Tag: Motley Fool

The Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price’s performance in 2021 was often mixed.

The company’s stock hit a low of $4.36 in May and a high of $6.89 in October.

At market close on Thursday, the Webjet share price finished trading at $5.19, just 2% higher than it was at the start of this year.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained 11% year to date.

So, with the company’s share’s value staying relatively stagnant on the whole in 2021, what might 2022 have in store?

Here’s what the experts predict.

What might 2022 bring for the Webjet share price?

In good news for the online travel agent’s shareholders, brokers’ consensus seems to be that the company’s shares will be moving upwards next year.

Goldman Sachs popped a $6.90 price target on the Webjet share price earlier this month, maintaining its ‘buy’ rating.

Additionally, it predicted dividends will be resumed in financial year 2023, giving hope for a payout in the final leg of 2022.

It also wasn’t worried about the Omicron variant, noting the company doesn’t have much exposure to the world’s most impacted regions.

UBS is also targeting $6.95 for the company’s shares while Morgans’ target is slight lower at $6.60.

That means the three leading brokers all believe that the Webjet share price has an upside of between 26% and 33%.

That bullishness is mirrored by Ausbil chair, chief investment officer, and head of equities Paul Xiradis.

Xiradis believes Webjet – as well as other travel shares – will see increased earnings in 2022 as borders continue to reopen.

Finally, the company itself is also predicting a successful 2022.

In its results for the first half of its financial year – which runs from 1 April to 31 March – the company predicted that over the course of its financial year 2022, its WebBeds business will become the leader in its market, its online travel agency will increase its market share, and that its GoSee business will undergo a “transformational opportunity”.

The company expects it will reach pre-COVID-19 booking volumes sometime between October 2022 and March 2023.

Still, the company continues to routinely come in as one of the ASX’s most shorted stocks.

That means not everyone is optimistic about the Webjet share price’s future.

The post How might the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price perform in 2022? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 buy-rated ASX travel shares that could take off
• When it comes to the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price, do the brokers or the shorters have it right?
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• Goldman says Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price is a buy with 25% upside

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended 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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New Zealand accounting software provider Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) has served investors pretty well over the years.

Its shares first floated on the NZX, but even during its 9-year ASX life, the stock has returned more than 2,900%. The last 5 years has seen the shares rise 750%.

But 2021 was a bit rough.

Xero shares are 5.5% down on the year, closing Thursday at $X.XX. The stock price flew as high as $157.99 and as low as $104.44 over 2021, taking shareholders on a stomach-churning ride.

So has the cloud software maker run out of steam? Is it one to have in your portfolio for the new year?

‘Best to be patient’

Medallion Financial managing director Michael Wayne told The Motley Fool that his clients were holding onto Xero.

“It has been a good performer over a long period of time. We are drawn to the capital-light and scalable software-as-a-service attributes of the business,” he said.

“We continue to be encouraged by the sticky nature of the product.”

However, he wouldn’t actively buy at the current prices. Perhaps one of the dips in 2022 will present an opportunity.

“We feel it best to be patient as the share price is prone to volatility,” he said. 

“All else remaining equal, we would look at buying around the $110 to $115 level.”

The Motley Fool analyst Chris Copley said much the same last month.

“There’s a lot of lofty expectations built into the [current] share price that investors should be wary of when investing in Xero,” he said in a video.

While its most spectacular years might be behind it, Copley reckoned it would still be a “market beater” in the long run.

“Its tail is long, which means I think it can get double-digit growth for a long period of time,” he said.

“You really do need to look well long term into the future for this one because even in 3 to 5 years, it’s still going to probably have quite a lofty multiple.”

Analysts divided on Xero shares 

According to CMC Markets, analysts don’t have a consensus view on Xero shares.

Eight out of 16 do currently rate them as a “strong buy”, but that’s somewhat cancelled out by 3 who classify the stock as a “strong sell”, and another 3 who recommend to hold.

The team at Credit Suisse likes the look of them heading into the new year. It rates Xero stocks as a buy, with a price target of $160, which is more than a 13% upside.

The Motley Fool’s Tristan Harrison reported Credit Suisse liked “the strong margins at Xero”.

“In the FY22 first half, its gross profit margin improved from 85.7% to 87.1%,” he wrote last week.

