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The Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price was on form again in August.

During the month, the cloud-based accounting platform provider’s shares rose 8.2% to $151.82.

This means the Xero share price is now trading within sight of its record high of $157.99.

Why did the Xero share price outperform in August?

The Xero share price outperformance in August appears to have been driven by a positive reaction to the launch of its app store.

Last month the company launched the Xero App Store across the ANZ and UK markets. This is part of the company’s plan to streamline and simplify access to the ~1,000 apps currently available in its ecosystem.

This App Store has a similar model to the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. It charges a 15% fee for app subscriptions purchased through it store.

What was the reaction?

The team at Goldman Sachs were pleased with the move. They have long spoken about the significant growth opportunity the company has if it can successfully monetise its app ecosystem.

As a result, the broker has retained its buy rating and $165.00 price target.

Based on the latest Xero share price, this implies potential upside of 8.7% over the next 12 months.

What did the broker say?

Goldman said: “We see this as a positive step from Xero, which is increasingly focused on monetizing its strong market positions within the ANZ and UK markets, with the incremental revenues used to accelerate its ongoing global expansion.”

“We previously outlined our belief that a 10-15% app-store fee was possible for Xero, given this would provide consistency across the Xero app developers to incentivize continued investment, while being comparable to a number of digital marketplaces globally who have app fees ranging from 12% (Epic Games) to 30% (Apple, Google, Steam, etc).”

“Although the quantum of app attachment rates is uncertain, we estimated that a 15% app store fee could open up an incremental NZ$1.4bn of TAM, with these earnings likely to be 100% margin,” it added.

This latest gain means the Xero share price is now up 55% over the last 12 months. However, Goldman appears to believe there’s still more to come.

The post August was a great month for the Xero (ASX:XRO) share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Analysts rate these ASX tech shares as buys
• The Xero (ASX:XRO) share price is up 50% over the past 12 months
• 2 strong ASX tech shares that might be good buys
• Top broker thinks these ASX tech shares are buys
• 2 ASX growth shares brokers love

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 Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was on form again in August and recorded its 11th consecutive month of gains. The benchmark index rose 1.9% to end the period at 7,534.9 points.

While a good number of ASX 200 shares climbed higher last month, some climbed more than most. Here’s why these were the best performing ASX 200 shares in August:

WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)

The WiseTech share price was the best performer on the ASX 200 in August with a whopping 57% gain. The main driver of this gain was the release of a stronger than expected full year result for FY 2021. For the 12 months ended 30 June, the logistics solutions company delivered an 18% increase in revenue to $507.5 million and a 63% jump in EBITDA to $206.7 million. This was in line with its revenue guidance of $470 million to $510 million and well ahead of its EBITDA guidance of $165 million to $190 million. Pleasingly, more of the same is expected in FY 2022. Management has provided EBITDA guidance of 26% to 38% growth.

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

The Afterpay share price wasn’t too far behind with a gain of 39.2% over the month. Investors were buying the buy now pay later (BNPL) provider’s shares after it received a $39 billion takeover proposal from US payments giant Square. The Afterpay Board is recommending investors accept the offer of 0.375 shares of Square Class A common stock for each Afterpay share they hold. On the day of the offer, this implied a transaction price of approximately $126.21 per Afterpay share.

Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL)

The Blackmores share price was on form last month and recorded a 37.4% gain over the period. Investors were buying the health supplements company’s shares following the release of its full year results. For the 12 months ended 30 June, Blackmores reported a 1.3% increase in revenue to $575.9 million and a 51.7% jump in underlying net profit after tax to $25.4 million.

Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV)

The Clinuvel share price was a strong performer in August, rising a sizeable 35.6%. The catalyst for this was the biopharmaceutical company’s full year results for FY 2021. For the 12 months ended 30 June, Clinuvel reported a 43% increase in revenue to $48.5 million and a 63.5% jump in net profit after tax to $24.7 million. This went down well with analysts at Jefferies. In response, the broker upgraded the company’s shares to a buy rating with a $36.80 price target.

The post These were the best performing ASX 200 shares in August appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares in August
• Warning: This is when the share market will turn
• How do you value the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• ASX 200 rises, Harvey Norman falls, Mesoblast sinks

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 AFTERPAY T FPO and WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, Blackmores Limited, and WiseTech Global. 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 Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price has been surging higher in the last 12 months. Shares in the Aussie bank are up 51.4% over that time and outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) by a significant margin.

However, investors looking a little more closely would see the last 3 months haven’t been so good. Since the start of June, the Westpac share price is down 1.5% to $25.82 per share.

Here’s what’s weighing on the ASX bank share at the moment.

