Tag: Motley Fool

The Aussie Broadband Ltd (ASX: ABB) share price is gaining today, up 4.8% to $4.80 per share at the time of writing. This as the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 0.19%.

Below we take a look at some highlights from the ASX telecom’s annual general meeting (AGM).

What was reported at the AGM?

The Aussie Broadband share price is well into the green, with the company highlighting its $19.1 million earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the 2021 financial year (excluding IPO costs).

That figure was in line with guidance from May.

Aussie Broadband chair Adrian Fitzpatrick noted the rising importance of connectivity during the COVID-19 pandemic:

The COVID-19 pandemic saw a much greater emphasis on having a reliable internet service at home because, for many of us, our homes became our workplace as well as the school for our children.

Customer support became paramount during this time also; when problems with your internet connection happened, nobody wanted to wait on hold for a huge length of time.

Boosting the bottom line

The Aussie Broadband share price might also be getting a boost today following chief financial officer Brian Maher’s recapping that the company’s FY21 revenue increased 84% year-on-year to $350 million. He noted that both residential and business segments grew at similar rates.

Addressing the changes since the company’s initial public offering (IPO) in October 2020, Maher said:

The financial position of the company improved significantly following the completion of the IPO with the conversion of the pre-IPO convertible notes to equity and the inflow of $37.4 million of net cash proceeds from the IPO.

During the second half of the year, the balance of the company’s external debt of $5.5 million was repaid. The cash balance at 30 June had increased by $35.6 million year-on-year to end the year at $57 million.

Aussie Broadband share price snapshot

The Aussie Broadband share price has been a stellar performer in 2021, up 136% since January. By comparison the All Ords has gained 11% year-to-date.

However, Aussie Broadband shares have slipped almost 2% over the past month.

The post Aussie Broadband (ASX:ABB) share price jumps 5% on revenue boost appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Over the Wire (ASX:OTW) share price leaps 12% on Monday
• Why Aussie Broadband, Core Lithium, Cardno, and Nuix are storming higher
• Aussie Broadband (ASX:ABB) share price surges 5% as acquisition talks confirmed
• Over the Wire (ASX:OTW) share price halted amid possible takeover
• Aussie Broadband (ASX:ABB) share price on watch amid acquisition rumours

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Aussie Broadband Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Aussie Broadband Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3Cqtoq4

The Global Lithium Resources Ltd (ASX: GL1) share price requested a trading halt within the first hour of trade on Thursday.

The trading halt put an end to what was a record day for Global Lithium, surging 15.48% to all-time highs of 48.5 cents.

What’s the trading halt for?

Global Lithium requested the trading halt, pending an announcement regarding a proposed capital raising.

The company said that it anticipates the trading halt to remain in place until Monday, 1 November or when the announcement is released.

Interestingly, Global Lithium is a relatively new addition to the ASX, having successfully completed a $10 million initial public offering back in May.

More recently, the company’s September quarter results highlighted a cash balance of $7.3 million with no debt.

Global Lithium incurred $882,000 in exploration and evaluation expenditure during the quarter.

About Global Lithium

Global Lithium is currently focused on growing its Marble Bar Lithium Project (MBLP).

The company believes it has a “similar geological setting” as nearby Pilgangoora which is owned by Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) and Wodgina which is owned by Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN).

An exploration program is underway at MBLP including 10,000 metres of Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling as well as soil survey and reconnaissance mapping on southern tenements.

Global Lithium has also identified potential gold targets to the north of MBLP, with its fourth quarter exploration program including RC drilling to follow up on the potential discovery.

The Global Lithium share price can expect a number of catalysts in the near term as exploration results are released in the coming months.

Global Lithium share price snapshot

The Global Lithium share price closed at 28 cents on its first day of listing, an impressive 40% return for those that managed to participate in the 20 cent IPO.

It is now up 73% year-to-date at an all-time high of 48.5 cents. However, investors should be wary about the size and discount of the proposed capital raising.

The post Here’s why the Global Lithium (ASX:GL1) share price rocketed 15% before a trading halt appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Aussie Broadband (ASX:ABB) share price jumps 5% on revenue boost
• Why is the Boral (ASX:BLD) share price climbing today?
• These 2 ASX shares are buy-rated by many analysts
• 2 excellent ASX dividend shares rated as buys
• Why is the Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price plunging today?