“Xero continues to see its annualised monthly recurring revenue (AMRR) increase, showing what the next 12 months of revenue could be. HY22 AMRR went up 29% to NZ$1.13 billion.”

The post Where are Xero (ASX:XRO) shares headed in 2022? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 2 fantastic ASX growth shares Goldman Sachs rates as buys
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• How to snare a multi-bagger ASX share: expert
• 3 reasons why the Xero (ASX:XRO) share price could be a high-quality buy

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns Xero. 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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The Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) share price has had a difficult 2021. In the year to date, Magellan shares have dropped 45%.

But that’s the past. What does the next year look like for Magellan in 2022?

Performance heading into 2022

The investment performance of some of Magellan’s biggest funds has disappointed. For example, over the last three years the Magellan Global Fund (Open Class) (ASX: MGOC) has returned an average of 13.1% per annum over the last three years, underperforming the global benchmark by an average of almost 5% per annum.

Despite that, Magellan’s funds under management (FUM) continues to rise. In November 2021, the total FUM increased by $1.6 billion to $116.4 billion. However, within that, was a mixed performance of FUM. The higher margin retail FUM dropped around $80 million to $30.23 billion, whilst the lower margin institutional FUM rose around $1.7 billion to $86.2 billion.

However, leadership changes may also be impacting investor thoughts about the business and the Magellan share price.

The company’s CEO Dr Brett Cairns resigned for personal reasons. He has been replaced by the chief financial officer (CFO) by Ms Kirsten Morton to be the interim CEO. Investors also learned that Magellan’s chair and chief investment officer (CIO) Hamish Douglass had separated from his wife, though they don’t intend to sell any shares.

Growth avenues

Magellan points to other parts of its business, away from the main global shares strategy, that can produce FUM growth with “significant opportunities” and the combined FUM is around $30 billion.

Those five areas are: global listed infrastructure, Airlie Funds Management, sustainable and ESG strategies, the MFG Core series of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and FuturePay.

Magellan said that infrastructure has a significant runway, the Australian funds have a substantial opportunity to build a retail franchise, the ESG strategy has total capacity of around $20 billion (with only $500 million of FUM at its AGM), there is growing demand for cheaper ETF products and the FuturePay product is tapping in the huge retirement capital and the desire for reliable income.

Magellan Capital Partners is another area with the potential to create long-term growth which currently includes the sizeable investments in the businesses Barrenjoey and Guzman y Gomez.

Price targets on the Magellan share price

Different analysts have different thoughts on the company.

UBS has a sell rating on the fund manager, with a price target of $29.50. The broker is concerned about lower revenue due to potential outflows of FUM and/or cutting the fees for clients.

However, the brokers at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) think it’s a buy with a price target of $38. However, the fund manager looks historically cheap to Macquarie and the dividend yield – an almost 8% partially franked yield in FY22 on the broker’s numbers – is supportive for the business valuation.

The post What is the outlook for the Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price in 2022? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Move over Magellan (ASX:MFG). This global equities manager is gunning for pole position
• The Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price has had a shocker this year. Could this help reverse the slide in 2022?
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell next week
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Why Alcidion, Magellan, Redbubble, and Seven West shares are dropping

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns Magellan Financial Group. 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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If you’re looking for a big boost to your passive income in 2022, then the high yield ASX 200 dividend shares listed below could be worth considering.

Here’s what you need to know about them:

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

This mining giant could be an ASX 200 dividend share to buy in 2022.

The Big Australian’s shares are currently trading well below their recent highs. This has been driven by investors selling down the mining giant’s shares due to weakness in iron ore prices.

The good news is that BHP isn’t a one trick pony and other commodities that it mines have been rising in price in recent months. This is helping BHP continue to generate significant free cash flows again, which is expected to underpin big dividends in the near term.

For example, the team at Macquarie expect fully franked dividends per share of ~$3.85 in FY 2022 and ~$2.85 in FY 2023. Based on the current BHP share price of $40.66, this will mean yields of 9.5% and 7%, respectively.

Macquarie has an outperform rating and $52.00 price target on BHP’s shares.

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

Another ASX 200 dividend share to look at is Westpac. This banking giant’s shares have also come under pressure recently and are now trading notably lower than their 2021 highs. This has been driven by concerns over the bank’s margin outlook and cost cutting plans.

The team at Morgans believe this is a buying opportunity, particularly given its attractive valuation and generous dividend yield.