Why the Westpac share price is down in the last 3 months

It’s certainly not all doom and gloom for shareholders right now. In fact, the main share price declines came in a one-month period from June 22 to July 20. The Westpac share price fell 7.9% lower in that time to hit its lowest point since March 2021.

Shares in the Aussie bank slipped lower after an update on its New Zealand operations. Westpac advised that it would hang onto its Westpac New Zealand business after a review of the business and its fit within the broader group.

That was a period that coincided with some big announcements from the bank. Among those, there was the 2 July announcement that Westpac had uncovered a potential fraud.

The Aussie bank commenced proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against Forum Finance after discovering a “significant potential fraud”. Westpac reported a potential exposure of around $200 million after tax from the alleged fraud.

The Westpac share price was again in focus after announcing it would pay $87 million in compensation after failing to provide necessary information to customers.

Finally, Westpac also announced the sale of its Westpac Life NZ business to Fidelity Life Insurance for $373 million while selling its general insurance business to Allianz in July.

Foolish takeaway

That June/July period was a busy one for the bank. The Westpac share price slipped lower before rebounding strongly in August.

All in all, the ASX bank share is up 31.5% in 2021 and outperforming the ASX 200.

The post Here’s why the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price is down in the last 3 months appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How does the NAB dividend compare to its sector?
• 2 buy-rated ASX dividend shares with big fully franked yields
• Australia’s rising delta recession risk could hit these ASX 200 shares badly
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: A mixed bag of earnings dominates ASX
• How has the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price performed against the banking sector in August?

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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It was another good month for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) in August. The benchmark index recorded its 11th consecutive monthly gain with a 1.9% rise to 7,534.9 points.

Unfortunately, not all ASX 200 shares climbed higher with the market last month. Here’s why these were the worst performing ASX 200 shares in August:

Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA)

The Champion Iron share price was the worst performer in August with a decline of 22.5%. Investors were selling the Canadian iron ore producer’s shares after the price of the steel making ingredient dropped materially. Concerns over steel production curbs in China and rising supply have been weighing on prices.

Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO)

The Rio Tinto share price was out of form last month and tumbled 16% lower over the period. There were a couple of catalysts for this share price decline. One was the aforementioned weakness in the iron ore price, the other was the mining giant’s shares going ex-dividend in August for its interim and special dividends. Rio Tinto is paying its shareholders fully franked dividends totalling 760.06 cents per share. This comprises an interim dividend of 509.42 cents per share and a special dividend of 250.64 cents per share.

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

The Fortescue share price wasn’t far behind with a decline of 15.7% in August. Once again, weakness in the iron ore price and a widening discount for low grade ore weighed on its shares. In addition to this, the mining giant was the subject of a number of bearish broker notes. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Morgans all have the equivalent of sells ratings on the mining giant’s shares.

Boral Limited (ASX: BLD)

The Boral share price was out of form and sank 15% over the month. This building products company’s shares have been on a downward trajectory since Seven Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SVW) completed its takeover bid with a holding of ~70%. In addition, Boral’s full year results fell short of expectations last month. It also revealed that the quarterly impact of lockdowns will be ~$50 million.

The post These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares in August appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Warning: This is when the share market will turn
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• ASX 200 rises, Harvey Norman falls, Mesoblast sinks
• 2 excellent ASX 200 shares named as buys for September
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are the most traded this Tuesday

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

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Despite a stellar year thus far, August has not been kind to the Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH) share price.

Shares in the hearing implant manufacturer closed nearly 6% lower for the month, swapping hands for $233.20 at the end of trading yesterday.

Many investors were quick to dump their shares in Cochlear after the company released its full-year results for FY21.

Let’s take a look at what happened with the Cochlear share price in August.

Cochlear share price tanks on FY21 results

Much of the decline in Cochlear’s share price in August can be attributed to the company’s results for FY21.

Despite meeting guidance and delivering a dividend boost, investors were quick to sell their shares in the company.

Highlights from Cochlear’s full-year report for FY21 included;

• Cochlear implant units up 15% to 36,456
• Sales revenue up 10% to $1,493.3 million
• Underlying net profit up 54% to $236.7 million
• Net profit margin expanded from 11% to 16%
• Underlying earnings per share (EPS) up 40% to $3.60
• Full year dividend up 59% to $2.55
• FY 2022 guidance: Net profit growth of 12% to 20%

Cochlear noted that a successful rollout of COVID-19 vaccines will see elective surgeries return to their pre-pandemic levels. 

Why were shares in Cochlear sold-down?

Although Cochlear met many of its key metrics, the company performed below market expectations.

