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The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price has been one of the best performing S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) blue-chip shares in 2021 so far.

Wesfarmers shares are now up 19.24% in 2021 so far, and 31.94% over the past 12 months. That looks pretty good against the ASX 200, which has managed 10.5% and 21.2% over the same periods, respectively.

In fact, just this week, the Wesfarmers share price hit a new all-time high of $61.66. Long story short, it’s been a great share to own in recent times.

But as an ASX 200 blue chip, Wesfarmers is also known as a dividend heavyweight. Not only have Wesfarmers shares consistently paid fully franked dividends over most of the past few decades, but they have also done a pretty good job of delivering dividend increases as well. In 2009, the company paid out $1.10 in dividends per share. But by 2019, this was up to $1.78 (plus a special dividend that year).

These figures don’t reflect the spin-off of Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) in late 2018 either. At the time, Wesfarmers shareholders received one Coles share for every Wesfarmers share owned. Since Coles is now a fully-fledged dividend share in its own right today, this would have further added to long-term shareholders’ dividend returns as well.

But enough dwelling on the past, let’s check out what the Wesfarmers dividend has to offer today.

What kind of dividend do Wesfarmers shares pay today?

Ok, let’s go through Wesfarmers’ last two dividends paid to shareholders. The company’s last dividend payment hit investors’ bank accounts on 31 March this year. It was an interim dividend coming in at 88 cents per share, fully franked. This interim dividend was a 17.3% increase from 2020’s interim payout of 75 cents per share.

Before that, October 2020 saw Wesfarmers’ most recent final dividend. This consisted of the ordinary final (and fully franked) payout of 77 cents per share, as well as a special dividend of 18 cents per share (also fully franked).

This special dividend was funded by some of the excess capital Wesfarmers received from the sale of a parcel of Coles shares in 2020. The ordinary final dividend was slightly lower than Wesfarmers’ previous final dividend of 78 cents per share, but not if you include the special dividend, of course.

On yesterday’s closing Wesfarmers share price of $61.42 per share, these two most recent ordinary dividend payments give Wesfarmers a trailing dividend yield of 2.69%. Factoring in Wesfarmers’ full franking on both payouts, and we get a grossed-up yield of 3.84%.

Taking into account the special dividend from last year, we instead get to a trailing yield of 2.98% on yesterday’s closing share price. That figure grosses-up to 4.26% with the full franking.

Will the good times roll for income investors?

But what about the future? Well, one broker who is bullish on Wesfarmers’ income chops is investment bank, Goldman Sachs.

Goldman currently rates Wesfarmers shares as a ‘buy’. But it also estimates that Wesfarmers will be able to keep its dividend rising over 2021 and 2022 to reach $2.08 per share by FY2023.

Shareholders will likely be keeping their fingers crossed it turns out that way.

The post Here’s what the Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) dividend will pay you today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Lockdowns hurt, ASX falls, Wesfarmers climbs, and the Aussie set to fall? Scott Phillips on Nine’s Late News
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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. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended COLESGROUP DEF SET and 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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There are some S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) dividend shares that may be good businesses to consider for income.

A few of them have a record of growing their ordinary dividend over the last few years.

The below two businesses have quite high yields, are rated as buys and are growing their underlying companies:

Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)

Magellan is a large fund manager that predominately focuses on investing in large global businesses.

It’s currently rated as a buy by the broker Morgans which has a price target of $58.05.

The broker has noted the growth of funds under management (FUM) for Magellan since the end of FY20.

At 30 June 2021, it ended FY21 with total FUM of $113.9 billion. That was an increase from $109.9 billion in May 2021, $101.4 billion in December 2020 and $97.2 billion at 30 June 2020.

Average FUM for FY21 was $103.7 billion, up 8.6% over the average FUM for FY20.

The FUM is an integral part of generating management fees for Magellan. Indeed, Morgans believes that Magellan can grow its earnings in FY22 with the growth of FUM as well as the new initiatives such as retirement income offering Futurepay.

Magellan also said that in June 2021 it experienced net outflows of $351 million. But it is entitled to $30 million of performance fees for FY21.

Morgans expects the ASX 200 dividend share to pay a dividend of $2.31 per share in FY22. That translates to a partially franked dividend yield of 4.35%.

JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH)

JB Hi-Fi has a few different segments – JB Hi-Fi Australia, JB Hi-Fi New Zealand and The Good Guys.