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun 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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3Bm9HhO

The Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) share price is pushing higher today amid the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) address and first-quarter trading update.

At the time of writing, shares in the construction supplies company are being exchanged at $6.57, up 3.96%.

What’s pushing the Boral share price upwards?

Investors are buying up the Boral share price this morning as the company conducts its AGM. An AGM itself is not price-sensitive and usually has little bearing on the company’s share price. However, the market appears to be paying attention to the trading update contained in the AGM slides.

According to the release, during the first quarter of FY22 Boral experienced significant impacts from COVID-19 lockdowns. These impacts were reflected in concrete volumes declining 2% compared to the previous corresponding period. Meanwhile, where construction was halted, in New South Wales, volumes dropped by as much as 14%.

However, quarry volumes managed to perform better compared to last year. The segment witnessed a 3% incline thanks to a lift in asphalt. Although, asphalt sales were on a lower margin basis due to the completion of higher-margin project work in the prior year. Despite this, the market is showing optimism for the Boral share price today.

Overall, total revenue was down 1% in the first quarter compared to 1Q FY21, while earnings before interest and tax was down more heavily. Investors might be willing to overlook these inhibited figures for the company’s more positive future outlook.

The outlook

The Boral share price could be gaining momentum today based on its outlook for the remainder of FY22. In its AGM slides, the company said it foresees a rebound in activity as the economy exits lockdowns.

There are some lingering COVID impacts that are expected to carry forward through the year. Namely, further volume impacts are anticipated in October, with the Victorian state being the main culprit.

In saying that, Boral’s management expects the culmination impact for FY22 will not exceed $50 million.

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

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: ANZ result impresses, Fortescue higher
• Why has the Boral (ASX:BLD) share price jumped 5% since the start of this month?
• Boral (ASX:BLD) share price lifts amid Meridian sale completion
• Here’s why the Boral (ASX:BLD) share price is lifting today
• Why the Boral (ASX:BLD) share price has underperformed the ASX 200 in the last 3 months

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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3Bgsdby

There are a few ASX shares where a number of analysts all believe that the business is good value.

Brokers are always on the lookout for opportunities. With share prices changing every day and every week, it can lead to some companies becoming opportunities as valuations change.

Whilst it’s possible that all of those analysts are wrong at the same time, it could indicate that there is an opportunity:

Australian Finance Group Ltd (ASX: AFG)

Australian Finance is one of the biggest mortgage brokers in the country.

It’s currently rated as a buy by at least three brokers, including Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG). The broker has a price target of $3.18 on the business. That suggests that the Australian Finance Group share price could rise by almost 20% over the next 12 months, if the broker is right.

Macquarie noted the recently quarterly update by the ASX share for the first three months of FY22. The broker believes that Australian Finance Group’s update showed good signs for its profit.

AFG said that mortgage brokers have lodged a record $24.1 billion in home loan finance for the first three months of the new financial year. That’s almost $6 billion more than the same period last year. It was a 33% increase year on year and a 7% increase quarter on quarter.

However, the company noted that recent moves by the regulator to rein in the property market will affect borrowing capacity for some homebuyers.

Macquarie thinks that the current Australian Finance Group share price is valued at 14x FY22’s estimated earnings with a grossed-up dividend yield of 7.5%.

Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN)

Baby Bunting is one of the leading retailers of baby products in Australia. It is also making moves to expand into New Zealand.

It’s currently rated as a buy by at least five brokers, including Morgan Stanley, which has a price target of $6.90 on the business. The broker noted various positives from a recent trading update.

Baby Bunting said at its annual general meeting (AGM) that in the year to date, to 3 October, comparable store sales were strengthening and were only down 1.3%. In the first seven weeks of FY22, comparative sales had been down by 6.4%.

Excluding NSW and ACT stores, comparable store sales grew by 4.7% to early October.

Online sales (including click and collect) were up 37.7% by the ASX share, which was on top of 126% growth in the prior corresponding period.

The gross profit margin increased by another 120 basis points to 38.7%.

It’s expecting to open between six to eight new stores in Australia in FY22, and two in New Zealand, towards the end of the second half of FY22.

Finally, the company said that the transformation program is “progressing well” with an anticipated launch of its new Australian website and phase two of the loyalty program in early November.

Using the projections by Morgan Stanley, the Baby Bunting share price is valued at 26x FY22’s estimated earnings. It also comes with a projected FY22 grossed-up dividend yield of 3.8%.

