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ASX 200 energy shares opened firmer on Monday as oil prices continued to rally to multi-year highs.

Western Texas Intermediate is currently trading 56 cents higher, or 0.68%, at a 7-year high of US$83.03 a barrel.

Similarly, the global benchmark, Brent Crude, is up 38 cents, or 0.45%, to US$85.27 a barrel.

Just 12 months ago, both oil prices were sitting at around US$40 a barrel.

A solid start to the week for ASX 200 energy shares

The S&P/ASX Energy (INDEXASX: XEJ) is currently the best performing sector this morning, up 0.96%.

The largest oil and gas player, Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) is currently up 0.36% at $25.27.

The Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) share price is currently up 0.88% at $4.56.

Similarly, Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) is also trading 0.89% higher at $7.41.

Meanwhile, Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) is leading the gains, up 2.94% at $1.48.

What’s next for oil prices?

Positive demand and supply factors have helped drive a sustained push in oil prices.

Analysts believe that oil prices could continue to trend higher amid a recovery in global energy demand.

“Crude prices are rallying after another round of strong earnings and economic data suggests the economy can still handle the current surge in energy prices,” said OANDA senior market analyst Ed Moya, according to S&P Global.

“It will take a trifecta of events to derail this oil price rally: OPEC+ unexpectedly boosts output, warm weather hits the northern hemisphere, and if the Biden administration taps the strategic petroleum reserves,” Moya added.

Analysts at TD Securities also flagged the sharp increase in natural gas and coal prices as another tailwind for crude oil demand.

Gas to oil switching is “particularly fuelling upside momentum in Brent Crude and heating oil, which can be exacerbated by up to 1 million [barrels a day] of incremental winter demand.”

Despite oil prices sitting at multi-year highs, most ASX 200 energy shares remain well below pre-COVID levels.

The post ASX 200 energy shares open higher as oil prices double in past 12 months appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the 3 heaviest traded ASX 200 shares this Wednesday so far
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• Why is the Beach Energy (ASX:BPT) share price falling on Tuesday?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Here are the 3 heaviest traded ASX 200 shares on Monday

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.

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Despite a rally the last few days, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has lost 3.6% since mid-August.

In such turbulent times, an old investing axiom says gold can be a safe haven.

Whether that’s wise or not is up for debate, as some experts dislike how unproductive gold is as an asset.

But if you decide the precious metal is right for you, there are many ASX shares that can give you exposure.

Fortunately for you, The Motley Fool has dug up a couple of expert “buy” recommendations for you to consider.

Big risk for big reward in Africa

Shares for gold miner Turaco Gold Ltd (ASX: TCG) have doubled since May.

Argonaut associate dealer Harrison Massey is a fan of the business which operates gold projects in the West African country of Cote d’Ivoire.

“The company is progressing its 9000-metre air core drilling program, testing 3 kilometres of northern and southern strike extensions at Nyangboue,” he told The Bull.

“The company is led by an experienced mining team.”

As Turaco is in an exploratory stage, Massey acknowledges the risk involved in these shares.

If the company hits gold, shareholders will be bathing in returns. If it doesn’t and goes broke, then the stock could go to zero.

“Recently, the shares have been enjoying favourable momentum, rising from 9.8 cents on September 30 to close at 15 cents on October 14,” he said.

“Explorers carry risk but any encouraging results should paint a brighter outlook.”

Turaco shares were trading for 14 cents on Monday morning.

Digging for gold in Western Australia

Closer to home, Calidus Resources Ltd (ASX: CAI) is in a more mature stage than Turaco.

TradeDirect365 technical consultant Braden Gardiner rates it as a “buy” while the business is building the “Warrawoona” mine in the east Pilbara of Western Australia.

“It has regulatory approvals and finance. The company is on schedule to produce gold in the June quarter of 2022.”

Calidus shares were trading for 60 cents on Monday morning, which is more than 38% up in the past 6 months.

“Buyers supporting higher price levels provide an encouraging outlook,” Gardiner said. 

“We expect positive momentum to drive the price through 75 cents.”

The post 2 gold ASX shares experts are loving right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Aristocrat’s $5bn acquisition, Zip falls on Q1 update
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has 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 Superloop Ltd (ASX: SLC) share price is surging higher today after its latest announcement. Eager eyes have turned to the company’s shares after an agreement to sell Superloop’s Hong Kong operations, as well as select Singapore assets.