The business is currently rated as a buy by the broker Credit Suisse, with a price target of $57.60 on the business.

Credit Suisse pointed out that whilst Aussies are still spending a lot on retail, the recent restrictions in various states adds to uncertainty.

The broker isn’t expect as strong of a year in FY22 as FY21, it believes JB Hi-Fi can have a good year in FY22.

JB Hi-Fi recently said that its FY21 sales momentum was strong, with demand for consumer electronics and home appliance products. Total sales went up 12.6% to $8.9 billion, earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose 53.8% to $743.2 million and net profit after tax (NPAT) went up 67.4% to $506.1 million.

The ASX 200 dividend share said that gross margins were well managed with strong improvements in gross margins in all businesses. This gross margin improvement, combined with disciplined cost control and strong sales growth, drove “significant operating leverage”.

According to Credit Suisse, JB Hi-Fi is predicted to pay a fully franked dividend yield of 4.6% in FY22. At the current JB Hi-Fi share price, it’s valued at 14x FY22’s estimated earnings.

The post 2 high-yielding ASX 200 dividend shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Openn Negotiation (ASX:OPN) share price up 13% in second day of trade
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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of Magellan Financial Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has 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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On Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was on form again and stormed notably higher. The benchmark index rose 1% to 7,386.4 points.

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

ASX 200 futures pointing lower

The Australian share market looks to have run out of steam and is set to end the week in a subdued fashion. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 23 points or 0.3% lower this morning. This is despite Wall Street performing positively, with the Dow Jones rising 0.1%, the S&P 500 climbing 0.2%, and the Nasdaq pushing 0.35% higher.

Oil prices rise

Energy producers such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could end the week on a high after oil prices pushed higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 2% to US$71.72 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 2% to US$73.63 a barrel. Oil prices were boosted by forecasts for demand to outstrip supply in the second half of the year.

Northern Star given buy rating

The Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price could be in the buy zone according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. This morning the broker retained its buy rating and lifted its price target to $13.10 following the release of its strong fourth quarter update. It notes that its shares trade at a discount to its net asset value despite having strong growth potential. Goldman said: “We retain our Buy rating, with NST trading at 0.82xNAV despite offering high-returning organic growth.”

Iron ore price sinks

Iron ore producers BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) could come under pressure today after the steel making ingredient pulled back overnight. According to Metal Bulletin, the spot iron ore price has fallen 5.7% to US$202.63 a tonne. This put pressure on the US-listed shares of the two mining giants.

Gold price rises

Gold miners Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) and St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) will be on watch after the gold price pushed higher. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 0.2% to US$1,807.20 an ounce. Easing risk appetite and softer bond yields gave the precious metal a boost.

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

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• Openn Negotiation (ASX:OPN) share price up 13% in second day of trade
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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 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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If you’re a fan of tech shares, then you may want to look at the ones listed below.

They have been growing strongly and have been tipped to continue doing so long into the future. Here’s what you need to know:

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)

The first tech share to look at is this artificial intelligence (AI) data services company.

Its shares have come under significant pressure over the last 12 months due to concerns over the softening of demand for its services during the pandemic from some of its biggest customers.

The good news is that management appears to believe that this weakness is only temporary and that the issues it is facing aren’t structural. It is also expecting demand to rebound strongly once trading conditions return to normal.

In addition to this, management recently announced plans to evolve into a provider of a broad range of AI data annotation products and solutions. It believes this will unlock growth in new markets.

Ord Minnett remains positive on the company. It currently has a buy rating and $24.75 price target on its shares. This is almost double where its shares trade today.

Hipages Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: HPG)

Another ASX tech share to consider is this leading online platform and software as a service (SaaS) provider.

Hipages connects tradies with residential and commercial consumers, providing them with job leads. The platform also allows tradies to communicate with customers and run general admin duties.

Goldman Sachs is very positive on the company’s growth prospects. So much so, this morning the broker retained its buy rating and lifted its price target by 20% to $4.10.

The broker said: “We are confident in HPG’s ability to execute on its tradie customer acquisition strategy. Current fundamentals of this business look very strong and should support long-term structural growth in the marketplace. We see c.20% p.a. revenue growth over our forecast period and 48% 3-yr EPS CAGR. On our estimates, HPG is trading at attractive valuation multiples vs peers and is in a strong net cash position.”

