Tag: Motley Fool

The Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR) share price has opened up higher this morning following the announcement of a contract award.

At the time of writing, the engineering group’s shares are up 0.71% to $11.33. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is trading at 7,368 points – up 0.60%.

Let’s take a closer look at what the company released in today’s early morning market news.

Worley secures contract in Egypt

Worley shares are on the move today after the company provided investors with a positive release.

In a statement to the ASX, Worley advised it has secured a services contract with Red Sea National Refining and Petrochemicals Company (Red Sea Co).

The deal will see Worley provide project management consultancy services for a greenfield integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex in Egypt. This includes an early front-end engineering design (pre-FEED), and front-end engineering design (FEED). In addition, the company will deliver detailed engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services.

Located in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, the project will convert around 4 million tonnes of crude oil into refined products and petrochemicals. This includes jet fuel, low sulphur fuel oil, polyethylene (a common plastic), paraxylene, and monoethylene glycol. The last two types of chemical compounds are used for manufacturing PET plastic bottles, x-ray film and polyester fibres.

The project will be managed by Worley’s Egypt and United Kingdom offices. Furthermore, ongoing support will come from the company’s Global Integrated Delivery team in India.

Worley CEO, Chris Ashton touched on the positive update, saying:

As a global professional services company headquartered in Australia, we are pleased that Red Sea Co. has selected Worley to deliver this important project in Egypt. We are committed to delivering a more sustainable world and will use our project management expertise to help develop reliable and efficient operations for this significant complex.

More on the Worley share price

The Worley share price is up by more than 30% over the past 12 months, but relatively flat for 2021 – down 2%. The company’s share price is sitting in the middle of its 52-week range of $7.75 to $14.01.

Worley commands a market capitalisation of roughly $5.87 billion, with approximately 522 million shares on its books.

The post Why the Worley (ASX:WOR) share price is edging higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Worley (ASX:WOR) share price drops on latest contract award
• Worley (ASX:WOR) share price backtracks regardless of contract win
• Worley (ASX:WOR) share price edges lower despite contract wins

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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3yzDgf6

The Alkane Resources Limited (ASX: ALK) share price is gaining in morning trade, up by 2.49% to $1.24.

Below we take a look at the ASX resource producer’s gold production update.

What production update did Alkane announce?

Alkane Resources’ share price is moving higher after the company provided a positive update. Alkane said it had exceeded its 2021 financial year gold production guidance at its Tomingley Gold Operations, in New South Wales.

The company’s original full-year guidance had been for production in the range of 45,000–50,000 ounces of gold. In April, Alkane upgraded that guidance to a higher range of 50,000–55,000 ounces.

In this morning’s announcement, Alkane reported Tomingley had produced 56,958 ounces of gold in FY21.

Additionally, the company reported costs had come in below its guidance of $1,400–1,550 per ounce. Pleasingly, all in sustaining costs (AISC) for the financial year came in at $1,320 per ounce.

Alkane credited a higher grade of material processed than it originally forecast for helping drive its guidance-beating results.

Commenting on the results, Alkane’s managing director Nic Earner said:

Tomingley continues to meet or exceed our expectations, demonstrating why it is a great asset managed by a highly professional and committed operations team.

With an updated mine plan that extends the life of Tomingley to at least 2031, at increased production rates, we remain buoyant about the longer-term prospects both at Tomingley and at our Boda exploration tenements.

As at 30 June, Alkane Resources had (unaudited) $19.0 million in cash, $7.7 million of bullion in hand and $47.2 million of listed investments. It also has $20 million in undrawn credit approved facilities.

The company’s gold production guidance for the 2022 financial year from Tomingley is 55,000–60,000 ounces at an AISC of $1,450–1,600 per ounce.

Alkane Resources share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months the Alkane Resources shares are down more than 3%. In comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has gained 27% over that same time.

Things have turned around for shareholders in 2021, with the Alkane Resources’ share price up 28% year-to-date.

The post Why the Alkane Resources (ASX:ALK) share price is moving higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Worley (ASX:WOR) share price is edging higher today
• 3 stellar ASX 200 growth shares that could be buys in July
• Here’s why the Laybuy (ASX:LBY) share price is climbing today
• Is the Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price a buy for dividends?
• Why the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is rocketing 15% higher today

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

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

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is not only home to banking and mining giants, it hosts a number of shares that could grow rapidly over the 2020s.

