantas shares have continued to behave with a lot of volatility. The COVID-19 impacts are lessening, but now the airline has to contend with much higher oil prices amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

As a transportation company, fuel is one of the most significant costs for the business.

How much will this affect demand for flights? Only time will tell. Qantas will also have to decide how much of the price increases to pass onto passengers.

Qantas shareholders continue to wait for the company to stop making losses. The last report included a painful loss.

FY22 half-year earnings wrap

Last month, Qantas reported another result of losses.

In the six months to 31 December 2021, Qantas reported that it made an underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) loss of $245 million. The underlying loss before tax was $1.28 billion, while the statutory loss before tax was $622 million.

Qantas blamed the Omicron variant of COVID-19 for the unfavourable impact in its results to the tune of approximately $650 million. The Qantas share price has been volatile since the onset of COVID-19.

However, the airline company has been working hard on reducing costs. Qantas says the recovery program was on track to deliver more than $900 million of annualised cost benefits by the end of FY22. This is ahead of schedule.

While COVID-19 has hurt flying, Qantas has seen a record performance by its freight division. This has offset some of the cash losses. There has been a lack of cargo capacity on passenger aircraft. But, management says there has been a permanent shift in e-commerce patterns. It expects freight operations to remain higher than pre-COVID levels.

According to the airline, the Qantas loyalty division performed strongly, with a “strong” cash contribution and underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of $127 million.

Outlook

The Qantas share price can be influenced by commentary about its outlook.

In terms of a recovery from COVID-19, the business says while travel demand is strengthening and there have been positive developments on international borders, Omicron was likely to negatively impact group EBIT by an estimated $650 million in the second half of FY22.

The group domestic capacity is expected to be 68% of pre-COVID levels in the third quarter of FY22, increasing to between 90% to 100% in the fourth quarter.

The group international capacity is expected to be 22% of pre-COVID levels in the third quarter, increasing to 44% in the fourth quarter.

Qantas share price target

The airline is rated as a buy by the broker Morgan Stanley, with a price target of $7. It’s expecting a return to profit in FY23 as demand returns to flying.

The post Is the Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price about to soar 40% higher? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why Arafura, Block, Magellan, and Qantas shares are storming higher
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• Qantas share price lifts as CEO takes to the skies
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Magellan jumps on buyback news, travel shares take off
• Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price lifting amid sustainable fuel deal

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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Once a week I like to look at ASIC’s short position report to find out which shares are being targeted by short sellers.

This is because I believe it is well worth keeping a close eye on short interest levels as high levels can sometimes be a sign that something isn’t quite right with a company.

With that in mind, here are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX this week according to ASIC:

• Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) continues as the most shorted ASX share despite its short interest easing slightly to 17.7%. It appears as though short sellers aren’t confident with its valuation or the travel market recovery.
• Betmakers Technology Group Ltd (ASX: BET) has seen its short interest rise again to 12.8%. Reports have suggested that major shareholder, Tom Waterhouse, has been lending some of his shares to short sellers. That’s not going to help with sentiment.
• Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN) has short interest of 11.9%, which is down slightly week on week. Short sellers have been going after this infection prevention company after it announced a major and disruptive change to its sales model in the United States.
• Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) has short interest of 10.4%, which is down slightly week on week. Short sellers appear to believe the market could be too optimistic on the travel market recovery.
• Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB) has short interest of 9.2%, which is down sharply week on week. Short sellers may have concerns over this biotech’s balance sheet after continued cash burn and disappointing trial results.
• Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) has seen its short interest reduce to 9%. This medical device company has been underperforming over the last 12 months. Which isn’t a good mix with shares trading on lofty earnings multiples when rates are rising and valuations and being questioned.
• Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) has seen its short interest remain flat at 9%. Rising marketing costs, inventory issues, sales declines, and the constant threat of Amazon have been weighing on this ecommerce company’s shares.
• Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL) has short interest of 8.9%, which is down week on week. As with Kogan, this ecommerce company’s poor form has been weighing on sentiment. Especially with Apple’s privacy setting changes appearing to be hurting margins by leading to higher marketing costs.
• EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) has seen its short interest ease to 8.7%. Short sellers may have concerns over its valuation as rates rise and valuations are reassessed.
• Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) has 8.5% of its shares held short, which is up slightly week on week. This could be due to concerns that demand for this artificial intelligence data services company’s offering could be softening due to tech giants potentially taking things in-house.

