Tag: Motley Fool

The Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price has gone up by 20% over the last month. But what about now, is the business worth buying?

Fortescue’s outgoing CEO, Elizabeth Gaines, has partly attributed the strength of the performance of Fortescue shares down to its expansion into green energy and other initiatives.

Fortescue CEO Elizabeth Gaines recently said according to The Australian:

If you track our share price over the last three, four years or longer, it will just match the benchmark. But more recently, in the last two to three months, we’ve seen that decoupling. We’ve actually outperformed the fall in the iron ore price and we outperform the peers.

What do analysts think of the Fortescue share price?

Different brokers have various ratings on the company.

Morgan Stanley currently rates the iron ore miner as a sell, with a price target of $14.05, suggesting a possible drop of the shares by around 25%. This broker is concerned about the direction of the iron ore price, leaving Fortescue vulnerable.

However, in the exact opposite of those thoughts, the broker Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) believes that Fortescue is a buy because China could enact policies that help the iron ore price. The price target is $21 – around 10% higher than where it is today.

Morgans’ current rating on the business is a ‘hold’. However, whilst it did recently significantly lift its price target to $16.90, the broker is not a fan of the shift to renewables by the company. There are opportunities in other resources, or at least focusing on its core competency of iron.

Expectations of a big dividend

There may be questions about what direction the Fortescue share price is headed, but brokers are expecting a big dividend in FY22.

Morgans thinks that Fortescue’s grossed-up dividend yield this financial year is going to be 9.7%.

Macquarie has estimated that Fortescue’s grossed-up dividend yield for FY22 is going to be 14.9%.

That adds to the large dividends that Fortescue has already paid over the last couple of years.

Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) is making progress

FFI has been announcing some sizeable deals in recent months.

For example, it has announced with the Queensland Government the construction of the world’s largest electrolyser, renewable industry and equipment factory at Gladstone.

FFI said that the global green energy manufacturing centre (GEM) will be the first step in a series of projects. The GEM will be delivered in specialist production lines according to the requirements of FFI and its customers, including the manufacture of wind turbines, long-range electric cabling, solar photovoltaic cells, electrolysers and associated infrastructure.

Subject to customer demand, the total investment could be up to AU$1 billion, or more, as orders firm for electrolysers and other green industry equipment. The initial electrolyser investment is expected to be up to AU$114 million, with the first electrolysers scheduled for production in early 2023.

Another announcement that could be affecting the Fortescue share price was the announcement that FFI will become the largest supplier of green hydrogen to the United Kingdom after signing a multi-billion-pound deal with construction giant J C Bamford Excavators (JCB) and Ryze Hydrogen (Ryze).

Fortescue Future Industries said JCB and Ryze will purchase 10% of FFI’s global green hydrogen production. FFI’s green hydrogen production is expected to grow to 15 million tonnes of green hydrogen per year by 2030 and then to 50 million tonnes per year in the following decade.

The post Up 20% in a month: Is the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price a buy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns Fortescue Metals Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie 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 Humm Group Ltd (ASX: HUM) share price is shooting higher on Monday morning.

At the time of writing, the financial services company’s shares are up 16% to 86 cents.

Why is the Humm share price shooting higher?

Investors have been bidding the Humm share price higher this morning after the release of a promising announcement.

While the initial purpose of the announcement was to reveal the exit of its Chair, Andrew Abercrombie, it included a piece of information that got investors excited.

In respect to the former, Mr Abercrombie has stepped down as Chair and will be replaced with Christine Christian AO.

What has got investors excited?

The Humm share price was given a major boost today after the company revealed that it has received approaches from third parties to acquire all or part of Humm Group.

No details on the approaches have been provided. However, the company intends to engage with these proposals to determine whether they are capable of becoming definitive offers that are in the best interests of the company and its shareholders.

The Humm Board has warned that there is no assurance that any transaction will occur. It also advised that it considers that the business is performing in line with expectations and that it has significant potential, both in Australia and overseas. Furthermore, the Board notes that the company remains profitable and has no corporate debt.