The post 2 exciting ASX tech shares that could be buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• ASX 200 up, Evolution Mining drops, Appen rises
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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Appen Ltd and Hipages Group Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Appen 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 Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) share price has been a strong performer in 2021.

Since the start of the year, the banking giant’s shares have risen a sizeable 21%.

Can the ANZ share price keep climbing?

With the ANZ share price rising so strongly this year, investors will no doubt be wondering if it is too late to invest.

The good news is that one leading broker doesn’t believe it is. In fact, it still sees decent upside ahead for ANZ shares over the next 12 months.

According to a recent note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts have retained their buy rating and lifted their price target on the company’s shares to $30.50. This implies potential upside of 9% between now and this time next year excluding dividends.

In addition, Goldman Sachs is forecasting fully franked dividends per share of $1.40 in FY 2021 and $1.45 in FY 2022. Based on the current ANZ share price of $28.00, this will mean yields of 5% and 5.2%, respectively, over the next two years.

Combining Goldman’s price target and dividend forecasts, ANZ shares are expected to provide investors with a total return of over 14% over the next 12 months.

Why is Goldman positive on ANZ?

Goldman likes ANZ for a number of reasons. This includes its net interest margin (NIM) management, growth prospects, valuation, and yield.

It explained: “ANZ’s NIM is being very effectively managed in the face of weaker volumes; a trend we expect to continue through FY21E. The resulting revenue pressures, which are also being adversely impacted by fees (and Markets in 1H21), should be offset by productivity benefits in outer years.”

“The stock is trading more than one standard deviation cheaper versus the sector on PPOP multiples (24% discount vs. 11% long-run average discount), despite our expectations that it will deliver 5% PPOP/share CAGR in the two years to FY23E (with upside from capital management), with a c. 5% dividend yield,” it added.

The post Can the ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price keep rising? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why Afterpay, ANZ, JB Hi-Fi, & Zip shares are pushing higher

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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The Warrego Energy Ltd (ASX: WGO) share price has spent today’s session in the green, capping off a gain of 2% over the last month.

Today’s gains come as the company released its quarterly results in the morning.

Let’s comb over what the company announced in a bit finer detail.

Warrego Energy activity report

Warrego provided an update on progress at its West Erregulla Field and Northern Perth Basin projects.

At West Eregulla, the company detailed “exciting flow results from WE-4” which achieved a sustained gas flow rate of 35 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd) of gas.

The total duration for the well was 57 days, and the WE-4 was cased for future production.

“Drilling performance in both WE-4 and WE-5 improved substantially on a time and cost basis compared to WE-2 and WE-3” the company stated in the report.

Warrego also explained that the Australian Gas and Infrastructure Group (AGIG) had completed the supplementary FEED study for the gas processing facility at West Erregulla.

AGIG and other stakeholders are “close to finalising construction and gas processing agreements for Phase 1” of the gas project at this site.

The company also provided an update on the Northern Perth Basin exploration.

Warrego also received “farm-in inquiries for EPA-0127” and will confidentially provide the data room access to interested parties.

Other key takeouts

Warrego also secured funding commitments for its pre-development activities at EP469 during the quarter.

In addition, it raised an additional $50 million via an equity round at 22 cents per new share.

The raise occurred via a “two-tranche placement” to investment fund Long Lead Items. The first tranche of $32.4 million was issued on 2 July.

However, the remaining $17.6 million still requires shareholder approval at a meeting on 10 August.

The financing is to be used at West Eregulla and the “re-entry and completion of the WE-3 well”.

One particular line that stood out in the report, is that the company is in “advanced discussions to form a banking club”.

The so called “club” consists of three domestic banks and will serve to provide project financing of up to $75 million for a 50% stake in Phase 1 of the West Eregulla project.

Investors seem in favour of Warrego’s progress. Warrego shares are now exchanging hands at 26 cents, a gain of 4% since the market open.

Warrego Energy share price snapshot

The Warrego Energy share price has gained 10% year to date, extending the previous 12 month’s return of 65%.

Although Warrego shares have lagged the broad index this year, they have beaten the S&P / ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s return of ~20% over the last year.

Warrego Energy has a market capitalisation of $291 million at the time of writing.