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

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• These were the best performing ASX 200 share last week
• The Appen (ASX:APX) share price is down 16% in a month. Is now the time to buy?
• Has the bottom been and gone for EML (ASX:EML) shares?
• Lucky 13? Why the Kogan (ASX:KGN) share price is leaping 13% today
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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 Appen Ltd, Betmakers Technology Group Ltd, EML Payments, Kogan.com ltd, Nanosonics Limited, POLYNOVO FPO, and REDBUBBLE FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended EML Payments, Kogan.com ltd, and Nanosonics Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Betmakers Technology Group Ltd, Flight Centre Travel Group Limited, and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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It hasn’t been an easy time to own small-cap ASX shares.

The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries (ASX: XSO) index is down almost 9% this year, and the loss would be more if it weren’t for the resources sector holding it up.

But one could argue that now is a great time to pick up some bargains and watch them grow. 

A couple of experts each recently singled out a small-cap that they would buy right now.

Foreign exchange is always a hot business

OFX Group Ltd (ASX: OFX) is the favourite small-cap share for 1851 Capital portfolio manager Martin Hickson.

“They operate in the foreign exchange space and trade on a P/E of 20 times. They had an investor day … which was very positive,” he told Livewire.

“I think what investors are missing is that a lot of the revenue and earnings from that business today comes from the small business and enterprise space.”

Hickson has indeed put his money where his mouth is, as OFX shares are one of the top ASX shareholdings in the 1851 fund.

“There are only two brokers that cover the stock, it is not well held by the market,” he said.

“They made a highly accretive acquisition a couple of months ago in Canada, so, we think that the P/E can re-rate and the earnings consensus forecasts have been understating their growth.”

The OFX share price has rocketed 133% in the past 12 months and advanced 17.4% last week alone. It closed Friday’s session at $2.50.

The stock is also one of the largest holdings for Monash Investors, portfolio manager Sebastian Correia told The Motley Fool.

“It’s still got a while to go before it reaches our price target,” he said earlier this month.

“I don’t think the market had really appreciated that it was a turnaround story that had already turned around. Management was already delivering against a lot of their core operational objectives.”

Founder and CEO buying up these ASX shares 

Hayborough Investment Partners portfolio manager Ben Rundle likes the look of chemicals provider DGL Group Ltd (ASX: DGL).

“They do storage as well as recycling of those chemicals,” he said. 

“The beauty of this industry is that there are high barriers to entry in terms of the capital cost and the permits that are required to be able to operate.”

According to Rundle, the founder and CEO is doing a “fantastic job”.

“Simon Henry … owns just shy of 60% of the business,” he said.

“He’s a very good capital allocator and he’s already made about eight acquisitions since they listed. I think that it is a really exciting company and it’ll be much bigger in a few years’ time.”

Henry recently bought another 500,000 shares and on Monday, DGL will join the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

The DGL share price closed Friday’s session at $2.97. That’s almost 200% above the company’s initial public offering (IPO) price of $1 per share. The stock commenced trading on the ASX in May 2021.

The post 2 small-cap ASX shares to rule them all this year appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why did the OFX Group (ASX:OFX) share price rocket 17% this week?
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Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended DGL Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended DGL 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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Growth shares are very much out of favour at the moment, with some technology stocks halving the past few months.

The team at Wilsons Advisory admitted the immediate outlook for growth shares is still not great.

“With bond yields continuing their upward climb during March, the environment for growth stocks still presents a headwind in the short-term,” read its recent memo to clients.

“It may not be until mid-year when greater clarity emerges on both the pace and ultimate level of interest rates in the US.”

