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It’s been a big week for the Wesfarmers Limited (ASX: WES) share price.

Investors have been keeping a keen eye on shares in the Aussie conglomerate after various headlines.

Let’s take a look at why the Wesfarmers share price has received extra attention this past week.

What’s making the headlines?

Wesfarmers made headlines this week following its ‘sweetened’ bid to acquire Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API).

The conglomerate has offered to buy 100% of API’s outstanding shares at $1.55 per share under a revised scheme arrangement.

At the time, Wesfarmers’ new offer represented a 22% premium on API’s closing price. Overall, the new bid values API’s equity at approximately$764 million.

API’s board unanimously recommended the revised bid, subject to parties entering a binding scheme implementation deed.

According to the Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk column, Wesfarmers has already begun its due diligence which will take approximately 4 weeks.

Before proceeding, the deal also requires clearance from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Wesfarmers made its intentions about expanding into the beauty and pharmaceutical sector clear earlier this year.

The conglomerate lodged a $687 million takeover bid for API in July, which was rejected by the pharmaceutical company.

The renewed bid for API has also renewed speculation on other acquisitions Wesfarmers may pursue.

Snapshot of the Wesfarmers share price

Up until recently, the Wesfarmers share price was having a stellar year. However, in the past 3 weeks, shares in the conglomerate have fallen more than 14% from their record highs.

The sell-off coincides with the release of the company’s full-year report for FY21.

Wesfarmers recorded a 10% increase in revenue and an 18.8% jump in EBIT from continuing operations.

Other highlights from the company’s full-year report included:

• EBIT (after interest on lease liabilities) up 20.7% to $3,550 million;
• Net profit after tax rose 16.2% to $2,421 million;
• Operating cash flows down 25.6% to $3,383 million;
• Fully franked full-year dividend of 178 cents per share, up 17.1% year on year; and
• Proposed $2.3 billion or $2.00 per share capital return to shareholders.

Despite falling in the past month, the Wesfarmers share price remains more than 12.5% higher for the year.

Shares in the conglomerate closed Friday’s trading session at $57.28, up 0.53% on the day.

The post Why the Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price has been in focus this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Acquisitions for Wesfarmers and Domain, Telstra plans to grow and Myer back in profit. Scott Phillips on Nine’s Late News
• The Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price rose after the API (ASX:API) bid
• This year’s ASX 200 Santa Rally to get a whopping $84bn cash boost
• These 3 ASX Healthcare shares have surged over 10% today
• Why Anteotech, API, Myer, & Whitehaven Coal shares are charging higher

Motley Fool contributor Nikhil Gangaram 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 Wesfarmers 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 some top ASX dividend shares to add to your income portfolio next week, then you might want to look at the ones listed below.

Here’s what income investors need to know about them:

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

Accent is a retail group with a collection of popular footwear-focused store brands. These include stores such as HYPEDC, Platypus, Sneaker Lab, Stylerunner, and The Athlete’s Foot.

But it is unlikely to stop there. Accent is not afraid to test the waters with new ideas and has launched several new brands over the last few years. Positively, this strategy has been working wonders and has helped Accent grow at a consistently solid rate over the last few years.

In addition to this, the company recently bolstered its offering with the acquisition of Glue Store. This opens up Accent to the growing street fashion market, complementing its existing businesses.

Bell Potter is a fan of the company. It currently has a buy rating and $2.90 price target on its shares. The broker is forecasting dividends of 9.3 cents per share in FY 2022 and then 13.3 cents per share in FY 2023.

Based on the latest Accent share price of $2.22, this represents fully franked yields of 4.2% and 6%, respectively.

Transurban Group (ASX: TCL)

Another ASX dividend share to look at this toll road operator. Transurban owns a collection of important roads in Australia and North America such as CityLink in Melbourne and the Cross City Tunnel and Eastern Distributor in Sydney.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 lockdowns have led to a notable decline in traffic on its roads. However, volumes recovered quickly after previous lockdowns and are likely to do so again when restrictions ease. And with the vaccine rollout going well, this time the rebound could stick.

Macquarie remains positive on the company. It recently retained its outperform rating but trimmed its price target slightly to $14.66.

The broker is forecasting dividends of 42.3 cents per share in FY 2022 and then 64.3 cents per share in FY 2023. Based on the current Transurban share price of $14.18, this equates to yields of 3% and 4.5%, respectively, over the next two years.

The post 2 ASX dividend shares to buy next week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Accent, Ioneer, Lifestyle Communities, & Vulcan are sinking
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Why Accent, Calix, Pilbara Minerals, & Starpharma shares are racing higher
• Which ASX 300 shares are on the move mid-week?
• The Transurban (ASX:TCL) share price is up only 1% this year. Is it a buy?