The company had previously set an underlying net profit guidance for FY21 of between $225 million and $245 million.

However, analysts were expecting the company to hit the top-end of its guidance and anticipated a return to normal growth in FY22-23.

The dour outlook on Cochlear’s share price was reflected in a recent note from leading broker Citi.

Analysts from the broker retained a sell rating on the company with a share price target of $220.00.

According to the note, analysts expect lower margins and cautioned that Cochlear’s sales may take longer to normalise.

Snapshot of the Cochlear share price

Despite a disappointing performance in August, the Cochlear share price has had a stellar year thus far.

Shares in the hearing implant company have soared more than 22.5% since the start of 2021.

Prior to releasing its full-year report for FY21, the Cochlear share price was up more than 35% for the year and trading at record highs.

The post August wasn’t a great month for the Cochlear (ASX:COH) share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• The ASX reporting wrap-up: Cochlear, Sydney Airport, TPG
• Cochlear (ASX:COH) share price sinks: How did its result compare to expectations?
• Why Cochlear, Santos, St Barbara, & TPG shares are dropping
• The Cochlear (ASX:COH) share price tumbles 7% despite dividend boost

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. owns shares of and has recommended Cochlear Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cochlear 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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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has repeatedly smashed records for all-time highs in the past month.

But one expert warned investors to stop thinking that this is normal.

“We always think the booms are normal. They aren’t,” said Marcus Today director Marcus Padley.

“What we are seeing now is a seemingly anomalous/illogical/inappropriate stock market boom. It is a moment, part of the cycle, but let’s not pretend that making money this easily, that the ASX 200 going up 73% in a straight line, is normal.”

Padley has been a stockbroker since 1982, and always has a rough boom-bust cycle in his mind.

“I know the industry has good periods (usually), boom periods (occasionally), and terrible periods — once every 3 years there’s a standard 10-15% correction and once a decade a crash,” he wrote on his blog.

“At the moment we think that this bull market is normal, but it’s not — it’s great.”

So what will turn the boom into bust?

The unfortunate thing is that the share market boom can come crashing down from a very minor event as much as it can from a major catastrophe.

This is because booms end due to market sentiment. That is, emotions, not facts.

“When the herd turns, it turns, and it can do so without planning or logic. It could happen for the most subtle of reasons, or the most obvious, so let us not sit complacently by,” Padley said.

“We all have to recognise that we are in the hands of an animal and it is not driven by logic or science. All we can do is watch for it and react to it.”

How do we prepare for the market turn?

Padley’s strategy is to stay invested and only react after the share market has actually hit the ceiling.

“Sell early and you and I could miss an infinite upside. Sell when the top has started, not before, and make decisions based on how much downside we can take,” he said.

“‘But what if it crashes?’ I hear you ask. The market very rarely gaps down without warning. We just have to hope we are attuned to the signs and do something about the sell-off before it turns into mainstream panic.”

For now, he advised investors to not fear the end of the boom too much.

“This could go on for years… Turn on our screens every day and continue to make decisions based on all the things that happen in fact, rather than making decisions on all the things we can imagine but cannot possibly know.”

In the meantime, he’s looking forward to the occasional correction, so that he can buy up discounted shares.

And once we’re in the bust phase? Same as waiting for the top, keep your monitor on to see when the bottom arrives.

And be prepared to act.

“You’ll need a watchlist of stocks you want to buy, and you might as well start that now. It is the same as the list of stocks you wish you had bought already but didn’t.”

The post Warning: This is when the share market will turn appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• ASX 200 rises, Harvey Norman falls, Mesoblast sinks
• 2 excellent ASX 200 shares named as buys for September
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are the most traded this Tuesday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares on Tuesday

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 Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price has rebounded strongly in the past 12 months. Shares in the Aussie telco have surged 35.7% higher over the period to Tuesday’s closing price of $3.84 per share.

That’s better than the 26.6% gains from the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) over the same period.

Why the Telstra share price has beaten the ASX 200 in the last year

2021 has been a strong year after a disappointing run for shareholders in recent years. Telstra has long promised a turnaround of operations and a return to growth which hasn’t really been seen since the arrival of NBN Co.

However, the telco appears to be finally turning things around if its full-year results are anything to go by.

The Telstra share price climbed higher following the result despite the company reporting a 9.7% decline in underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to $6.7 billion.

The key is looking at the growth Telstra expects to see in FY22. The Aussie telco is forecasting underlying EBITDA of $7 billion to $7.3 billion in the current financial year with hopes of $7.5 billion to $8.5 billion in FY23.

A continued focus on cost control, as well as easing impacts from NBN, have things looking brighter for Telstra.