But long-term investors know that if you have businesses that have structural drivers for growth then it will overcome short-term macro-economic factors like inflation and wars.

“Our view remains that over the medium to long-term, if companies can grow their earnings above market, share prices will follow.”

As such, the Wilsons analysts presented their case for why they love 3 particular ASX shares that are taking up 11% of the Wilsons Australian Equity Focus List.

‘Long-term structural growth qualities’ will win in the end

The team stated it currently has a “positive stance” on Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL), James Hardie Industries PLC (ASX: JHX) and Seek Limited (ASX: SEK).

The memo showed how all 3 stocks have had their prices slashed more than the MSCI Australia Growth index, indicating a discount to the general market.

“In our view, all 3 companies provide long-term structural growth qualities which are presently being discounted by the market,” stated the team.

“We still believe they can grow earnings well ahead of the market over the next 3 years.”

The big catalyst for gaming provider Aristocrat is expected to be the release of its first-half results on 19 May.

“Near-term growth could be closer to +25% as land-based gaming continues to rebound,” the Wilsons memo read.

“Currently trading on a PE multiple of 21x, Aristocrat does not seem expensive relative to its earnings growth potential.”

With rising interest rates, many investors think that building materials provider James Hardie will suffer from a downturn in housing construction.

But Wilsons analysts disagree.

“We believe the James Hardies’ growth is less dependent on the housing cycle than many believe given; 1) proven ability to grow through the cycle; 2) emerging B2C proposition, and 3) EU assets are much earlier in their lifecycle.”

The team noted that the James Hardie share price is currently trading at 10% below the industrials index, even though its 10-year average is 40% above it.

As for jobs classifieds site Seek, Wilsons analysts think that the share price could exceed $40 if the company can successfully execute its plans.

That’s more than a 30% premium on the current level.

“We think the market is still too focused on ad volumes, as distinct from revenue – which should hold up better than volumes as SEK continues on value-based pricing and removal of the recruiter fee discount,” read the memo.

“We believe the market is likely to underestimate the benefit from the switch to value-based pricing, much like it did with Carsales.com Ltd (ASX: CAR) and REA Group Limited (ASX: REA).”

The post 3 ASX shares going for way cheaper than they’re worth: Wilsons appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why buying ASX dividend shares based only on yield can deliver poor results: fundie
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• Analysts name 2 ASX growth shares to buy with 40%+ upside

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended REA Group Limited, SEEK Limited, and carsales.com Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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If you’re wanting some ASX 200 dividend shares to boost your income, then you may want to check out the two listed below.

Here’s why these dividend shares have been rated as buys recently:

Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO)

If you’re not averse to investing in the resources sector, then it could be worth considering Rio Tinto. This mining giant is being tipped to reward shareholders with huge dividends in the coming years thanks to favourable commodity prices and its return to production growth.

Goldman Sachs is one of a number of brokers that is very positive on the mining behemoth. It has a buy rating and $131.50 price target on the company’s shares. The broker likes Rio Tinto due to its valuation and strong free cash flow generation. Goldman also highlights the miner’s compelling low emission aluminium exposure through its ELYSIS inert anode technology, which it believes could be worth billions.

As for dividends, based on the current Rio Tinto share price of $110.34, Goldman is forecasting fully franked dividend yields of 11% in FY 2022 and FY 2023.

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

Another ASX 200 dividend share that analysts are positive on is Telstra. They believe the telco giant could be a top option for income investors due to its positive outlook.

This is being underpinned by the highly successful execution of its transformative T22 strategy and the impending growth-focused T25 strategy. The latter includes targets such as driving strong earnings per share growth in the coming years.

The team at Morgans is positive on Telstra. It currently has an add rating and $4.55 price target on the company’s shares. The broker feels the market is undervaluing its shares on a sum of the parts basis.

In respect to dividends, Morgans continues to expect fully franked dividends per share of 16 cents for FY 2022 and FY 2023. Based on the current Telstra share price of $3.95, this implies yields of 4%.