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 Accent Group. 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 Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price fell hard on Friday, finishing the day down 11.48% to $15.27 per share.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) struggled as well, though not nearly to the same extent, falling 0.76%.

The Fortescue share price came under pressure as iron prices retreated another 8% overnight Thursday to US$107.21 (AU$46.86) per tonne. That’s a far cry from the US$212 that same tonne of iron ore was fetching on 30 July.

With ASX 200 iron ore miners in the spotlight, we take a brief review of Fortescue’s strong results for the full 2021 financial year (FY21) below. And we look at how its shares have performed since reporting.

What FY21 results did the ASX 200 miner report?

Investors were keeping a close eye on the Fortescue share price on 30 August, the day the company released its FY21 results.

Among the core results impressing analysts were revenues of US$12.8 billion. That was up 74% from the US$12.8 billion reported the prior year.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at US$16.4 billion, up 96% from FY20. And net profit after tax (NPAT) soared 117% year-on-year to US$10.3 billion.

The strong results saw Fortescue declare a final dividend of $2.11 per share, fully franked. That brought the full-year dividend to $3.58 per share, an increase of 103% from FY20.

Commenting on the year gone by and the year ahead, Fortescue’s CEO Elizabeth Gaines said:

Through the Iron Bridge Magnetite project and Fortescue Future Industries, we are investing in the growth of our iron ore operations, as well as pursuing ambitious global opportunities in renewable energy and green industries.

How has the Fortescue share price performed since reporting?

The strong results delivered before market open on 30 August saw the Fortescue share price gain 6.6% on the day.

While it’s had a few up days since then, the trend has largely been lower, in line with tumbling iron ore prices. By the close of trading on Friday, Fortescue’s share price was down 23.6% since reporting.

By comparison, the ASX 200 is down 1.3% over that same period.

The post How has the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price performed since reporting results? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These were the worst performing ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) shares last week
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are flying around the markets today
• Which ASX shares are looking to finish the week as the top movers on the ASX 300 today?
• Why Fortescue, IRESS, Newcrest, & Syrah shares are tumbling lower
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Fortescue crashes, IRESS sinks

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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Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) shares have been struggling in recent months. The Aussie buy now, pay later (BNPL) company’s value is down more than 20% in the last 6 months and 5% in the last month alone.

Investors may be curious who is riding the highs and lows of share ownership in the Aussie company. Here’s a look at what company insiders are doing with their Zip shares right now.

Why does it matter?

Insider ownership may not seem like such a big deal to your average investor. However, it can be a really powerful indicator of support for the company’s future prospects.

Insiders such as the executive team (CEO, CFO etc) and board often own a stake in the company. That’s because it helps with compensation, but also with aligning incentives. After all, the board represents the interests of the company’s shareholders who own the shares themselves.

Ensuring a significant portion of an executive’s pay packet is tied up in shares or options also incentivises those individuals to boost the share price, which is what shareholders want.

That’s enough about the why, let’s take a look at how insider ownership looks with Zip shares.

How many Zip shares are owned by insiders?

Notably, founder and CEO Larry Diamond sold $13.77 million worth of Zip shares back on 15 April. Co-founder and COO Peter Gray also sold down $4.59 million worth of company shares on the same date.

Interestingly, that coincided with the start of a 30% decline in the Zip share price through to mid-May 2021.

It must be said that director share sales have been few and far between in recent times. That has been reflected with strong recent gains for the Aussie BNPL powerhouse. Zip shares have climbed 20.2% higher year to date and a whopping 833% in the past 5 years.

The recent sales by Mr Diamond and Mr Gray doesn’t mean that they have lost faith in Zip. Founders sell down for a variety of reasons such as liquidity and the recent sales represent a small portion of shares owned by the two.

In fact, Diamond Venture Holdings Pty Ltd is still the company’s top shareholder with a 10.99% stake while Mr Gray maintains a 3.09% stake and is within the top 10 investors.

The post What percentage of Zip (ASX:Z1P) shares are owned by insiders? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How has the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price performed since reporting results?
• 3 exciting ASX tech shares to buy this month
• Top broker says Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price can rise 22%
• ASX 200 rises, Zip falls, Brambles sinks
• Why Australian Ethical, Brambles, Novonix, & Zip shares are tumbling lower

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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 ZIPCOLTD 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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A disappointing finish to the week led to the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) recording a very small weekly decline. The benchmark index fell 2.9 points to end at 7,403.7 points.