The post These 2 ASX shares are buy-rated by many analysts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Why Afterpay, Austal, Baby Bunting, & Nick Scali shares are storming higher
• Why this broker just upgraded the Baby Bunting (ASX:BBN) share price to buy
• Baby Bunting (ASX:BBN) share price drops following trading update
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Baby Bunting. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3CoGRyT

If you’re currently building an income portfolio, then you might want to look at the shares listed below.

Here’s why these ASX dividend shares could be worth considering right now:

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

The first ASX dividend share to look at is this mining giant. It could be a top option for income investors due to its attractive valuation and generous yield.

South32 has exposure to a range of commodities such as alumina, aluminium, energy coal, metallurgical coal, manganese ore, nickel, silver, lead, and zinc. It has also just announced the proposed acquisition of a 45% stake in Sierra Gorda that adds copper to its portfolio.

Thanks the strong prices of many of these commodities, the team at Goldman Sachs believe South32’s shares will provide investors with fully franked dividend yields of greater than 11% per annum for the next five years.

In light of this, Goldman has a conviction buy rating and $4.40 price target on its shares. This compares favourably to the latest South32 share price of $3.61.

Transurban Group (ASX: TCL)

Another ASX dividend share that could be in the buy zone is Transurban.

It is one of the world’s leading toll road operators with a collection of important roads in Australia and North America. These include CityLink in Melbourne and the Cross City Tunnel and Eastern Distributor in Sydney. Transurban has also just boosted its portfolio with the acquisition of the remaining stake in WestConnex from the NSW government.

Lockdowns and border closures have been weighing on its performance this year. However, with Australia reopening again, the company is expected to see a big rebound in traffic volumes on its roads. This bodes well for its earnings and dividends in the coming years.

Morgans currently has an add rating and $14.79 price target on the company’s shares. It is also forecasting dividends of 39 cents per share in FY 2022 and then 57 cents per share in FY 2023.

Based on the current Transurban share price of $13.69, this will mean yields of 2.8% and 4.15%, respectively.

The post 2 excellent ASX dividend shares rated as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Credit Suisse says the Transurban (ASX:TCL) share price could be a bargain
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts on Wednesday
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• Could the South32 (ASX:S32) share price reach $4.50 by Christmas?
• Which ASX 200 dividend shares have investors been heavily trading this week?

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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3bfJeb5

Market watchers might be eying the Red Hill Iron Limited (ASX: RHI) share price’s significant tumble today.

However, it’s likely the company’s shareholders are starting to get excited.

Red Hill Iron’s notable dip coincides with the ex-dividend date for the company’s special dividend. Notably, the dividend is worth 22.6% of the stock’s previous closing price.

Additionally, the company released its non-price-sensitive annual report to the market last night.

At the time of writing, the Red Hill share price is $3.31. That’s 37.43% lower than it was at the end of yesterday’s session.

Let’s take a closer look at the latest news from the iron miner, as well as its special dividend.

Red Hill share price tumbles on Thursday

The Red Hill share price is plummeting as the company’s shareholders prepare to receive a fully franked $1.20 dividend.

Red Hill is handing back some of the initial $200 million it received from the sale of its 40% interest in the Red Hill Iron Ore Joint Venture to its shareholders.

The Red Hill Iron share price surged 269% when the company announced it was selling the asset to Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) in July.

Mineral Resources will pay Red Hill Iron another $200 million when the joint venture achieves its first production. It will also provide Red Hill with a 0.75% royalty on all future production at the joint venture and Mineral Resources’ Bungaroo South tenements. Finally, for the first 10 years, Mineral Resources will provide Red Hill Iron with royalties from 2 mining tenements nearby the joint venture.

Though, Red Hill Iron still holds the right to mine the joint venture tenements for gold and base metal assets.

Red Hill’s special dividend will be paid on 10 November to all who held the company’s stock when the ASX closed yesterday.

Finally, Red Hill Iron released its annual report last night. Within it, the company’s chair noted the company is still deciding if its Pannawanica Project is viable to mine.

It is also analysing drilling samples from its formerly owned joint venture to explore for gold and base metals.