Three which have been tipped to do this are listed below. Here’s why these ASX 200 growth shares have been named as buys:

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

The first ASX 200 growth share to look at is Afterpay. This buy now pay later (BNPL) focused payments company has been tipped to continue its explosive growth in the coming years. This is due to the increasing popularity of BNPL with consumers, growing repeat usage, its international expansion, and new product launches. The latter includes the Afterpay Money app which will soon be launched in Australia and its pay anywhere offering in the United States. The pay anywhere offering gives US consumers access to many of the largest retailers in the country, covering almost half of all ecommerce volume.

Macquarie is positive on the company’s growth prospects. Particularly given those upcoming product launches. Earlier this month the broker put an outperform rating and $140.00 price target on its shares.

IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL)

Another ASX 200 growth share to look at is IDP Education. It is a provider of international student placement and English language testing services. Although trading conditions have been tough because of the pandemic, it is being tipped to come out the other side in a stronger position. It has also recently made a key acquisition in India, which makes it the dominant language testing force in the lucrative market.

Goldman Sachs believes the company’s growth will accelerate post-pandemic. The broker also notes that it has plenty of opportunities to boost its growth with further earnings accretive acquisitions. Goldman currently has a buy rating and $35.00 price target on IDP Education’s shares.

Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)

A final ASX 200 growth share to look at is Kogan. This ecommerce company may have been struggling with inventory issues and slowing sales in the second half of FY 2021, but its future remains as bright as ever. This could potentially mean the recent weakness in the Kogan share price is a buying opportunity.

Credit Suisse certainly thinks it is. It currently has an outperform rating and $17.93 price target on its shares. The broker feels that investors should look beyond the short term issues and focus on its strong long term growth potential from the structural shift to online shopping and its strong market position.

The post 3 stellar ASX 200 growth shares that could be buys in July appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is rocketing 15% higher today
• IDP Education (ASX:IEL) share price higher on bullish broker note
• 2 ASX 200 shares that could be great for dividends
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• ASX 200 rises, Challenger soars, Zip jumps

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, Idp Education Pty Ltd, and Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO and Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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

The Laybuy Holdings Ltd (ASX: LBY) share price is on the rise in morning trade. This comes after the buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider released a business update for Q1 FY21.

In early morning trade, Laybuy shares climbed by as much as 5.45% to 58 cents apiece. At the time of writing, they have fallen slightly but are still up 1.82% to 56 cents.

How did Laybuy perform in the first quarter of 2021?

Investors appear excited about the company’s latest performance, sending the Laybuy share price higher.

According to its release, Laybuy reported strong growth across its key operational metrics for the quarter ending 30 June 2021. Gross merchandise value (GMV) increased to a record NZ$184 million (A$172.4 million). On annualised (multiplied by 12) metrics, GMV grew to NZ$738 million (A$691.6 million), up by 58% year-on-year (YoY).

Underpinning the result, the United Kingdom market saw GMV more than double YoY to £49 million (A$90.3 million), up by 107%. The UK is Laybuy’s largest market, followed by Australia and New Zealand.

Active customers lifted to 829,000 by the end of the period, representing a 43% jump YoY. UK active customers surged by more than 143% YoY.

Furthermore, active merchants reached more than 10,000 for the period, up from 9,126 in Q4 FY21. The uptick saw a number of retailers signed, such as Sports Bike Shop, JD Sports, Adore Beauty, Boardriders, and more.

The company also entered into strategic partnerships with AWIN, Rakuten, and Sovrn. This will give Laybuy customers access to 5,000 merchants across the UK. Household brands include ASOS, Nike, Marks & Spencer, Amazon, Boots, easyJet, Booking.com, and eBay.

Laybuy also launched its “tap to pay” product in the UK last month. The feature is seen as a way forward in a post COVID-19 environment. Both Australia and New Zealand rolled out the product in Q3 FY21 with much success.

Management commentary

Laybuy managing director Gary Rohloff appeared pleased with the company’s performance, saying:

Our growth strategy is delivering, with record GMV in the first quarter of FY22, surpassing the traditional peak quarter of December 2020. Since June 2020, we are delighted to have added over 4,800 active merchants and more than 356,000 new active customers which is driving strong growth across all regions, particularly in the UK market.

About the Laybuy share price

In the past 12 months, Laybuy shares have failed to take off, resulting in a decline of more than 70%. This year alone, the company’s share price is down close to 60%, despite building sales momentum.