The post The Warrego Energy (ASX:WGO) share price rises after quarterly report appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The author Zach Bristow has no positions 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 Recce Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: RCE) share price ended the day higher after the company secured a patent in the United States.

At the closing bell, the pharmaceutical company’s shares finished the day up 3.27% to $1.10.

Let’s take a closer look at what Recce announced to the ASX this morning.

Recce furthers patent protection

According to its release, the United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted Patent Family 3 to Recce anti-infectives.

Titled “Anti-Virus Agent and Method for Treatment of Viral Infections”, the patent furthers the company’s marketing and manufacturing property until February 2037.

The approved claims relate to its flagship drug, Recce 327, and anti-viral formulation, Recce 529. They are as follows:

• Composition/method of manufacture of Recce anti-infectives;
• Use of Recce 327 or Recce 529 for the treatment of viruses having a lipid envelope or coat, examples being SARS-CoV-2 and Corona viruses, Influenza viruses, HIV, Hepatitis, Ross River and Herpes viruses; and
• Administration of Recce 327 or Recce 529 by oral, injection, inhalation and transdermal dose applications.

Recce’s lead drug candidate (Recce 327) is being developed to treat blood infections and sepsis.

Investors appeared buoyed by this latest development, sending the Recce share price higher on Thursday.

According to World Atlas, the US is the largest pharmaceutical market in the world, valued at $33.97 billion. The country’s stringent processes in developing and manufacturing drugs has led to some of the best-selling products across the globe.

Just this week, China also granted Recce Patent Family 3 to its anti-infectives. This leaves Australia as the only remaining nation yet to approve the patent. China, Japan, Europe and now the United States have all authorised Recce’s Family 3 patent.

Recce CEO James Graham said:

Recce’s intellectual property portfolio continues to grow in-line with our business strategy and the unprecedented global infectious disease crisis before us. We are thrilled to see that our anti-viral patent granted in the USA, the largest pharmaceutical market in the world; with yet further market-monopolies reinforcing the unique opportunities among a significant range of both bacterial and viral pathogens.

Recce share price summary

Despite today’s rise, Recce shares have had a disappointing 12 months, falling more than 15%. However, year-to-date, the company’s share price is slightly up by 5%.

Recce has a market capitalisation of roughly $192 million, ranking as the 722nd largest company on the ASX.

The post Recce (ASX:RCE) share price edges higher after patent approval appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Recce (ASX:RCE) share price is racing 5% higher today

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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Are you looking for blue chip ASX 200 shares to add to your portfolio this financial year? If you are, the two ASX shares listed below could be worth a closer look.

Here’s what analysts think of these shares:

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

The first blue chip ASX 200 share to look at is CSL. It is one of the world’s leading biotherapeutics companies, comprising the CSL Behring and Seqirus businesses. CSL Behring is the global leader in plasma therapies and Seqirus is the second largest influenza vaccines business.

Both of CSL’s businesses have been growing at a solid rate in recent years and have been tipped to continue doing so in the future. This is being driven by their leading therapies and lucrative research and development pipelines.

In respect to the latter, CSL’s pipeline contains a number of highly promising products that have the potential to generate significant revenues in the future.

And while plasma collection headwinds are likely to weigh on its performance in the near term, this is understood by the market and priced into the current CSL share price.

UBS is positive on the company. The broker currently has a buy rating and $330.00 price target on its shares.

REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)

Another blue chip ASX 200 share to consider is REA Group. This property listings company has been a strong performer in recent years despite battling a housing market downturn and the COVID-19 pandemic.

This demonstrates the resilience of REA Group’s business model and its exceptionally strong position in the ANZ market.

Positively, with the housing market now thriving once again, REA Group’s growth outlook is looking increasingly positive. This should be boosted by price increases, new revenue streams, acquisitions, and its cost control.

It is for this reason that the team at Goldman Sachs is particularly positive on the company. So much so, the broker has recently retained its buy rating and lifted its price target to a lofty $198.00.

The post 2 blue chip ASX 200 shares rated as buys 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. owns shares of and has recommended CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended REA 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 Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price is up 4.8% over the past 24 hours. One Bitcoin is currently worth US$32,076 (AU$43,346).

The digital token likely has Elon Musk to thank for some of the rebound.

The influential Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) founder, appearing on a panel discussion with Cathie Wood, and Jack Dorsey, said he’d invested more in Bitcoin than other cryptos. And he noted Tesla will likely begin accepting it as payment again once 50% of the power used to mine it comes from renewable sources.