There’s also the reduced threat of new market entrants as a result of the recent merger to create TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG) as a third, large-scale telco.

These factors appear to have helped boost the Telstra share price higher in 2021. On the flipside, the ASX 200 has had some big-name shares weighing on growth.

Some of the biggest names within the index in previous years have fallen heavily in 2021. Among them are energy giants like AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL), currently at an 18-year low, AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) and A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M).

That, combined with signs of growth for the Aussie telco, has enabled the Telstra share price to outperform the benchmark index in the past 12 months.

Foolish takeaway

The Telstra share price is now up 35.7% in the past 12 months and outperforming many of its ASX 200 peers. Investors will be hoping that the promised growth is delivered upon in the years to come.

The post Why the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price has beaten the ASX 200 in the last year appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Top broker names 3 ASX 200 shares to buy
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: A mixed bag of earnings dominates ASX
• It hasn’t been a great week for the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price
• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares today
• Telstra (ASX:TLS) and this dividend share have been named as buys

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 owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended A2 Milk and TPG Telecom 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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How exactly does one value the Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price? That’s a question that has vexed ASX investors for years now. This ‘guessing’ has resulted in Afterpay’s share price (or valuation) being infamously volatile.

It’s easy to forget at today’s pricing, but in March last year, Afterpay shares got down to a price of roughly $8 a share. Less than a year later, the company hit a share price of $160.05, giving investors a gain of more than 1,100% in the process.

As is evident, exploiting how other investors (aka ‘the market’) value a company at a particular point can be highly lucrative if you have a better understanding of what something is worth. Of course, it’s that ‘understanding’ that is the hard part, or we’d all be billionaires.

Put oversimply, investors may have assumed at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic last year that Afterpay was worth very little, seeing as the country was about to face a recession.

But when it became apparent that the coronavirus wouldn’t be bringing widespread economic destruction with it (the awful economic costs of lockdown notwithstanding), investors decided to quickly revalue the Afterpay share price.

As the legendary investor, Benjamin Graham once said, ‘The share market is a voting machine in the short run, and a weighing machine in the long run’.

P/E ratio? Computer says no

So how does one ‘weigh’ the value of Afterpay? we’ve already established that this is a difficult task. But why? Well, the most common way investors tend to value a share is by using the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. By comparing each dollar a company makes to its share price, we can easily compare different companies just based on their respective profitabilities.

This P/E method works very well with companies with established cash flows and mature businesses. For example, we can look at Commonwealth Bank of Australia‘s (ASX: CBA) current P/E ratio of 21.3 and say that investors are valuing each CBA share at a higher rate than those of its rival Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ). ANZ only has a P/E ratio of 16.9.

However, that doesn’t work so well with Afterpay. Why? Well, because Afterpay doesn’t officially make any money yet. Sure, it brings in a seemingly ever-expanding pile of revenue. But in its earnings report for FY21 which Afterpay released last week, the company reported a statutory loss of $159.4 million. It’s hard to rate Afterpay’s earnings against its share price when it doesn’t officially have any to speak of just yet.

That’s why you won’t see a P/E ratio for Afterpay floating around.

So the P/E is out, what else can we use to value this buy now, pay later (BNPL) pioneer Afterpay?

How exactly do investors value the Afterpay share price?

Well, there is another metric that some investors like to use for companies facing this predicament. That would be the price-to-sales (P/S) ratio. The P/S ratio works similarly to the P/E ratio, but uses ‘sales’, or revenues, instead of earnings.

So Afterpay does have a P/S ratio, it’s currently 46.8. Using this metric, we can see that Afterpay, for example, is being priced with a far higher P/S ratio than its BNPL rival Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P). Zip presently has a P/S ratio of 9.53.

Just for comparison, Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) currently has a P/S ratio of 0.95.

The P/S ratio is no silver bullet when it comes to valuing companies like Afterpay. But it can give a very useful indication of exactly what you’re paying for when you buy Aferpay shares today.

But now Square Inc (NYSE: SQ) has decided to buy out all Afterpay shares for the price of 0.375 shares of Square per Afterpay share, there might be an even easier way to value this company.

At yesterday’s closing Afterpay share price of $134.59, the company has a market capitalisation of $38.32 billion.

The post How do you value the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why you should NOT use stop-loss orders
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price rises amid Amazon’s BNPL move
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: A mixed bag of earnings dominates ASX
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price slips as CEO spruiks company’s new direction
• How does Afterpay (ASX:APT) earnings result compare to Zip?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Square. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, Square, and ZIPCOLTD 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 National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) dividend is worth talking about. Australia’s third largest lender is currently trading on a forward dividend per share of 120 cents.