The post What’s caused the Red Hill Iron (ASX:RHI) share price to plummet 37% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 excellent ASX dividend shares rated as buys
• Why is the Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price plunging today?
• How has the ETFS Hydrogen ETF (ASX:HGEN) share price been performing since listing?
• Is the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price a bargain buy?
• Why Microsoft shares jumped on Wednesday

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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3EoCSTC

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a disappointing day of trading so far. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has slipped 0.21% and is sitting at 7,433.1 points. But the Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ) share price is faring far worse. It’s presently trading at $8.98 a share, down 2.5% from where it closed at yesterday.

That’s some significant underperformance from Bank of Queensland today, with the company down multiples more than the broader market. So what’s going on here?

Luckily for Bank of Queensland shareholders, there’s not much to panic about today. This seemingly steep plunge is not the result of any bad news or sentiment shift. Rather, it’s likely due to this bank trading ex-dividend today.

Yesterday was the last day new Bank of Queensland shareholders were eligible to receive the company’s upcoming final dividend. New shareholders from today won’t be so lucky. That’s why we are likely seeing a drop in the Bank of Queensland share price today. The value of this dividend has ‘left the building’, as it were.

Eligible shareholders will be receiving Bank of Queensland’s final dividend payment of 22 cents per share, fully franked, on 18 November. Shareholders should be pleased with this dividend, seeing as it’s worth a lot more than both Bank of Queensland’s last interim dividend of 17 cents a share, and its last final dividend payout before that of 12 cents a share.

This dividend hikes Bank of Queensland’s trailing dividend yield to 4.37%, or 6.24% grossed-up with those full franking credits. If you annualise this upcoming dividend, we get a hypothetical yield of 4.93% (7.04% grossed-up).

Bank of Queensland share price snapshot

The Bank of Queensland share price has been on struggle street lately. This ASX bank is currently down around 5% over the past month alone and is also down around 2% over the past 6 months.

However, it remains up about 19% year to date in 2021 and up around 44% over the past 12 months. Those last two figures trump the ASX 200, which is up around 11% year to date and 22% over the past 12 months.

At the current Bank of Queensland share price, this ASX bank has a market capitalisation of $5.9 billion.

The post Why is the Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price plunging today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price will trade ex-dividend on Thursday. Here’s what you need to know
• Here are 5 ASX shares trading ex-dividend this week
• Why is the Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price underperforming the big four lately?
• Why have investors been selling off Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) shares lately?
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

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

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3bozVpj

It’s been less than a month since the ETFS Hydrogen ETF (ASX: HGEN) made its debut on the ASX. But even though this exchange-traded fund (ETF) only floated back on 7 October, it’s already made quite the splash. Last week, we covered how this Hydrogen ETF was up almost 12% from where it started life on the ASX. As we said at the time, not a bad return for two weeks’ effort.

So how is HGEN going as it rapidly approaches the one-month mark?

HGEN: The most explosive hydrogen investment since the Hindenburg?

Well, as this ETF stands today, it’s trading at $11.98 per unit, up 0.25%. That’s once again a lot better than the $11.28 a unit price we last had when we checked out HGEN. Since this ETF floated at a unit price of roughly $10.09, this means that the HGEN ETF is now up an impressive 18.53% since its ASX debut just 3 weeks ago. If this ETF continues at the current pace (for the record, unlikely), its investors will become very rich very quickly.

Let’s check out the underlying companies that are responsible for these rapid gains. So according to the fund provider, HGEN invests in a “concentrated portfolio of hydrogen companies with a focus on pure plays”.

The fund tracks the Solactive Global Hydrogen ESG Index, which presently holds 30 companies within it. As it stands today, the 5 largest of these holdings are Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ: PLUG), Ballard Power Systems Inc (NASDAQ: BLDP), ITM Power plc (LON: ITM), Bloom Energy Corp (NYSE: BE) and Doosan Fuel Cell Co Ltd (KRK: 336260). 

Since this ETF’s ASX float, Plug Power shares are up 31.9%. Ballard Power Systems shares have risen by roughly 19%, while ITM Power is up 24.9%. Bloom Energy has appreciated by 44.1% while Doosan is up 13.9%.

Looking at these numbers, and it’s fairly easy to see why HGEN has had such a successful first 3 weeks on the ASX.

The ETFS Hydrogen ETF charges a management fee of 0.69% per annum, or $69 per year for every $10,000 invested.