With the past 24 hour’s performance, the year-to-date gains for the world’s biggest crypto are back up to 10.4%. Though it’s worth noting that the value is still less than half of where it stood at April’s peak levels.

Same gains…better sleep

10.4%, incidentally, is the precise year-to-date gain currently posted by the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). Gains that share investors using an ASX 200 tracking exchange traded fund (ETF) could have made while enduring a heck lot less of volatility than crypto investors holding Bitcoin have.

While today’s rebound will come as welcome news to these crypto investors, what follows may cause some restless nights.

Fair warning.

Bitcoin to crash to US$15,000?

Scott Minerd is the chief investment officer of global asset management and investment advisory Guggenheim Investments, which oversees some US$245 billion (AU$331 billion) in total assets.

And Minerd is decidedly bearish on his outlook for Bitcoin.

Minerd forecasts that the token will lose more than half its current value, when he told Bloomberg Television yesterday (overnight Aussie time). He expects “something in the neighbourhood of $15,000”, adding that “a lot of this stuff is just junk”.

According to Minerd:

I think there’s still more air to come out. The standard bear market for Bitcoin has been an 80% retracement and given all the uncertainty and the new competition from new coins, I think there’s more downside to go… When do you buy it? I don’t think anytime soon.

Long-term, Minerd believes that Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) will be a “more viable” cryptocurrency than Bitcoin. The Ethereum price, by the way, is up 6.1% over the past 24 hours and has gained 168% year-to-date, according to data from CoinDesk.

The investing guru – who’s also bearish on the short-term outlook for shares in September and October – speculated that Bitcoin could be the “canary in the coal mine that’s telling us we have more problems ahead for risk assets, and in particular stocks”.

If Minerd’s got this one right, then Tesla stands to lose a fortune on its US$1.5 billion Bitcoin investment.

According to an estimate published by Fortune, Tesla likely paid around US$34,700 per token at the time. Should it fall to US$15,000, the company could be out some US$852 million on its crypto venture.

Caveat emptor!

The post Why this investment guru forecasts Bitcoin crashing to US$15,000 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• The Ethereum price is crashing as this little known token soars
• This top ASX fundie reckons Bitcoin is going to zero
• Bitcoin is worthless… but maybe priceless?

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Bitcoin and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Ethereum. 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 Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price appears resolute despite the latest Forum Finance development.

Shares in Australia’s second largest bank finished today’s trading up 0.69% to $24.93.

Court documents bring Westpac into focus

Eyeballs were drawn to Westpac again following the bank’s latest court documents being obtained by media outlets.

According to The AFR, the big four constituent alleges more than 100 fraudulent transactions took place involving Forum entities over a period that extended beyond two years.

Specifically, Westpac alleges that hundreds of millions of dollars were siphoned through the bank to various interests owned by Bill Papas’ Forum Group.

These interests are believed to be sprawled across Australia, Greece, Britain, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates.

Purportedly, the ploy was used to fund a range of extravagancies for Papas. These allegedly include properties, racing cars, boats, jewellery, and Papas’ 94.4% stake in Greek football club, Xanthi FC.

The alleged scheme is believed to be constructed through the elaborate creation of fraudulent documents, illustrating a raft of clients for Papas’ companies.

Such clients apparently include Veolia, Scentre Group (ASX: SCG), Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL), and Catholic Healthcare among others.

In total, Westpac deems the loss to be $253.8 million. However, this doesn’t take into consideration other transactions through Westpac New Zealand.

Westpac share price snapshot

The Westpac share price has delivered a tantalising 37% to investors in the past 12 months. However, the bank has been suffering a weakening in its share price since late June.

About that time, Bell Potter downgraded Westpac shares to a hold rating. Although, on the positive side, the broker improved its Westpac share price target to $26.50.

Currently, the bank trades on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 22.15. The industry average P/E ratio is 15.5 times.

The post Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price up despite potential $254 million loss appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Should you buy Westpac (ASX:WBC) shares in July for the dividend yield?
• ANZ’s (ASX:ANZ) $1.5bn buyback puts other ASX 200 banks under capital return spotlight
• Do ASX 200 banks share same BNPL ambitions as Westpac (ASX: WBC)?
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Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended COLESGROUP DEF SET. 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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