At the time of writing, shares in the telecommunications infrastructure company are changing hands for $1.18, up 21.65%. For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is trading 0.04% lower in early trade.

Let’s lift the lid on Superloop’s latest transaction.

Superloop share price climbs on offloading

Superloop shareholders are watching on as the company’s value stampedes higher on Monday. It appears investors are supportive of the latest strategic business decision.

According to the company’s announcement, Superloop has entered a binding agreement with funds affiliated with Columbia Capital and DigitalBridge Investment Management. The agreement entails the sale of Superloop’s Hong Kong operations, in addition to select assets of Superloop Singapore.

Positively, the $140 million sale price of these assets represents a 30% premium ($32 million) above the current carrying value.

However, there is more to the announcement than a simple asset sale. As part of the deal, Superloop will enter a 15-year indefeasible right of use on the existing or future expanded Singapore and Hong Kong networks. This will allow the ASX-listed company to continue participating in these geographies through its INDIGO submarine cable.

Under the terms, Columbia Capital and DigitalBridge will become strategic partners with Superloop to expand upon its INDIGO traffic with a preferential supply agreement.

Essentially, this means the investment funds will assist in expanding Superloop’s customers while they become customers at a discounted rate. The terms seem to be looked upon fondly by investors today, with the Superloop share price surging.

Management commentary

Commenting on the asset sale and partnership, Superloop CEO and managing director Paul Tyler stated:

I recognised when I joined Superloop that one of our great opportunities was to look at the invested capital of the business and where appropriate, recycle it and re-invest in areas that will drive greater shareholder returns. This sale of our Hong Kong business and select Singapore assets, at a premium to their carrying values, allows the company to release significant shareholder funds and redeploy them into more strategically aligned assets, higher growth opportunities and markets.

Furthermore, the announcement highlighted that the company will undergo a review of its capital. This will include the proceeds from this sale, gearing level, growth investments, liquidity, etc. Subsequently, Superloop plans to update the market on the outcomes of this review in February 2022.

Finally, the expectation is the company will be in a much stronger net cash position from this sale and review. As a result, Superloop hopes to be better primed for investing in organic growth, as well as merger and acquisition opportunities.

Superloop snapshot

The Superloop share price has outperformed the benchmark index over the past year. Specifically, the telecom offering has surged more than 30% in the past 12 months. Meanwhile, the Aussie index has added 18.4% during the same time period.

According to its financial reports ending June 2021, the company held $89.724 million in cash and cash equivalents. On the other hand, its debts totalled $56.134 million at the end of the financial year.

The post Superloop (ASX:SLC) share price soars 21% following asset sale appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 gold ASX shares experts are loving right now
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Aristocrat’s $5bn acquisition, Zip falls on Q1 update
• Why is the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price so volatile?
• Here’s why the Alcidion (ASX:ALC) share price is jumping 5% today
• Aventus (ASX:AVN) share price shoots 9% higher on HomeCo merger plans

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. owns shares of and has recommended SUPERLOOP FPO. 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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At lunch on Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week with a solid gain. The benchmark index is currently up 0.4% to 7,391.5 points.

Here’s what is happening on the market today:

Aristocrat Leisure announces major acquisition

The Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL) share price is in a trading halt today so that it can undertake an equity raising to fund a major acquisition. According to the release, the company has made a cash offer to acquire London-listed leading global online gambling software and content supplier, Playtech, for $5 billion. This represents a valuation multiple of 11.4x Playtech’s adjusted EBITDA for the twelve months ended 30 June 2021.

HUB24 to acquire Class

The HUB24 Ltd (ASX: HUB) share price is trading lower today despite announcing a deal to acquire Class Ltd (ASX: CL1). According to the release, the company is acquiring the self-managed super fund (SMSF) administration software provider for 1 HUB24 share for every 11 Class shares owned. In addition, HUB24 will provide 10 cents per Class share in cash. Combined, this represents a 71.6% premium to Class’ last close price.

Zip Q1 update

The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price is dropping on Monday despite announcing a record first quarter performance. The buy now pay later provider reported record quarterly revenue of $136.8 million, up 89% year-on-year. This was driven by a 101% increase in quarterly transaction volume to $1.9 billion and an 82% jump in customer numbers to 8 million. Zip also revealed that it successfully completed a global rebrand across six countries during the quarter.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Monday has been the Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX: NIC) share price with a 4% gain. This morning Ord Minnett initiated coverage on the nickel producer with an accumulate rating and $1.10 price target. The worst performer has been the Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) share price with a 4% decline on no news.