In light of this, it feels the company’s shares are undervalued by recent trading prices on the ASX and is keen to maximise value for all shareholders.

Humm’s Independent Chair, Christine Christian, commented: “On behalf of my fellow directors I thank Andrew for his service and his counsel as Chairman of the Group. Andrew was a founding shareholder of the original FlexiRent business some 20 years ago now and the Board continues to benefit from his insights and corporate knowledge. I look forward to working with my fellow directors to assess the proposals put before us and importantly, to support the management team as they implement the company’s strategy to grow the business profitably.”

The post Why is the Humm (ASX:HUM) share price jumping 16% today? 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. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Humm 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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Owners of Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL) shares are likely excited by its potential takeover of London-listed, Playtech Plc.

However, the company’s $5 billion takeover offer is still working its way through certain obstacles, including a rival bidder.

But, if successful, the takeover will see the company operating in the ‘real money gaming’ (RMG) space – one which is illegal in Australia.

At the time of writing, the Aristocrat Leisure share price is $42.58, the same as its previous close.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 0.54% right now.

Let’s take a closer look at the deal and what it could mean for the gaming technology company.

Can RGM boost the Aristocrat Leisure share price?

The Aristocrat Leisure share price is currently 6% lower than it was when it announced its plan to acquire gaming software supplier, Playtech.

Still, many in the market are excited about the company’s break into contentious RMG offerings.

RMG is online betting that sees users gambling with real money. Generally, games that offer users the option to buy tokens or the likes to bet on games aren’t considered RMG.

RMG is banned under Australia’s Interactive Gambling Act 2001. However, according to Morgans, the United States RMG market is expected to be worth US$70 billion (around $98 billion) in the future.

Playtech has already broken into the RGM market. Thus, the takeover could see the company with an entirely new growth market.

Mogan senior analyst Alexander Mees commented on Aristocrat Leisure’s planned takeover and what it could mean for the company’s shares:

It expands and diversifies [Aristocrat Leisure’s] total addressable market from a $230 billion market comprising land-based gaming and mobile games, to a $300 billion market that will now include online RMG.

The broker slapped a $52.90 price target on Aristocrat Leisure’s shares in the wake of the acquisition’s announcement.

It has since lowered that guidance to $51.50. That still represents a 20% upside on its current level.

Right now, the Aristocrat Leisure share price is 36% higher than it was at the start of 2021.

The post What could the Playtech deal mean for Aristocrat (ASX:ALL) shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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Shares in insurance giant AUB Group Ltd (ASX: AUB) are lifting from the open today and are currently 0.30% higher, trading at $23.54 apiece.

AUB shares are on the move today as investors respond to a company announcement advising of an upward revision to its FY22 guidance.

Following a period of positive trading momentum already in FY22, the company reckons it will pull in a profit slightly ahead of its previous results. Here are the details.

What did AUB announce?

After factoring in expected 1H FY22 growth of $4.8 million to $5.8 million, underscored by $31 million to $32 million in 1H FY22 NZ tech investment earnings, the company has bumped its profit guidance for FY22.

Today’s release also notes that the first half underlying net profit after tax (UNPAT) is anticipated to be in the range of $29.5 million to $30.5 million, higher than originally expected.

For comparison, UNPAT for 1H FY21 was $26.2 million, adjusted for profits from the Altius sale and JobKeeper receipts.

AUB had previously advised it expects earnings of $70 million to $73 million at the bottom line, announced to the market in August 2021.

This was on a solid backdrop of around 26% growth in UNPAT for FY21 to $67 million, allowing a fully franked dividend of 39 cents per share.

The bolus of growth in FY21 was underscored by organic growth primarily in its Australian broking division, as retail investors piled into equity markets amid statewide lockdowns.

Alas, the company says these positive earnings trends are set to continue this financial year. AUB intends to announce its half year results on 22 February 2022, according to the announcement.

AUB share price summary

The AUB share price has outperformed these last 12 months, gaining 38% in that time.