Morgans recently explained: “WBC shares have been sold off heavily following the FY21 result announcement, such that out of the major banks, WBC is now trading on the lowest FY22F P/NTA multiple, the lowest FY22F P/E multiple and the highest FY22F dividend yield. Such multiples or yields could only be justified if WBC is a value trap, which we think it is not.”

The broker has pencilled in fully franked dividends per share of $1.23 in FY 2022 and then $1.62 in FY 2023. Based on the current Westpac share price of $20.96, this will mean yields of 5.9% and 7.7%, respectively.

Morgans has an add rating and $29.50 price target on the bank’s shares.

The post 2 high yield ASX 200 dividend shares to buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Woodside (ASX:WPL) share price dips amid corporate watchdog’s mega-merger verdict
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: CSL sinks, Qantas’ $1.1bn+ first half loss
• BHP (ASX:BHP) share price slips as ACCC gives all-clear for Woodside deal
• 2 blue chip ASX 200 shares named as buys in December

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

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When investors think about the Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price, they may be increasingly be focused on the green hydrogen push.

For readers that are unaware, Fortescue is one of the largest iron ore miners. But it’s now pushing into numerous green industry sectors.

Indeed, the company recently officially announced that it was transitioning from a pure resources company to a vertically integrated green energy and resources group.

It has an overarching green, fully renewable hydrogen initiative. Fortescue boasts that it now has the largest portfolio of green hydrogen, green ammonia, green iron ore, green iron and other green product developments in the world.

Some investors are loving the green shift

The Fortescue share price has gone up by more than 20% over the last month. Looking at the other two big miners, the Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share prices are up 10.2% and 13.1% respectively over that same time period. Fortescue is outperforming.

Speaking to the media, 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.

Fortescue founder Dr Andrew Forrest says that Fortescue has approximately 170,000 shareholders. This number has doubled compared to a year ago. The increasingly green industrial business is seeing more environmental and ESG funds investing in Fortescue. The company’s leadership says that there are strong tailwinds of support across the investment community and the company is grateful for that.

Other investors are not a fan of Fortescue’s decarbonisation plans

However, whilst there may be a growing number of investors that are backing Fortescue, The Australian noted that there are some analysts and institutional investors that are feeling blue about the shift from Fortescue.

The newspaper reported that Morgans analyst Adrian Prendergast said to clients:

Questions are emerging over how much focus [Fortescue] is placing on renewables versus its core iron ore business.

The next five years in iron ore are likely to be more difficult than the last five years, warranting more focus or even possibly diversification into other mature markets. We…have lost conviction in the overarching strategy and capital framework.

Dr Forrest is not perturbed by some of the doubts by some quarters.

He pointed out to The Australian that Fortescue Future Industries has already made good progress with creating a green hydrogen fuel fell for a heavy truck and an ammonia-fuelled ship engine. Green trucks and trains will be operating at sites next year.

When talking about the huge sums of money needed to fund all of these deals, Dr Forrest said that he doesn’t need to own all of these green energy assets, just create them with FFI.

Fortescue Future Industries will create the renewable energy projects, then sell them at a profit to infrastructure investors and fund managers after cutting a deal to buy enough energy from the projects to produce green hydrogen. Reportedly, customers are “already lining up” for the offtake agreements.

Fortescue share price snapshot

Despite the resurgence of Fortescue shares in recent times, it’s still down 24% in 2021 with the iron ore price down roughly half from the peak earlier in the year.

The post What do investors really think of Fortescue’s (ASX:FMG) green hydrogen push? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Fortescue (ASX:FMG) Future Industries explores NZ oil refinery repurposing
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• Leading fund manager says these blue-chip ASX shares are buys right now
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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 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 Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price has dropped 16% in a month.

How much of that decline is down to the new variant of Omicron is for each investor to guess. But, it adds a bit more uncertainty ahead for the ASX travel share sector which was talking about being in the middle of a demand and profitability recovery.

What has Flight Centre said about Omicron?

There have not been any official ASX announcements from Flight Centre over the last couple of months since the annual general meeting (AGM).

However, a few weeks ago the Australian Federation of Travel Agents chief executive Dean Long was quoted in the Australian Financial Review, who said a couple of weeks ago:

This is the worst-case scenario that we’re experiencing since they’ve reopened the border. The number one barrier to people booking travel was the fear of not returning home. Then on Saturday, our clients’ worst fear came to fruition.