Thankfully not all shares fell with the market. In fact, some even managed to record strong gains. Here’s why these were the best performers on the ASX 200 last week:

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)

The Altium share price was the best performer on the ASX 200 last week with a 14.4% gain. This was despite there being no news out of the electronic design software company. However, this appears to have been driven by the company’s shares playing catch up after underperforming year to date. For example, even after this strong gain the Altium share price is only up 5% in 2021.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

The Pilbara Minerals share price was the next best performer with a gain of 11.7% over the five days. Investors were buying the lithium miner’s shares after it released the results of its second lithium spodumene concentrate digital auction. According to the update, Pilbara Minerals received a bid of US$2,240/dmt for 8,000 dmt of its spodumene concentrate. This was almost double what it received at its inaugural auction last month. This is being seen as a sign that demand is strong and the positive price momentum in the lithium market will continue.

G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM)

The G8 Education share price wasn’t far behind with a 10% gain last week. This was despite the childcare centre operator’s shares being kicked out of the ASX 200 a week earlier. Some of this gain could have been driven by buying from alternative asset investment company, Tanarra Capital. At the end of the week, a notice revealed that Tanarra Capital has become a substantial holder. The asset manager has been building its position since the end of July and has now amassed a 6.2% stake.

Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL)

The Woodside Petroleum share price was on form and recorded a 9.6% gain over the five days. Investors were buying the energy company’s shares after oil prices pushed higher. Both Brent and WTI crude oil prices rose after US energy producers took longer to restart following Hurricane Ida. This was boosted further by a greater than expected drawdown of US stockpiles.

The post These were the best performing ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) shares last week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These were the worst performing ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) shares last week
• The Tinybeans (ASX:TNY) share price has jumped 9% on Friday
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• The next ASX 200 shares that could undertake a big capital return
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are flying around the markets today

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Altium. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Altium. 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) closed 1.5% lower at $39.51 on Friday as the disappointing run continues for shareholders.

Shares in the Aussie financial group are now down 13% in the past month and hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday.

Why the Magellan share price hit a 52-week low this week

One big factor was a tough 2021 financial year for the investments group. While some ASX companies prospered and posted big growth numbers in the August reporting season, Magellan didn’t manage to join them.

Some of the big takeaways from the group’s August 17 results release:

• Retail funds under management (FUM) up 15.4% to $30.9 billion
• Institutional FUM up 17.9% to $83 billion
• Net profit after tax down 33% on the prior corresponding period to $265.2 million
• Adjusted net profit after tax down 6% on FY20 numbers to $412.7 million
• Partially franked (75%) dividend down 2% year on year to 211.2 cents per share.

The Magellan share price has slipped lower following the results update and hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday. Given the recent declines, it does beg the question of whether or not Magellan is in the buy zone.

Is the Aussie financial group in the buy zone?

Investors are always hunting for a bargain. Unfortunately for Magellan, a notable broker doesn’t think that it’s a great buy just yet.

UBS recently slashed its price target on Magellan shares to $35 and moved the company from ‘neutral’ to ‘sell’. Notably, Magellan does own a 40 per cent stake in rival investment bank Barrenjoey Capital Partners which has been on something of a talent raid across the local banking landscape.

UBS downgraded the Aussie financial share as it weighed up headwinds facing Magellan going forward. It’s not necessarily all bad news for investors, however, with Morgans setting a $58.05 per share price target back in mid August.

Stronger FUM growth and investment performance could be worth watching for their near-term impacts on the Magellan share price.

The post The Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price hit a 52-week low this week. Do brokers think it’s a buy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Magellan Financial (ASX:MFG) share price is down 21% in a month
• Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price slumps on FUM update
• 2 ASX dividend shares that could be buys in September 2021
• Own Magellan (ASX:MFG) shares? A $5b competitor could be hitting the ASX
• 2 quality ASX shares to look at this weekend

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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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During last year’s first wave of COVID-19, ASX travel shares were undoubtedly a bargain.

The likes of Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN), Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD), Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) and Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) saw their share prices crash in March 2020. 

But they clawed back some lost ground in a matter of weeks as investors realised sooner or later travel would resume. 

They were boosted further at the end of last year when the news of vaccines filled everyone with hope.

But with much of Australia now held hostage by the Delta strain of coronavirus, are these stocks still worth buying?

Or are their share prices now fully priced for the re-opening trade?

Qantas is cleared for further altitude

The share price for the Flying Kangaroo closed Friday 1.47% up at $5.53. Qantas shares have gained almost 39% in the last 12 months.

According to Switzer Financial director Paul Rickard, brokers are targeting $6, suggesting another 9% upside.