The post 2 ASX 200 dividend shares analysts are urging income investors to buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
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• ‘Highly opportunistic’: Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) share price higher despite Turquoise takeover setback

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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On Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finished a very strong week in a positive fashion. The benchmark index rose 0.6% to 7,294.4 points.

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

ASX 200 expected to push higher

The Australian share market looks set to start the week on a positive note. This follows a strong finish to last week on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 59 points or 0.8% higher this morning. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones rose 0.8%, the S&P 500 climbed 1.2%, and the Nasdaq stormed 2% higher.

Oil prices rise

Energy producers Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could have a decent start to the week after oil prices pushed higher. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 1.7% to US$104.70 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price rose 1.2% to US$107.93 a barrel. However, this couldn’t stop oil prices recording their second successive weekly decline.

A2 Milk shares rated as a buy

The A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price could be in the buy zone according to the team at Bell Potter. This morning the broker retained its buy rating but trimmed its price target on the struggling infant formula company’s shares to $7.15. While Bell Potter has reduced its earnings forecasts to reflect higher ingredient costs, it still believes A2 Milk can double its earnings per share by FY 2026.

Gold price falls

Gold miners Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could have a subdued start to the week after the gold price softened on Friday night. According to CNBC, the spot gold price fell 0.7% to US$1,933.9 an ounce. Gold had its worst week in months after demand for safe haven assets weakened.

Iron ore price rises

The shares of BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) could have a positive start to the week after iron ore prices rose on Friday. According to Metal Bulletin, the spot benchmark iron ore price climbed 3% to US$151.35 a tonne. This follows a more positive growth outlook for the Chinese economy which has encouraged bullish market sentiment in iron ore futures.

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

More reading

• Oil price could hit US$200 per barrel this year: expert
• These were the worst performers on the ASX 200 last week
• Is the bull market over?
• These ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts on Friday
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy 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 recommended A2 Milk. 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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If you’re looking to bolster your portfolio with some blue chip shares, you may want to look at the three listed below.

Here’s why these blue chip ASX 200 shares are highly rated right now:

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

The first blue chip ASX 200 share to look at is CSL. It is a leading biotechnology company behind the CSL Behring and Seqirus businesses. Combined, these two businesses have a portfolio of life-saving and lucrative therapies and vaccines which are generating billions of dollars in sales each year. In addition, the company invests in the region of 10% to 11% of these sales back into research and development activities every year. This ensures that CSL has a pipeline of potentially lucrative products to drive its future growth. The proposed blockbuster acquisition of Vifor Pharma will also add to its portfolio and boost its growth outlook.

Citi is a fan and has a buy rating and $335.00 price target on CSL’s shares. Its analysts believe that plasma collections will rebound beyond pre-pandemic levels this year. Citi expects this to be a big boost to investor sentiment which could support a re-rating of its shares.

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

Another blue chip ASX 200 share to look at is Goodman Group. It is a leading integrated commercial and industrial property company with a portfolio of in-demand properties with exposure to key growth markets such as ecommerce. Thanks to strong demand and a material development pipeline, Goodman has been tipped to continue its solid growth in the coming years.

The team at Citi is also very positive on Goodman. Its analysts currently have a buy rating and $29.50 price target on the company’s shares. They believe the company could outperform its earnings guidance in FY 2022.

REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)

A final ASX blue chip ASX 200 share to look at is REA Group. It is a leading provider of property and property-related services via websites and mobile apps across Australia and Asia. It is best-known for the realestate.com.au website which is dominating the ANZ market with 3.3 times more site visits than its nearest competitor. Looking ahead, thanks to this dominance, a strong housing market, and new acquisitions and revenue streams, REA Group appears well-positioned for long term growth.

Goldman Sachs is very positive on the company’s outlook. The broker currently has a buy rating rating and $167.00 price target on its shares.

The post 3 buy-rated blue chip ASX 200 shares according to experts 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 CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended REA 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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