Laybuy has a market capitalisation of roughly $139 million, with approximately 254 million shares outstanding.

The post Here’s why the Laybuy (ASX:LBY) share price is climbing today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Laybuy (ASX:LBY) share price will be on watch 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.

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

The Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price could be one to think about for dividends.

Macquarie is one of the largest businesses on the ASX with a market capitalisation of around $58 billion according to the ASX.

It has a few different divisions: Macquarie Asset Management, banking and financial services, commodities and global markets, and Macquarie Capital.

Acquisitions

The business has been busy making acquisitions in recent months to boost its scale and earnings.

In December 2020, Macquarie announced it’s going to acquire Waddell & Reed Financial, which is a US-based asset and wealth manager, for US$1.7 billion. It has/had assets under management (AUM) of US$68 billion.

The increased scale and diversification of combining the two platforms were expected to create “significant long-term benefits of clients, advisors and shareholders.”

At the time of the acquisition, Macquarie said that Macquarie Asset Management’s AUM would increase to US$465 billion. That was expected to turn the business into a top 25 actively managed, long-term, open-ended US mutual fund manager by AUM, with the scale and diversification to competitively position the business to maintain and extend its high standards of service to clients and partners.

Then, today, it was announced that Macquarie Asset Management was buying AMP Limited’s (ASX: AMP) AMP Capital global equity and fixed income business, which also includes Australian listed equities, listed real estate and listed infrastructure.

The AMP acquisition is costing Macquarie up to $185 million and adds A$60 billion in assets under management (AUM). The Macquarie Asset Management pro forma AUM is brought to approximately A$720 billion.

Earnings and dividend

Macquarie managed to grow its profit in FY21 despite all of the impacts of COVID-19 on various parts of the business.

Full year FY21 net profit increased 10% to $3 billion. But it was the FY21 second half net profit that particularly shone, with growth of 106% to $2 billion. At 31 March 2021, the AUM was $563.5 billion.

International income was 68% of total income in FY21, meaning it’s quite well diversified when it comes to revenue. That also gives the business the ability to invest and expand anywhere in the world – like it chose to do with the Waddell & Reed acquisition.

With a dividend payout ratio of 56%, it paid an annual full year dividend of $4.70. That means the trailing dividend yield is a partially franked yield of 3%.

Morgans thinks that the annual Macquarie dividend will grow to $5.26 in FY22 and increase again to $5.90 in FY23. That means that Morgans believes Macquarie has a partially franked dividend yield of 3.75% for FY23.

Is Macquarie a buy?

There are some divergent views on the Macquarie share price.

Morgans thinks Macquarie is a buy with a price target of $171 for the next 12 months.

However, there’s also the broker Citi that believes Macquarie is a sell with a price target of $140. That suggests that the share price could fall around 10% over the next year if Citi is right.

The post Is the Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price a buy for dividends? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• AMP (ASX:AMP) share price in focus after Macquarie (ASX:MQG) asset sale agreement
• 3 high-yielding ASX dividend shares
• ASX lithium shares could get boost from Macquarie (ASX:MQG) upgrade
• The AMP (ASX:AMP) share price is down 27% in 2021
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX finishes FY21 on a high

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

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2Vk7bJO

The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price has been a very strong performer on Thursday morning.

At one stage, the buy now pay later (BNPL) provider’s shares were up as much as 15% to $8.90.

The Zip share price has eased a bit since then but remains up 8% to $8.32 at the time of writing.

Why is the Zip share price rocketing higher?

Investors have been bidding the Zip share price higher today amid speculation that a rival BNPL provider has acquired a strategic stake.

According to the AFR, Swedish BNPL provider Klarna is believed to have picked up a 4% stake in Zip in a move designed to strengthen its position if the BNPL market consolidates to two to three leading global players in the future.

Klarna, which is part-owned by Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), is one of the top three players in the industry alongside Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Affirm.

Last month the company raised US$639 million in a new funding round led by Japanese giant SoftBank. This gave Klarna a valuation of US$45.6 billion or A$61 billion. As a comparison, Afterpay’s market capitalisation currently stands at A$35 billion and Affirm’s is US$17 billion or A$22.8 billion.

And based on the latest Zip share price, its market capitalisation lies just short of A$5 billion. This could make it an attractive M&A option should industry consolidation occur in the future.

What now?