Over the past year to date shares have climbed 45%, however are down 1% in the red this last month.

The post Earnings Upgrade: What’s got the AUB (ASX:AUB) share price spiking today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The author has no positions 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 Austbrokers Holdings 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 Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: TLX) share price is all over the place in early trade this morning after the company announced a significant update.

The biotechnology company’s shares opened higher today, peaking at $8.15, before plunging to a low $7.70. At the time of writing, its shares are hovering around their previous closing price of $7.79.

Let’s take a look at what might be impacting the Telix share price today.

What did Telix announce?

In today’s announcement, Telix advised it has received the tick of approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its lead product, Illuccix.

The company has developed Illuccix for the diagnostic imaging of men with prostate cancer. It is the first commercially available product in the United States that provides access to what is known as gallium-68 PSMA-PET imaging.

Telix’s prostate cancer diagnostic tool has been gaining momentum for investors in recent months.

The tool will be used on prostate cancer patients at risk of metastasis and those who have a biochemical recurrence.

Tulane Cancer Centre medical director Dr Oliver Sartor was full of praise for the imaging tool.

This product offers a level of flexibility and accessibility to healthcare professionals we really haven’t seen before in this class of products, and may help us provide better patient experiences as a result.

Telix already has approval from the Therapeutic Good Administration for Illuccix in Australia. And the company is working on market authorisation in Europe and Canada.

Management comment

Commenting on the announcement, Telix CEO and managing director Dr Christian Behrenbruch said:

This heralds a new era of patient and physician access to gallium-based PSMA-PET imaging and marks an important new stage for Telix as we bring our first commercial product to market in the United States.

Improved imaging can provide physicians with the insights to determine the most appropriate treatment pathway and give patients in the US access to a specific and sensitive imaging tool for the detection of prostate cancer throughout the body.

Telix share price snap shot

The Telix share price has blasted ahead by more than 102% in the past 12 months. The company’s shares have also shot up 10.5% in the past month.

The biopharmaceutical company has a market capitalisation of around $2.3 billion based on its current share price.

The post What’s with the Telix (ASX:TLX) share price yo-yo today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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It hasn’t been an all too merry December for the Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX) share price this year. Shares in the battery materials and technology company have sunk around 25% in value since the beginning of the month.

In contrast, the Novonix share price rallied ~12.5% in December last year. Since then, the company’s shares have gone on to be the best performing of the entire S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) in the last year — rising more than 750% in the past 12 months. However, it appears the heat has recently died off on this red hot stock.

Let’s take a look at what might be hampering this electrifying company in December.

Valuations pulled into question on Novonix share price

After hitting an all-time high of $12.47 on 2 December 2021, the Novonix share price violently tumbled 27% the following day. Perhaps the most unsettling characteristic of this price decline was that it occurred without any announcement from the company.

The reversal in the battery testing and anode material developer followed an article in The Australian Financial Review a day earlier. The article highlighted the disparity between the market capitalisation and revenue of many ‘green’ investment plays.

In the case of Novonix, it held a valuation of around $6 billion on revenues of $5.3 million prior to its fall. This reflected a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of ~1,132 times. For comparison, another ASX-listed company developing green technologies, Calix Ltd (ASX: CXL), currently trades on a P/S ratio of approximately 50 times.

As we have covered previously, the publication noted there seemed to be “dozens, or perhaps hundreds” of lithium or green-orientated companies that will be driven more by sentiment than financials over the next year.

Since the fall on 3 December, the Novonix share price has recovered around 10%. However, the company’s shares are still a significant 39% away from their 52-week high.

Board members increase holdings

The latest news from Novonix, published to the ASX, involves two “change of director’s interest” notices. According to the notices, executive director Robert Natter and non-executive chair Anthony Bellas exercised their performance rights to acquire more Novonix shares last week.

Furthermore, both Natter and Bellas acquired 200,000 Novonix shares following the exercising of their performance rights. At the current Novonix share price, that equates to $1.806 million worth of shares each.