The post ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Aristocrat’s $5bn acquisition, Zip falls on Q1 update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Class (ASX:CL1) share price explodes 60% on takeover news
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• HUB24 (ASX:HUB) share price rises amid acquisition announcement
• Aristocrat (ASX:ALL) share price halted for $5bn Playtech acquisition
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

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 shares of and has recommended Hub24 Ltd, Kogan.com ltd, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Class Limited and Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Hub24 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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For the many things the Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price is known for, stability is not high on the list. Yes, this buy now, pay later (BNPL) pioneer has delivered some neck-cracking growth over the past few years. Just for context, the Afterpay share price is currently still up an incredible 4,016% over the past 5 years at its current level of $121.47 a share (at the time of writing).

But that growth has not come smoothly.

A brief history of a BNPL giant

Back in 2018, Afterpay shares rose more than 200% between just April and August. In the 2 subsequent months, the company then lost roughly 42% of its value. In 2019, we saw a similar experience, with the shares putting on more than 70% over just a couple of months, but not without a subsequent 25% drop as well.

And then, we had 2020.

The coronavirus-induced market crash in early 2020 saw global markets tank. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) alone lost roughly 36% between 20 February and 23 March 2020.

But that was nothing compared to what happened to Afterpay shares. Afterpay was riding high in early 2020, hitting new all-time highs and peaking at close to $40 by February. But when the market crash hit, Afterpay shares were annihilated. The company rapidly fell from close to $40 in February to under $9 a share by 23 March. That was a fall of close to 80% peak to trough.

But for investors who managed to hold on during this wild ride, the rewards were even more dramatic. Once it became clear that the global economy was going to be liberally supported by government intervention, global markets rebounded across April and May 2020.

By May, Afterpay was back to making new all-time highs above $40 a share. By August, it had hit $80. And by February 2021, $160 a share (its current all-time high).

In more recent months, the Afterpay share price has been influenced by the takeover offer that was made for the company by Square Inc (NYSE: SQ). Square is to acquire Afterpay after the US-based payments company made an all-scrip offer of 0.375 Square shares for every Afterpay share back in August.

Why is the Afterpay share price so volatile?

So now we have a good idea of how volatile the Afterpay share price is, why is this the case?

That’s a complex question. The most important thing to note is Afterpay’s reputation as an ASX growth share. Growth shares are usually characterised by a number of factors. These include rapid revenue growth rates, negative earnings, a reputation for ‘disruption’ and a passionate investor base. Afterpay has arguably displayed all of these characteristics for a number of years now.

It is difficult to value a company of this nature with traditional metrics like the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. As such, we often see a wide variety of views as to what the future holds. In other words, you tend to see investors flocking to one of two camps: ‘Afterpay is way too cheap’, or ‘Afterpay is way too expensive’.

This dichotomy can be described as one of the possible reasons Afterpay shares have been so volatile over the past few years. If and when Afterpay is swallowed by Square, the ASX will lose one of its hottest, but most polarising and volatile shares it has seen in years. But the Afterpay share price has sure made many investors very happy along the way.

The post Why is the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price so volatile? 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 shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. 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 Alcidion Group Ltd (ASX: ALC) share price is rocketing higher today after the company announced the Sydney Local Health District has expanded its use of Miya Precision.

The expanded agreement will see Alcidion with an extra $1.8 million of revenue over the next 3 years.

At the time of writing, the Alcidion share price is 37 cents, 5.71% higher than its previous close.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s news from the healthcare-focused software provider.

Alcidion share price soars on expanded agreement

The Alcidion share price is in the green after news Miya Precision is to help support more delivery of virtual care.

Miya Precision is a remote patient-monitoring platform. It provides Sydney Local Health District’s RPA Virtual Hospital‘s clinicians with a monitoring dashboard to support remote patient care.

Initially, the company’s contract with Sydney Local Health District was for 12 months. The initial contract saw Miya Precision used to manage the care of COVID-19 patients in home isolation.

Under the newly expanded agreement, Miya Precision will also help monitor patients with acute diverticulitis.

Alcidion’s managing director, Kate Quirke, commented on the news driving the company’s share price today:

We believe Alcidion can play a meaningful role in the development of virtual care across the hospital system in Australia and this partnership with Sydney Local Health District provides a strong validation of that. The opportunity to extend our technology to provide improved information and communication options for the patient in the home will significantly improve the patient experience and contribute to better outcomes.