Neither Zip nor Klarna have commented on the speculation. And with this strategic stake sitting under 5%, we may not hear anything from either party. This is because only once a shareholder owns an interest of 5% or more are they required to file a notice of initial substantial holder.

Nevertheless, the speculation alone has given the Zip share price a major boost, extending its year to date gain to ~50%.

The post Why the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is rocketing 15% higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• ASX 200 rises, Challenger soars, Zip jumps
• The Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price stormed 5% higher today
• These ASX 200 tech shares are beating the broader market today
• Why Afterpay, Challenger, MyDeal, & St Barbara shares are charging 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. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO 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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3jQ5aiI

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

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

What happened

Shares of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) rose 1.8% to a record closing high of $144.57 on Wednesday after a respected Wall Street investment bank issued bullish commentary on the popular tech stock.

So what

JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee reiterated his overweight rating on Apple’s stock yesterday and boosted his share price forecast from $165 to $170. His new estimate implies potential gains to investors of roughly 18% in the coming year. 

Chatterjee noted that Apple underperformed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq in the first half of 2021. Yet he expects the tech titan to post strong sales of both current and future models of the iPhone. Thus, Chatterjee posits that Apple’s shares could generate strong gains for shareholders in the second half of the year ahead of the launch of the iPhone 13. 

Now what

The recent rally in Apple’s stock price suggests many investors agree with Chatterjee’s bullish outlook. They’re likely correct to do so. Robust iPhone volumes tend to also drive sales of Apple’s high-margin services and fast-growing wearables revenue. So, if it does deliver blowout iPhone sales figures, Apple could enjoy an earnings bonanza later this year. This potential profit windfall, combined with Apple’s bountiful share repurchases and steadily growing dividend, gives shareholders multiple ways to win.

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

The post Why Apple stock climbed to a new high on Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Australia’s favourite international shares? Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) tops the list
• ASX investors were buying DiDi and Virgin Galactic shares last week
• Warren Buffett owns these dividend-paying growth stocks — should you?
• Wondering which US shares Aussies bought last quarter? Here’s the answer
• FANG+ ETF (ASX:FANG) tumbles 10% on ex-dividend day

Joe Tenebruso 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 Apple. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3hnYyX9

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) shares are gaining slightly this morning following the bank’s prediction the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) won’t increase interest rates until 2024.  

The NAB share price is currently trading at $26.35. That’s 0.15% higher than yesterday’s closing price.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is also up today – it’s gained 0.73% in early trade.

NAB is the only big bank predicting upcoming rate rise timings that are roughly in line with those of the RBA.

Let’s take a look at NAB’s prediction and how it stacks up against the other big banks’.

The latest from the Reserve Bank

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) board met on Tuesday, at which time it decided to keep the cash rate at 0.1%. It expects to retain the record low rates until April 2024.

The RBA plans to lift rates when inflation is sustainable within the range of 2% to 3%. It believes for this to occur, wages growth will need to be more than 3% and unemployment levels will need to be less than 4%. RBA Governor Phillip Lowe said:

I want to make it clear that this focus on wages does not mean we have a target for wages growth or that wages growth necessarily has to have cleared a specific benchmark before we adjust interest rates… Yet even so, history teaches that sustained changes to the inflation rate are accompanied by sustained changes in growth in labour costs. So, over time, these 2 go together.

NAB’s prediction roughly in line with RBA’s

Yesterday, NAB group chief economist Alan Oster discussed the RBA’s meeting. He said:

Reading between the lines, [the RBA is] opening [itself] up to start increasing rates in 2023, probably late in the backend of 2023… I would expect to see the first rate rise go from 10 basis points up to something like 50 basis points. Then, after that, probably [increase] 25 each quarter.

So, within 12 to 18 months I would expect to see a cash rate of 2% compared to 0.1% at present, but that’s in 2025.

However, NAB director of economics Tapas Strickland was quoted by the Financial Review as saying:

It is conceivable… a rate hike could occur in late 2023, but that is a risk in our view and our central scenario is still 2024 for a hike.

3 of the big four disagree

The other big banks disagree with the predictions of both NAB and the RBA, believing a rate rise will occur sooner than late 2023 to early 2024.

As The Motley Fool reported yesterday, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) expects rates will rise in late 2022.

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) is also bullish on an impending rate rise. It predicts rates will rise in the March quarter of 2023.

Finally, Australia New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) is casting its stones a tad further, forecasting a rate rise in late 2023.