Finally, the company’s shares remain up 642% year-to-date. At the time of writing, Novonix is trading at $9.02 per share.

The post The Novonix share price has tumbled 25% so far in December. What’s going wrong? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has 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.

In 12 days, the curtain will close on 2021 and cryptocurrency investors will likely be uncorking the champagne following another banner year. Amid volatile trading, the aggregate value of digital currencies has risen by 185% year-to-date, through late evening, Dec. 16.

Without question, the “Big Two” — Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) — have played a significant role in pushing the total market value of cryptocurrencies higher. This dynamic duo makes up 62% of the crypto market’s $2.2 trillion value.

However, 2021 has also been a year where cryptocurrencies with clear-cut competitive advantages shone bright. When I say “competitive advantages,” I’m referring to blockchain projects that demonstrate a competitive edge over the other 15,700-plus listed cryptocurrencies. Differentiation is absolutely imperative for digital currencies to stand out in an increasingly crowded space.

The crypto space is full of pretenders

Unfortunately, there are also plenty of pretenders. Two good examples being the ultra-popular dog-themed coins, Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) and Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE).

Shiba Inu and Dogecoin are two of the most-searched digital currencies in the U.S., and they arguably generate the greatest amount of social media buzz. That’s because these two coins have delivered life-altering returns, with SHIB tokens up more than 45,000,000% this year and Dogecoin higher by a more “modest” 3,400%.

It also hasn’t hurt that both payment coins have landed major merchants in 2021. Movie theater chain AMC Entertainment and online retailer Newegg Commerce plan to accept SHIB, whereas electric-vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors will accept DOGE for select merchandise.

Unfortunately, the ability to generate social media buzz and “grow the community,” as crypto enthusiasts like to say, has no bearing on a project’s real-world utility or future. Neither Shiba Inu nor Dogecoin offers anything that resembles a competitive edge or true differentiation.

Shiba Inu is nothing more than an ERC-20 token built on the Ethereum blockchain. It’s subject to the same high transaction fees and processing lag that can occasionally plague the ultra-popular network. Meanwhile, Dogecoin’s transaction fees are markedly higher than a number of other popular payment coins, and its network isn’t capable of handling all that many transactions per second.

Shiba Inu and Dogecoin are what look to be fleeting investment opportunities in the crypto space.

These digital currencies offer true competitive advantages

By comparison, a small handful of blockchain projects stand out as offering true competitive advantages, and therefore genuine staying power over the long term. Here are three perfect examples.

Avalanche

The first digital currency that offers clear-cut advantages over the vast majority of the crypto landscape is smart contract-based blockchain network Avalanche (CRYPTO: AVAX). Smart contracts help to verify, facilitate, and enforce the negotiation of a contract between two parties.

Avalanche stands out for the scalability, speed, and compatibility of its blockchain network.

In terms of scale, Avalanche’s development team notes the network is able to handle more than 4,500 transactions per second (TPS). To put this figure into some perspective, payment processor Visa claims to handle up to 24,000 TPS. Comparatively, Bitcoin (before its Taproot upgrade) and Ethereum are only able to handle a respective 7 TPS and 13 TPS.

Avalanche is quick, too, with a block finality of less than two seconds. This is a fancy way of saying that transactions are completed (i.e., validated as true and settled) in less than two seconds. This compares to Ethereum, which takes around six minutes for block finality, and Bitcoin, which has a block finality of around 60 minutes.

But the most exciting aspect of Avalanche just might be that the Ethereum Virtual Machine is already operating on its blockchain. Instead of decentralized application (dApp) developers dealing with high transaction fees and network congestion with Ethereum, they can move their projects to Avalanche and enjoy lower costs and improved network efficiency. This is what a competitive advantage looks like.

Nano

A small number of payment network-oriented coins offer clear-cut competitive advantages as well. One such example is under-the-radar token Nano (CRYPTO: NANO).

The three aspects that allow Nano to stand head and shoulders above most financially focused networks are its scalability, speed, and cost.