According to the company, Miya Precision aims to reduce hospitalisations, increase the number of patients treated, and improve recovery outcomes.

Alcidion and Sydney Local Health District will also work to deploy the patient app, Miya Care.

The app will allow the RPA Virtual Hospital to better monitor care progress and improve engagement with patients. Miya Care will also use data from patient monitoring devices and wearable technology.

The post Here’s why the Alcidion (ASX:ALC) share price is jumping 5% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Top ASX shares to buy in October 2021

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. owns shares of and has recommended Alcidion Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alcidion Group 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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The Aventus Group (ASX: AVN) share price is shooting higher on Monday morning.

At the time of writing, the large format retail centre operator’s shares are up 9% to a record high of $3.62.

Why is the Aventus share price shooting higher?

Investors have been bidding the Aventus share price higher today after it announced plans to merge with Home Consortium Ltd (ASX: HMC) and HomeCo Daily Needs REIT (ASX: HDN).

According to the release, the agreement will see Aventus shareholders receive 2.2 HomeCo Daily Needs shares and either $0.285 cash or 0.038 Home Consortium shares for every Aventus share they own. This implies an offer price of $3.82, which represents a 15.3% premium to the Aventus share price at the end of last week.

The release notes that the merger will lead to a significant increase in scale, with a combined portfolio size of ~$4.1 billion and a market capitalisation of ~$3.2 billion. This is expected to qualify the merged group for eligibility for inclusion in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

It also expected to allow the merged group to capitalise on its combined 2.5 million square metre landbank across the strongest metropolitan markets of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide to deliver future last mile logistics infrastructure.

What now?

The Aventus Board unanimously considers the merger to be in the best interests of shareholders and recommends that they vote in favour of it. This is in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to the independent expert’s report.

Aventus’ Chairman, Bruce Carter, commented: “The Merger is attractive for Aventus securityholders, both because of the potential offered by being part of the larger merged groups and because the offer reflects a material premium to Aventus’ trading price and its NTA.”

This sentiment was echoed by HomeCo Daily Needs’ Chairman, Simon Shakesheff.

He said: “We believe the merger is strategically and financially attractive for both HDN and AVN and consistent with HDN’s objective to deliver stable and growing distributions. The increased scale and enhanced capability will allow the merged group to unlock significant value that would not have been accessible on a standalone basis.”

The Aventus share price is now up 30% in 2021.

The post Aventus (ASX:AVN) share price shoots 9% higher on HomeCo merger plans 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 AVENTUS RE UNIT. 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 Propel Funeral Partners Ltd (ASX: PFP) share price won’t be going anywhere on Monday after the company requested a trading halt this morning.

What’s the trading halt for?

The Propel Funeral share price is halted pending an announcement regarding an institutional placement and a follow-on share purchase plan.

The company advised that the trading halt will remain in place until Wednesday 20 October or when an announcement is made to the market in relation to the outcome of the placement.

According to the company’s FY21 results, it had $7.5 million of cash and $79 million of net debt as at 30 June 2021.

Growth via acquisitions

Propel Funeral has spent almost $150 million on acquisitions since its ASX debut in late 2017.

More recently, the company committed $15.4 million on three acquisitions to drive its presence in the South Australian and New Zealand markets.

According to its FY21 full-year results, the company said that it “remains focused on its core investment strategy to acquire assets and social infrastructure which operate in the death care industry in Australia and New Zealand”.

What’s next for Propel Funeral?

The Propel Funeral share price is sitting around all-time highs following resilient operating and financial performance so far in FY21-22.

The company recently provided a trading update for the first quarter of FY22, citing modest revenue growth of 13% against the prior corresponding period whilst performing a record number of funerals in the first quarter.

Despite COVID-19 impacts, management said that “hopefully extended lockdowns, strict funeral attendee limits and travel restrictions will soon be behind us, enabling bereaved client families to grieve in a manner that they ordinarily would, surrounded by family and friends.”

Encouragingly, Victoria announced last week the easing of restrictions from midnight, Thursday 21 October. This will allow 20 fully vaccinated people to attend indoor funerals and weddings or 50 outdoors.

Propel Funeral share price snapshot

The Propel Funeral share price is up 55% year-to-date, closing at record highs of $4.42 last Friday.