Mr Long also said, at the time, that inquiries for overseas trips had fallen off a cliff.

The AFR had a small quote from Flight Centre CEO Graham Turner who said:

Countries can’t keep locking down, shutting borders every time there’s a new variant. This does look like an overreaction, but it’s very early days yet.

What are other investor thoughts on ASX travel shares and the Omicron variant?

Drummond Capital Partners chief investment officer Nick Reddaway suggested that the new variant isn’t the vaccine-breaking problem that the market had feared.

Though, there are other things to consider such as renewed COVID-19 restrictions in Europe, an increasingly aggressive Fed and ongoing Chinese property market doldrums.

Indeed, Mr Reddaway was quoted by the AFR as saying that Omicron may actually be a positive:

There is also an upside scenario where omicron becomes the globally dominant variant, doesn’t evade immune response and is less severe than delta, which would be a boon for global equity markets.

Is the Flight Centre share price an opportunity?

Credit Suisse seems to think so, rating the business as a buy with a price target of $23.30. The broker is still expecting a difficult year for the company in FY23, but is expecting profitability to return strongly in FY23. On Credit Suisse’s numbers, the Flight Centre share price is valued at 13x FY23’s estimated earnings.

However, other brokers are much less optimistic on the business. Ord Minnett rates the business as a sell, with a price target of just $13.72. This broker thinks that the longer-term isn’t as good for Flight Centre’s operating model, which could come with lower commissions and so on, which could harm profit margins.

On Ord Minnett’s estimates, the Flight Centre share price is valued at 35x FY23’s estimated earnings.

The post How is Omicron affecting the Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) share price and outlook? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Zip (ASX:Z1P) shares just topped these end-of-year rankings
• Love ’em or hate ’em, Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) shares were the second most traded on Superhero this year. Here’s why
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Is the Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) share price good value after falling 16% in a month?
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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. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel 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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On Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was out of form and dropped into the red. The benchmark index fell 0.4% to 7,295.7 points.

Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Friday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to rise

The Australian share market looks set to end the week in a positive fashion. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 23 points or 0.3% higher this morning. This follows a mixed night of trade on Wall Street, which late on sees the Dow Jones up 0.1%, but the S&P 500 down 0.7% and the Nasdaq down 2.4%. The latter does not bode well for ASX 200 tech shares on Friday.

Corporate Travel Management shares to return

The Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) share price is due to return from its trading halt this morning. The corporate travel specialist’s shares were halted so it could raise $100 million via a $75 million institutional placement and a $25 million share purchase plan. The proceeds will be used to acquire the Australia and New Zealand corporate and entertainment travel businesses of Helloworld Travel Limited (ASX: HLO).

Oil prices storm higher

Energy producers including Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could end the week on a positive note after oil prices pushed higher. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 2.3% to US$72.51 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 1.8% to US$75.20 a barrel. Oil prices were boosted by record U.S. implied demand and falling crude stockpiles.

Annual general meetings

A number of ASX 200 shares are holding their annual general meetings this morning and could provide updates. This includes banking giant National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) and agricultural chemicals companies Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX: IPL) and Nufarm Ltd (ASX: NUF).

Gold price jumps

Gold miners Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) and St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) could have a strong finish to the week after the gold price jumped. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 1.8% to US$1,796.9 an ounce. The gold price stormed higher after the US dollar weakened.

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

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Why ASX 200 shares could add ~$70bn during the Santa Rally
• Why are the ASX 200 gold miners losing ground this past month
• Woodside (ASX:WPL) share price dips amid corporate watchdog’s mega-merger verdict
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts on Thursday

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 Corporate Travel Management 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 don’t have the funds to build a truly diverse portfolio, then exchange traded funds (ETFs) could be a quick fix.

This is because ETFs give investors access to a large number of different shares through just a single investment.

With that in mind, listed below are three ETFs that could be good options in 2022. Here’s what you need to know about them:

BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA)

The BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF tracks the performance of many of the largest technology companies that have their main area of business in Asia (excluding the Japan market). Among the ETF’s holdings are Alibaba, JD.com, Pinduoduo, Samsung, Taiwan Semiconductor, and Tencent. Given how these companies are among the fastest growing in the region and revolutionising the lives of billions of people, they have been tipped to generate strong returns in the future.

BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK)

Another ETF to look at is the BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF. It provides investors with exposure to the leaders in the global cybersecurity sector. This includes companies such as Accenture, Cisco, and Cloudflare, Crowdstrike, and Okta. BetaShares notes that the cybersecurity sector is heavily under-represented on the ASX. As a result, this ETF ensures that Australian investors don’t miss out on the growing demand for these services.

BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

Finally, if you’re interested in gaining exposure to the US tech sector, then the BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF could be a great way to do it. This ETF provides investors with access to the 100 largest non-financial shares on the NASDAQ index. This means you’ll be owning a slice of giants such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook/Meta, Microsoft, Netflix, and Tesla.

The post 3 ETFs for ASX investors in 2022 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 3 excellent ETFs for ASX investors to buy in December
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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 BETA CYBER ETF UNITS and BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended BETA CYBER ETF UNITS and BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers 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 Aspen Group Limited (ASX: APZ) share price climbed today following the release of its portfolio valuations for the first half of FY22.

The property group also announced the date it would pay dividend distributions to shareholders.

At the close of trade, the Aspen share price was up 5.76% trading at $1.75.

What’s the latest on Aspen’s property portfolio?

Aspen owns and operates 18 residential, retirement and short-stay properties across Australia, valued at more than $200 million.

This morning, the company released a revaluation of 6 properties — 5 located in New South Wales and one in the Northern Territory — representing “about a quarter” of its property portfolio. The company said the value of these properties had jumped around $17 million higher since 30 June this year.

In today’s release, Aspen attributed the 45% valuation increase to “an increase in adopted net income of 25% and reduction in average capitalisation rate (weighted by net income) of about 95bps”.

Aspen said this equated to an increase in net asset value (NAV) per security of around 9%.

Dividends distribution

Also today, the company announced that it would advise shareholders about its performance, outlook and updated distribution policy when it released its half-year results next year.

Shareholders can expect a total dividend distribution payment of 3.10 cents to be paid on 25 February next year.

The company has also reiterated that its distribution reinvestment plan has remained suspended.

Aspen share price snapshot

The Aspen share price has rocketed more than 45% higher in the past 12 months and is up 44% since the start of 2021.

Based on its current share price, the company has a market capitalisation of more than $233 million.

The post Here’s why the Aspen (ASX:APZ) share price shot up 6% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Here’s why EML (ASX:EML) shareholders are suing their own company
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• Why ASX 200 shares could add ~$70bn during the Santa Rally

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 was a relatively good day to be a shareholder of EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) shares this Thursday. Despite the losses of the broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), the EML share price ended up closing 1.55% higher at $3.27 a share.

That move comes despite news today that some EML shareholders have banded together to file a class action against EML. It will be heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria.

Shine Lawyers allege that an Irish subsidiary of EML, PFS Card Services Ireland Limited (PFS), “made misleading representations regarding their corporate governance and regulatory compliance”. According to the law firm, “thousands of Australian investors who put money into EML Payments” have joined the class action.

EML faces class action from its own shareholders

This relates to the well-publicised issues EML had with the Central Bank of Ireland earlier this year. Back in May, it became public that the Irish Central Bank had raised concerns over EML’s PFS business. The Central Bank alleged that the company was failing to adequately comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations. As we covered at the time, this had big implications for the entirety of EML’s European business dealings.

The reaction from shareholders was brutal. Within a day, the EML share price had lost more than 46% of its value. Even today, after EML has received something of an all-clear from the Central Bank, EML shares remain down around 37% from where they were before the concerns were aired publically.

Shine Lawyers point to the fact that “the revelation caused EML Payments Limited’s share price to plunge 46 per cent in a day, yet it took the Brisbane-based company four days to request a trading halt” as the reason for the class action.

Here’s some of what Joshua Aylward of Shine Lawyers class Action Practise, had to say:

The Central Bank of Ireland raised the alarm over potential non-compliance with anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations with PFS on May 13… This suggested the company’s European operations could be in jeopardy, but EML failed to disclose this to the Australian share market in a timely manner…

It is alleged that EML’s conduct showed disregard for its regulatory obligations and to the thousands of Aussies who invested their money into its businesses.

The class action is open to any investor that purchased EML shares between 19 December 2020 and 18 May 2021.

The post Here’s why EML (ASX:EML) shareholders are suing their own company 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. owns and has recommended EML Payments. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended EML Payments. 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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