That comes after a 60 cent per share interim dividend announced in May 2021 after a conservative 2020 due to COVID-19 impacts and regulatory restrictions.

This NAB payout estimate means the bank’s shares are trading on a 3.26% dividend yield right now. So, how does that compare to other ASX banking shares?

How does the NAB dividend compare to its sector?

Let’s start with the largest of the Aussie banks — Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA). CBA recently announced a $2.00 per share final dividend for the year ended 30 June 2021 (FY21).

The fully-franked distribution gives CBA shares a 3.50% forward dividend yield right now. That’s based on Tuesday’s closing price of $100.12 per share and assumes an unchanged $1.50 per share interim payment.

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) announced a fully-franked, 58 cents per share interim dividend on 3 May. The group’s shares are currently trading on a forward 89 cents dividend (assuming December’s dividend remains unchanged) for a 3.42% dividend yield.

The NAB dividend also trails the smallest of the Big Four banks by market capitalisation — Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ).

ANZ announced a 70 cents per share interim dividend in May 2020 and is trading on an assumed 1.37 cents per share forward dividend.

That gives the Aussie bank a 3.62% forward dividend yield at the time of writing.

Foolish takeaway

So, all of NAB’s peers have higher dividend yields — what does it all mean?

For one thing, NAB hasn’t announced its full-year results yet and November’s update will be one to watch. There’s also the $2.5 billion share buyback program announced in July to return surplus capital to investors.

That means the NAB dividend isn’t the only way that investors can gain returns from their shares at the moment.

The post How does the NAB dividend compare to its sector? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 buy-rated ASX dividend shares with big fully franked yields
• CBA (ASX:CBA) just failed the government’s superannuation test
• Top broker says ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price is a buy
• Is the CBA (ASX:CBA) share buyback a sign of limited growth potential?
• Australia’s rising delta recession risk could hit these ASX 200 shares badly

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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The Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN) share price has gone through some tough months during the calendar year. Since reaching a 52-week high of $13.32 in May, its shares have fallen 30% on the back of regulatory enquiries and COVID-19 impacts.

On the other hand, Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR) has also faced challenging market conditions from snap lockdowns. Its share price hasn’t suffered the same fate though, surging since the release of the company’s full year results.

Let’s see if there are any similarities between the two companies’ reporting numbers.

A recap on the Crown Resorts earnings result

Crown posted its full-year result for the 2021 financial year on Monday, revealing expected losses across the board.

Here’s a summary of the financial details that Crown posted for the full year ending 30 June 2021.

• Statutory revenue of $1,536.8 million, down 31.3% on the prior corresponding period;
• Reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $114.1 million, down 77.4%;
• Reported net loss after tax of $261.6 million, down 429.1%; and
• No final dividend declared.

The weak result came as Crown faced a challenging year, with severe restrictions weighing down on business performance. The Royal Commission and multiple inquiries have also led the company into uncertain times.

At Tuesday’s market close, Crown shares finished the day flat at $9.31.

How does this compare to Star Entertainment?

Star Entertainment revealed its own numbers on August 19, highlighting the struggling casino and gaming market. Here’s a peek at the company’s performance for the 12 months ending 30 June 2021:

• Gross revenue of $1,561.1 million, down 20.9% on the prior corresponding period;
• Normalised EBITDA of $429.7 million, unchanged;
• Normalised net profit after tax of $116.4 million, down 5.2%; and
• No final dividend declared.

Star Entertainment also took a hit due to severe disruptions throughout the year. This came from a reduction in operational capacity, particularly in Sydney and Brisbane.

Nonetheless, the group continued to execute its strategy in firming up its balance sheet for a post-COVID-19 world. Star Entertainment also highlighted that it had a number of valuable long-term licences in attractive locations, underscoring its competitive portfolio.

Investors reacted positively to the news, sending the company’s shares within sight of breaking its 52-week high of $4.30. At yesterday’s closing bell, the Star Entertainment share price finished 0.99% higher at $4.08.

Comparing the earnings reports, it’s evident that COVID-19 has caused revenue losses of between 20% to 30% for both companies. However, Star Entertainment has fared better on the bottom line, managing its operating costs and capital expenditure.

Crown share price snapshot

Investors would be disappointed by the 12-month return of the Crown share price, up just 3%. Year to date has fared no better, down 3% following a sharp sell-off during the May to July.

On valuation grounds, Crown presides a market capitalisation of roughly $6.3 billion, with more than 677 million shares outstanding.

The post How does the Crown Resorts (ASX:CWN) earnings result compare to Star Entertainment (ASX:SGR)? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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