“It’s used the pandemic to really transform its cost base. It has reset its international program. And we’ve seen with the collapse of Virgin… its share of the domestic market has also changed for the better,” he told Switzer TV Investing.

“I think there’s a bit more left in Qantas.”

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce reckons Australians will be flying overseas by the end of the year, which is only 3 months away.

He’s betting that Australia will nationally reach 80% vaccination coverage by then, and that will prod the federal government into removing border restrictions.

Rickard did warn that brokers aren’t expecting Qantas to regain profitability until the 2023 financial year at the earliest, and not return to pre-COVID numbers until 2024.

Will Australians visit travel agents anymore?

Rickard is more circumspect about the future of Flight Centre.

“The whole travel agent model. Just what happens to that going forward?”

Flight Centre shares touched the $60 mark back in 2018. It closed Friday at $18.43.

“They’ve laid off a lot of staff, closed a lot of branches — so their cost base is in a much better position,” said Rickard.

“But I’m not sure we’re going to get back to $60 anytime soon. It’s not my number 1 stock in this area.” 

Webjet is in a similar position, with Friday’s closing price of $5.92 not that far away from brokers’ target of $6.02. 

But it has a cushion that might soften the blow compared to Flight Centre, said Rickard.

“It’s more dependant on corporate travel than perhaps the retail market.”

A little bit of room to travel for Corporate Travel shares

Shares for Corporate Travel Management was down 0.28% on Friday, to close the day at $21.36.

The stock has gained just under 30% in the past year.

According to Rickard, Corporate Travel Management shares have a broker price target of $23.65.

“I think they’ve really survived because they’re much more global in orientation and they’re getting good business overseas,” he said.

“Certainly the market has liked this stock — very much so over the last 12 months.”

The post Is it too late to buy Qantas (ASX:QAN) and other ASX travel shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price lifts on oversubscribed bond refinance update
• To buy, hold or sell? Experts weigh in on the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price
• Recovery gaining momentum: Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) boss
• Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price reverses day’s losses as first international flights scheduled
• Why the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price has soared 24% in 4 weeks

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns shares of Corporate Travel Management Limited, Qantas Airways Limited, and Webjet Ltd. 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 Corporate Travel Management Limited and Webjet Ltd. 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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The Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) share price has been underperforming this year.

Since the start of the year, the insurance giant’s shares have risen 7%.

This compares to a gain of almost 11% for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) over the same period.

Is the IAG share price good value?

One leading broker that sees value in the IAG share price at the current level is Morgans.

According to a recent note, the broker has an add rating and $5.65 price target on the company’s shares.

Based on the current IAG share price of $5.05, this implies potential upside of 12% over the next 12 months before dividends.

Morgans is also estimating that the company will reward shareholders with a 23.6 cents per share fully franked dividend in FY 2022. If we add this into the equation, this brings the potential return on offer to approximately 16.5%.

What did the broker say?

Morgans acknowledges that FY 2021 was a difficult year for the insurance giant.

In case you missed it, IAG reported a massive net loss of $414 million in FY 2021. This was driven by one-offs relating to business interruption insurance and customer refunds.

However, the broker feels optimistic that IAG is turning a corner and that FY 2022 will be better. This is due to its belief that a combination of price increases and the company’s strategy will underpin improved profitability.

Morgans commented: “IAG clearly had a difficult FY21. However, from here we believe insurance price increases combined with management’s strategy to improve underwriting and lower costs should drive improved profitability. With the stock trading close to 7 year lows, we see relative value in the name and maintain our ADD call.”

All in all, the broker believes this means the IAG share price is trading at an attractive level for investors right now.

The post Why this broker sees the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price gaining 12% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The next ASX 200 shares that could undertake a big capital return
• Why the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price is down 5% in 7 days
• Why experts have high hopes for the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price
• Is the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price bouncing back in September?
• Why the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price has underperformed the ASX 200 in the last year

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Insurance Australia 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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This weekend could be a good time to consider some leading ASX shares as potential ideas.

Investments that are growing nicely and are seemingly at attractive value could be good ones to think about.

It could be a wise idea to think about businesses that give Aussies international earnings diversification.

With that in mind, here are two ASX shares:

VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT)

This is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that, geographically, is about giving investors exposure to US stocks.

But, it’s not a broad-based ETF such as Vanguard US Total Market Shares Index ETF (ASX: VTS) or iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV).

Instead, the ASX share is focused on a certain standard of business.

Analysts at Morningstar are focused on finding businesses that are viewed as having wide (strong) economic moats. That means the analysts believe the business has a strong competitive advantage. Not only that, but the analysts believe that the business will be competitively strong for at least a decade and perhaps longer.