The first thing prospective investors will notice about Nano is it’s not a traditional blockchain network. Instead, it’s what’s known as a block-lattice blockchain. With the block-lattice, every user has their own blockchain that they’re free to add to. Not having to compete with other users, or gain approval from anyone other than the sender and receiver of payment, allows for the network to be scaled quickly without compromising its effectiveness.

Nano is also a lightning-fast network. According to its development team, it can complete transactions in less than one second. Considering that it takes cross-border payment with existing payment infrastructure up to a week to validate and settle transactions, Nano being able to complete financial payments in less than one second is astounding.

The third differentiating factor for Nano is its cost… or should I say lack thereof. Nano’s consensus mechanism, known as Open Representative Voting, ensures that transactions are fee-less on the network.

Algorand

A third cryptocurrency that offers clear-cut competitive advantages is Algorand (CRYPTO: ALGO).

As with the other digital currencies above, there are three identifiable ways Algorand’s network stands out from the growing sea of blockchain projects.

To begin with, Algorand’s blockchain consensus mechanism is unique and a true improvement over traditional proof of stake. Algorand utilizes what it calls pure proof of stake, or PPoS. With PPoS, small groups of ALGO holders are randomly and secretly chosen to propose blocks and vote on proposals. The advantage of PPoS is it virtually eliminates the likelihood that a small number of actors would sabotage or disrupt the network.

A second benefit of the Algorand network is its speed. Developers somewhat regularly update the key performance figures for the network on the project’s website. As of Dec. 16, Algorand was capable of 1,162 TPS, but more importantly had a block finality of just 4.36 seconds.  This blows the door off existing financial payment settlement times.

And third, Algorand is a leader in enterprise blockchain interoperability. With so many unique blockchain projects under development, many risk not working well, or at all, with one another. Algorand has based its network on attempting to bridge those gaps for the business world. This makes Algorand a good bet to offer real-world utility. 

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

The post 3 cryptocurrencies with clear-cut competitive advantages appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Sean Williams has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tesla, and Visa. 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.

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

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The 4DS Memory Ltd (ASX: 4DS) share price is pushing into positive territory on Monday. This comes after the company announced an update to its recent Share Purchase Plan (SSP) offer.

In mid-morning trade, the memory storage company’s shares are up 8% to 5.4 cents.

What did 4DS Memory announce to the ASX?

According to its release, 4DS Memory advised it has successfully completed its SSP following “very strong support” from shareholders.

The company received a large number of applications, totalling around $5.934 million. This represents significant interest given the company’s target of $2.5 million.

As a result, the board has decided to increase its SPP offer size to $3.5 million and scale back applications.

Eligible investors who applied for the minimum $2,000 amount will be unaffected by the scale back. However, those who applied for more will be subject to a 46.4643% reduction on their applications. This is to achieve the revised SPP target ($3.5 million).

The terms offered were the same as the previous $2.5 million placement that saw domestic and international institutions take part.

The total proceeds of $6 million will be used to progress the development of 4DS’ Interface Switching ReRAM technology. In addition, the remaining funds will be allocated towards the maintenance of intellectual property and general working capital.

4DS Memory expects the new shares to be issued and available for trading from tomorrow. Refunds will be credited to shareholder accounts or by cheque, also by tomorrow.

4DS Memory share price summary

During the past 12 months, the 4DS Memory share price has lost about 55%, with year-to-date down almost 60%. The company’s shares reached an all-time high of 28 cents in January 2021.

On valuation grounds, 4DS Memory presides a market capitalisation of about $71.46 million, with 1.37 billion shares outstanding.

The post Why the 4DS Memory (ASX:4DS) share price is charging 8% higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras owns 4DSMEMORY FPO. 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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Shares in ASX resources giant Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) are on the move today and are now trading less than 1% down at $97.58.

Whilst there’s been no price-sensitive updates from Rio today, it did announce the successor of its current chair, Simon Thompson.