The post How has the ETFS Hydrogen ETF (ASX:HGEN) share price been performing since listing? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The Hydrogen ETF (ASX:HGEN) share price jumped 18% last week
• The ETFS Hydrogen ETF (ASX:HGEN) just debuted on the ASX. How is it going?
• Want to buy ASX shares in hydrogen? Here’s how

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

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3bhXwrT

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is trading flat on Thursday.

Which isn’t a bad outcome considering the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 0.25% at the time of writing.

This means the CBA share price remains up almost 27% since the start of the year at $106.09.

Is the CBA share price good value?

One leading broker that still sees a lot of value in the CBA share price is Bell Potter.

According to a note from last week, the broker has retained its buy rating and $118.00 price target on the bank’s shares.

Based on the current CBA share price, this suggests there’s still potential upside of 11.2% for its shares. And if you include the $4.06 per share fully franked dividend the broker is forecasting in FY 2022, the potential return stretches to 15%.

What did the broker say?

Bell Potter notes that CBA will soon be releasing its first quarter update and is expecting a solid result.

It commented: “Net interest income is expected to be up by around 3%. This is based on higher overall banking volumes (back to the traditional business of mainly mortgage and retail consumer loans) that more than offset a fall in NIM of around 3bp (to 2.01%). The main drivers are thus home loans [+4% for Retail Banking Services (RBS), +3% for Business Bank/Institutional Banking and Markets (BB/IBM)] and other loans (+4% for RBS although BB/IBM was negative).”

Overall, this is expected to lead to the bank reported an unaudited cash NPAT of ~$2.36 billion for the quarter.

Valuation

Bell Potter also explained why it thinks the CBA share price is good value at the current level.

It uses a combination of earnings multiples and a sum of the parts (SOTP) valuation to come up with its price target.

The broker said: “We have, however, moved the prospective (FY22) PE multiples around (and thus Sum-of-Parts) to better capture the various segments: RBS 17.0x; BB/IB&M 18.0x; and New Zealand 17.0x. The composite valuation is thus $117.22, being an equal measure of: DCF $186.5bn; dividend yield $197.9bn; ROE $198.2bn; and Sum-of-Parts $171.2bn. There is also surplus capital of $11.6bn to top it off. The price target is the same as before, being $118.00 per share, and likewise the Buy rating based on a 12-month TSR of greater than 15%.”

The post Is the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price a bargain buy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Own CBA shares? Here’s the bank’s latest green initiative
• Analysts name 2 ASX dividend shares to buy
• CBA (ASX:CBA) share price struggles amid financial planning arm closure
• Here’s why the 90-year old CBA (ASX:CBA) school banking program is no longer
• Is the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price a great deal right now?

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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3CrQdtC

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

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

What happened

Shares of software giant Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) had jumped 4% as of 11:50 a.m. EDT Wednesday after the company reported better-than-expected sales and earnings in its fiscal first-quarter 2022 report last night.

Instead of the $2.07 per share earned on sales of $44 billion that analysts were expecting, Microsoft reported a $2.27 per share adjusted profit on sales of $45.3 billion.

So what

And that wasn’t even the best news. When calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), Microsoft’s earnings actually came in at $2.71 per share for the fiscal first quarter, up 49% year over year — way better than the 25% reported improvement in adjusted profits.

The improvement in earnings was also significantly stronger than Microsoft’s already strong 22% growth in Q1 2022 sales over Q1 2021. Across the board, Microsoft booked improvements in revenue:

• Intelligent cloud sales — up 31%.
• Productivity and business processes — up 22%.
• More personal computing — up 12%.

Now what

And Microsoft plans to keep outperforming expectations in the second quarter, as revealed in the company’s post-earnings conference call, which was covered by TheFly.com.

There, Microsoft confided that it is on course to book revenue between $50.15 billion and $51.05 billion in Q2 — several percentage points faster growth than the $48.9 billion that Wall Street had been forecasting. The results, and the forecast, were good enough to elicit higher stock price targets from a range of Wall Street banks, as analysts from Barclays to Citi to Goldman Sachs hiked their target prices as high as $407 a share on this $324 stock, predicting as much as 25% gains above and beyond what Microsoft is collecting today.

No wonder investors are excited.

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

The post Why Microsoft shares jumped on Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) share price climbs after a record quarterly profit
• Why valuation multiples can be ‘useless’ in assessing ASX shares: expert
• The best day in 10 months, and Zip’s Microsoft deal. Scott Phillips on Nine’s Late News

Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Microsoft. 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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2XUGVY8