NAB share price snapshot

The NAB share price is performing well this year, gaining more than 16% since 2021 began.

It has also gained around 46% since this time last year.

The post NAB (ASX:NAB) share price up following prediction of no rate hike until 2024 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price takes the cake among big four bank shares
• 2 buy-rated ASX dividend shares for income investors
• Is the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price worth buying at $100?
• CBA (ASX:CBA) economists expect inflation sooner than RBA
• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price in focus after fraud latest

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

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

The Western Areas Ltd (ASX: WSA) share price has been a solid performer on Thursday morning.

In early trade, the nickel producer’s shares are up 4% to $2.55.

Why is the Western Areas share price charging higher?

The solid gain by the Western Areas share price today has been driven by the release of its quarterly production and sales update.

In respect to production, Western Areas reported total nickel in concentration production of 4,622 tonnes for the quarter. This was the strongest three months of FY 2021, resulting in full year production of 16,180 tonnes.

The strong quarterly production result was underpinned by an increase in total milled ore and stronger average recovery rates.

Sales update

The release explains that Western Areas’ June quarter nickel sales were impacted by a timing variance related to the final export shipment leaving port after the end of the financial year.

As a result, the provisional total volume of nickel in concentrate sold for FY 2021 is estimated at 15,500 tonnes, subject to final assay results. The remaining 820 tonnes that missed the year-end deadline will be reported as sales and cash flow in FY 2022. It was also be accounted for as finished goods inventory, rather than revenue for FY 2021.

Is it too late to invest?

One broker that has been very bullish on Western Areas recently in Ord Minnett. And while the broker has yet to respond to this update, it currently has a buy rating and $3.20 price target on the company’s shares.

Based on the current Western Areas share price of $2.55, this implies potential upside of over 25% for its shares over the next 12 months.

Though, investors may want to wait to see what it thinks about this update before acting on its previous recommendation.

The post Why the Western Areas (ASX:WSA) share price is racing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price takes the cake among big four bank shares
• With COVID-19 variant threats rising, why are vaccine stocks falling?
• IDP Education (ASX:IEL) share price higher on bullish broker note
• Netwealth (ASX:NWL) share price up 5% on quarterly update
• Expert says more ASX shares to follow Sydney Airport (ASX:SYD) takeover trend

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

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3i1ptY7

The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price has delivered the goods for shareholders over the past year. To the surprise of some investors, the smallest of the big four bank shares on the ASX has produced the biggest gains.

Over the past 12 months, the ANZ share price pulled a 49.6% return. Comparatively, the biggest bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) gained 40%. The next closest to ANZ was the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price, climbing 43.5% over the period.

Let’s look at what possibly put the ANZ bank out as the leading racehorse in the past year.

Catching the property boom

According to the bank’s first-half report for FY21, Statutory profit after tax for the half-year was $2.9 billion, up 45% on the previous half. Continuing cash profit was up 28% to $2.99 billion.

This strong result was in part thanks to the snapback in the economy which has seen excess income flowing into the property market. It appears ANZ made the most of this, becoming the third-largest home lender in the Australian market.

Illustrating this uptick, the bank reported Australian new home loan accounts of 92,000. This represents a 43.8% increase from the prior corresponding period.

Additionally, the bank increased its capital buffer to 12.4% while also lifting dividend payments. Analysts at Morgans noted the profit and dividend were larger than expected. As a result, the broker maintains a bullish sentiment with a target of $34.50 on the ANZ share price.

Other analysts take on the ANZ share price

Not all brokers are as optimistic on ANZ shares as Morgans. Analysts at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) are concerned about the bank’s core earnings (excluding provisions) continue to decline.

Although, Macquarie’s analysts are expecting dividends to recover to $1.40 per share in FY21. This likely has dividend investors foaming at the mouth, with the potential payment translating to a yield of 4.98% based on the current ANZ share price.

Incidentally, these forecasts of juicy dividends align with the expectations voiced by asset manager Janus Henderson Group CDI (ASX: JHG) yesterday. In our coverage, the asset manager painted a depiction of future flowing dividend streams.

The post ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price takes the cake among big four bank shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 buy-rated ASX dividend shares for income investors
• Is the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price worth buying at $100?
• CBA (ASX:CBA) economists expect inflation sooner than RBA
• Forget CBA! Here are the 5 best performing ASX bank shares of FY21
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today

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

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