The post Propel Funeral (ASX:PFP) share price halted ahead of cap raise appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Propel Funeral (ASX:PFP) share price on watch after first quarter update

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The Class Ltd (ASX: CL1) share price is rocketing higher on Monday morning. This move is amid the company entering a scheme arrangement to be acquired by HUB24 Ltd (ASX: HUB).

At the time of writing, the Class share price is trading 60.77% higher to $2.91. This puts the self-managed super fund (SMSF) administration solutions company’s shares at the highest level since early 2018.

Why is the Class share price rocketing higher today?

Investors are bidding up the Class share price on Monday morning following a takeover bid from HUB24. The offer from the $2.27 billion investment platform company represents a significant premium to its previous closing price on Friday afternoon.

According to the release, to acquire Class, HUB24 has offered 1 ordinary share for 11 ordinary Class shares. Additionally, the larger company will provide shareholders with 10 cents per ordinary share in cash to secure the acquisition. Shareholders can rest assured an interim dividend for FY22 of 2.5 cents per share has been declared on top of this payment.

Based on the closing price of HUB24 shares on 15 October, the consideration on offer implies a $3.11 Class share price. Similarly, the deal assigns a market capitalisation of $386 million to the SMSF solutions company.

The Class board has unanimously recommended shareholders vote in favour of the scheme. Unless the company receives a superior offer from another party. Furthermore, the board cited the potential for increased strength and technological innovation after merging with HUB24.

Management commentary

Commenting on the acquisition proposal, CEO and managing director Andrew Russell stated:

The combined strengths of Class and HUB24 will further accelerate the transformation of Class and provide exciting opportunities for future growth. We’re pleased Class will continue to run as a separate business unit within the HUB24 group so our team can continue to deliver on our strategy, whilst leveraging our deep technology expertise to deliver superior outcomes to both sets of customers.

From here, the deal will undergo 2 court hearings for reviewing the scheme booklet. If this progresses, the scheme is expected to be implemented mid to late February 2022.

Class in the past

Today’s jump breaks the downward trend that the Class share price had been experiencing over the last 12 months. Prior to today, the company’s shares had sunk approximately 16% over the last year.

Finally, the deal represents a 121% increase on the 52-week low recorded on the Class share price in May.

The post Class (ASX:CL1) share price explodes 60% on takeover news appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• HUB24 (ASX:HUB) share price rises amid acquisition announcement

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. owns shares of and has recommended Hub24 Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Class Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Hub24 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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The Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price is edging lower during Monday morning trade. The retail conglomerate released an announcement regarding its off-market share buy-back.

At the time of writing, Woolworths shares are swapping hands for $40.11, down 0.15%. It’s worth noting that its shares are within sight of breaking their all-time high of $42.66 reached on 20 August.

Let’s take a closer look into what the company provided to the ASX.

Woolworths completes share buy back

In today’s statement, Woolworths advised it has successfully completed its $2 billion off-market share buy-back.

Management determined the final market price to come at $40.06 for each Woolworths share. This represents a 14% discount on the 5-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP) to the closing price on 15 October.

Eligible shareholders will receive $34.46 for each share, including a capital component of $4.31 and a dividend component of $30.15.

The transaction involves 58 million Woolworths shares or 4.6% of the entire issued capital.

Due to strong demand, the buy-back was scaled down by 81.2% to minimise disadvantaging shareholders with small holdings. For those who had 180 shares or less as a result, Woolworths noted it will buy back all of these shares.

However, for shareholders with more than 180 shares, the company will buy back 18.8% of the shares offered.

Woolworths group chief financial officer, Stephen Harrison said:

We are very pleased to have successfully completed the share buy-back, returning $2 billion of capital to shareholders, as foreshadowed at the time of the Endeavour Group demerger. Woolworths Group remains well-positioned to pursue our future growth aspirations, given the strength of the Group’s balance sheet.

Woolworths share price snapshot

It’s been a modest 12 months for Woolworths shares, increasing in value of around 15% over the period. The company’s share price has been relatively steady along the way, despite taking a dive during the “September effect”.

Woolworths commands a market capitalisation of about $51 billion and has 1.27 billion shares on its registry.

The post Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price edges lower following share buy-back completion appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Own Woolworths (ASX:WOW) shares? Here’s how the retail giant is using AI to combat self-serve cheats
• Own Woolworths (ASX:WOW) shares? Here’s why the company is making news this week
• Can the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price hit $45 by the end of 2021?
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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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