The wide moat businesses are what the analysts start with as a shortlist. To make it into the VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF portfolio, the potential investments must be trading at attractive value compared to the estimate of fair value.

Looking at the portfolio from 15 September 2021, of the 51 positions, these are the ones with a weighting of more than 2.5%: Servicenow, Alphabet, Microsoft, Facebook, Pfizer, Cheniere Energy, Guidewire Software, Salesforce.com, Philip Morris, Tyler Technologies, Medtronic, Amazon.com, Wells Fargo, Gilead Sciences and General Dynamics.

This ASX share has an annual management cost of 0.49%. Including those costs, the ETF has produced an average return of 19.4% per annum over the last five years.

Doctor Care Anywhere Group PLC (ASX: DOC)

This ASX share is down more than 20% since the end of May 2021, though it continues to expand its business in terms of revenue, profit and geographically where it operates.

Doctor Care Anywhere is a UK-based telehealth company that is offering digitally-enabled care for patients. It is utilising its relationships with health insurers, healthcare providers and corporate customers to deliver a range of telehealth services.

The ASX share recently reported its FY21 half-year result. The following numbers were compared to the second half of FY20. So, the numbers represent half-on-half growth. Total revenue increased by 57.7% to $11.2 million. Gross profit jumped 75.8% to $5.8 million.

Despite continuing to invest in various parts of the business, earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) climbed 15.8% to a loss of $8 million and the net loss after tax increased by 37% to $8 million.

But the business has also been busy expanding its operations to other countries. A few days ago it announced it was expanding in the Republic of Ireland to self-paying patients. Its existing operations in the Irish market includes the provision of digital healthcare services to employees of the Irish headquarters of one of the UK’s largest banking groups and a partnership with one of the world’s largest insurance groups called Allianz.

The company has also entered the Australian telehealth market by acquiring GP2U Telehealth. It provides virtual GP services as well as tele-mental services under the brand Psych2U. In FY21, GP2U Telehealth delivered 54.8% gross revenue growth for FY21 (which was to a total of A$4.4 million). The acquisition price was $11 million.

Doctor Care Anywhere sees significant opportunities to grow national mental health and GP telehealth services in Australia.

The post 2 ASX shares that may be worth looking at this weekend appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 sinks, BHP and CBA fall
• Why the Doctor Care Anywhere (ASX:DOC) share price is jumping 10% today
• 2 excellent ETFs for ASX investors this week
• 3 high quality ETFs for ASX investors in September
• 2 ETFs for strong diversification in September 2021

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Doctor Care Anywhere Group PLC. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Doctor Care Anywhere Group PLC, VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF, and iShares Trust – iShares Core S&P 500 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 Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price has had a great year thus far.

Shares in the banking giant have soared more than 21% since the start of the year.

By comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has only managed to claw 12.5% higher in 2021.

It’s not very common to see the share price of a big bank like ANZ outperforming the broader index.

So, what is the outlook for the ANZ share price?

Can the ANZ share price keep rising?

According to a leading broker, investors can expect more upside for shares in ANZ.

A recent note published by Morgan’s painted a bullish outlook, with analysts having an add rating and $34.50 price target on the bank’s shares.

Analysts cited ANZ’s attractive valuation and cost reduction plans for the positive outlook.

Given its strong capital position, analysts also forecast ANZ to pay out a full franked dividend of $1.65 per share in FY22.

In addition, the broker spruiked ANZ as potentially being the best option among major Aussie banks right now.

On the contrary, some experts have flagged a more bearish outlook for the ANZ share price.

According to the commentary, moderation in volume and housing growth could slow near-term growth prospects for the big banks.

Snapshot of the ANZ share price

There are several catalysts that appear to have helped propel the ANZ share price higher this year.

In May, ANZ reported a strong first-half report for FY21.

The report highlighted a 45% increase in statutory profit after tax of $2.94 billion.

Continuing operations cash profit also increased 28% for the first half to $2.99 billion.

ANZ has also highlighted improved credit conditions which resulted in the release of almost $500 million during the half.

In its recent business update for the third quarter, the banking giant noted that its CET1 ratio came in at 12.2%, a slight reduction from the 12.4% recorded in the previous period. 

With its strong capital position and cost reductions, ANZ announced its intention to buy back up to $1.5 billion of shares on market as part of its capital management plan.

The bank’s buyback is also expected to reduce ANZ’s CET1 ratio by a further 35 basis points.

The ANZ share price closed yesterday’s trading session slightly lower at $27.61.

The post What does the future look like for the ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Nikhil Gangaram 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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