Effective 5 May 2022, Thompson will step down as Rio’s non-executive chair after a tenure of 4 years, having first joined the board back in 2014.

Who is set to be Rio’s new chair?

Following Thompson’s departure, the board has elected Dominic Barton to succeed as the company’s new chair. Barton will join the board in April and then step into the role from May.

Rio says that Barton, a Ugandan-born Canadian, has spent over 30 years at McKinsey & Company, including nine as the Global Managing Partner and six as Asia Chairman. Most recently, he has been Canada’s Ambassador to
China since 2019.

Rio says he brings a “wealth of global business experince having advised clients in a range of industries, including banking, consumer goods, high tech and industrials, as well as a deep insight of geopolitics, corporate sustainability and governance”.

Barton has previous experience as a Chair of Teck Resources, a non-executive director at Singtel Group and a non-executive director at Investor AB. He has held various public sector leadership positions, including Chair of Canada’s Advisory Council for Economic Growth and Chair of the International Advisory Committee to the President of South Korea on National Future and Vision.

As such, the release notes that Barton’s “business acumen and public sector insights position him to provide critical guidance and oversight to Rio Tinto’s leadership team during a pivotal time for the company”.

Speaking on the announcement, Barton said that “it is a great honour to succeed Simon as Chair of Rio Tinto. Returning to the private sector, I am excited to join a company with world-class people and assets as it navigates a shifting competitive landscape and seeks to emerge as a leader in the climate transition”.

The search for the new Chair was jointly led by senior Rio authorities’ Sam Laidlaw and Simon McKeon. The process sought candidates with the attributes, experience and skills that shareholders expected in the new chair.

These included proven experience of managing highly complex, cross-border relationships with multiple stakeholders; a strong track record of working in Asia and emerging markets; a commitment to the highest ESG standards; and a proven ability to lead a board and act as a mentor to the executive team, per the release.

Management commentary

Speaking on the announcement, Jakob Stausholm, Rio Tinto Chief Executive, said:

I am delighted with the choice of Dominic, who I believe brings exactly the skills and experiences that we in Rio Tinto need. I am truly looking forward to working with Dominic in our effort to continue to strengthen Rio Tinto, in particular drawing on his wealth of experience across Asia in both a business and diplomatic capacity. I would like to thank Simon for his dedication to Rio Tinto and the support and counsel he has provided, and continues to provide, to me during a period of transformative change.

Rio Tinto shares have battled this year and are down over 16.5% in the last 12 months after falling 14% this year to date. In the past month, they have reversed course and are up over 8% in that time.

The post Reshuffle: Why is the Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) share price sliding today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The author has no positions 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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In morning trade, the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price is trading lower.

At the time of writing, the banking giant’s shares are down approximately 1% to $28.59.

Is the NAB share price in the buy zone?

One leading broker that is likely to see the NAB share price weakness today as a buying opportunity is Bell Potter.

According to a note, the broker has retained its buy rating and lifted its price target on the bank’s shares to $32.00.

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

And if you include the fully franked 4.4% dividend yield Bell Potter expects in FY 2022, the total return increases to ~16.5%.

What did the broker say?

Bell Potter notes that NAB held its annual general meeting last week. While the broker acknowledges that there are challenges ahead, it remains positive on its overall outlook and has increased its earnings forecasts to reflect this.

The broker is a fan of its business banking segment, which continues to perform well, and has lifted supported a lift in its price target for the NAB share price.

Bell Potter explained: “Our FY22 and FY23 forecast earnings are slightly increased by 1%, all else being equal. We have also slightly increased NAB’s valuation by around 3% and this is mainly due to better premiums ahead in Business & Private Banking (FY22 PE 15.5x), Personal Banking (FY22 PE 14.0x) and Corporate & Institutional Banking (FY22 PE 15.0x). Based also on a PB of now 1.6x overall, we have increased NAB’s valuation and price target by 3% to $32.00 (previously $31.00). The Buy rating is unchanged.”

The post Broker says NAB (ASX:NAB) share price offers 12% upside plus dividends 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. 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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