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Fund managers and stock experts love talking about hot stocks and the ones that are about to blast off.

But what about the stinkers? 

We know not all ASX shares can be winners. Starting and maintaining a successful company is very difficult — otherwise, everyone would do it.

For many investors, the end of the financial year is a time to review their portfolios. They might consider pruning some of the losers or cashing in some of the winners before June 30.

There is a tax benefit to cutting the losers.

Any loss you cop from selling a share for less than what you purchased can be offset against the gains reaped from the winners. This reduces the overall capital gains tax liability for that year.

Three well-known ASX stocks that have disappointed shareholders in the past year were Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL), AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) and Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH).

Berman Invest chief investment officer Julia Lee this week indicated whether she would keep or dump each of them ahead of June 30.

AMP just gets worse, but…

AMP shares were trading at $1.18 on Tuesday afternoon, which is 33% lower than 12 months ago. The stock has lost almost 80% of its value in 3 years.

“The only reason you’d be holding onto AMP is because it’s up for sale,” Lee told SwitzerTV Investing.

“You’d be hoping that AMP Capital gets a good price. AMP is probably worth about $1.50… There is potentially some upside there.”

The unfortunate situation for AMP shareholders, according to Lee, is that the company keeps losing value as time passes because customers continue to take their money out.

“The longer this drags on the more painful it gets… but I think for the time being you’d be holding out still hoping for a bid.”

Nuix is the worst (no buts)

The software company has been in the headlines this year for all the wrong reasons. 

After a spectacular ASX debut in December, Nuix shares were as high as $11.86 before a series of downgrades and corporate scandals have seen investors flee.

On Tuesday afternoon they were down another 1.7% to trade at $2.60.

With inflation and interest rate fears looming, Lee suggested investors’ money could be directed elsewhere — even within the same sector.

“Nuix still looks like it’s coming under a bit of pressure,” she said.

“If you’re investing in the tech space, I’d probably go with the best rather than the worst. And Nuix is the worst at the moment.”

Pushpay’s market is now ‘saturated’

Pushpay produces software that manages donations for charities. The product’s major market is among churches in the US.

The shares were trading for $1.66 on Tuesday afternoon, which is more than 18% down in the past year. It’s nearly 27% down from its 52-week high.

Lee has serious concerns about the potential clientele left to conquer.

“Pushpay did really well because it was winning these big contracts out in the US. But I think it’s [now] really saturated, that giant church market,” she said.

“So now you’re looking at them having to sign up smaller churches, which, I think, is a more difficult and expensive task to do. The easy-hanging fruit has already been picked here.”

Pushpay would be out the door, added Lee, so the money can be deployed to other opportunities.

“It is going to be harder to fund the type of growth they’ve seen in the past few years.”

What are the alternatives?

If you prune these shares from your portfolio, where should the newly freed capital go?

Lee made a couple of suggestions.

“I like G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM) because the strength of the jobs market means that more people will be looking for childcare,” she said.

“Still looking relatively cheap, around that $1.03 mark.”

G8 shares were trading at $1.04 on Tuesday afternoon. They’re down 13.75% on the year but have risen 11.29% in the past 12 months.

A less stressful takeover play than AMP, Lee suggested, is finance software maker Iress Ltd (ASX: IRE).

“In terms of the UK it does have leading positions in some of its products,” she said.

“Although its major product here in Australia and New Zealand has been declining, there is still some potential there from a technology perspective.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, Iress stocks were going for $13.08. That’s 22% up this year, and about the same for the past 12 months.

The shares were languishing in the low $10s earlier this month, just before the market found out about a potential buyout.

The post Sell Nuix, AMP, Pushpay before EOFY? Expert weighs in appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Nuix (ASX:NXL) share price falls amid more reports of options package
• Why we avoid mining and biotech ASX shares: fund manager
• Here are the 3 most active ASX 200 shares trading today
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX makes it 5 out of 5
• Nuix (ASX:NXL) share price falls as ASIC is put on blast in Parliament

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has owns shares of PUSHPAY FPO NZX and Nuix Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Nuix Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nuix Pty 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 Costa Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: CGC) share price won’t be going anywhere on Wednesday.

This morning the horticulture company requested a trading halt so that it could raise funds for an acquisition.

What did Costa announce?

Costa has announced its entry into binding agreements with a group of companies to acquire the business and assets of 2PH Farms.

Queensland-based 2PH Farms is the largest citrus grower in northern Australia. It has farming operations in Central Queensland, with a main growing location at Emerald and a smaller location at Dimbulah.

According to the release, the parties have agreed an upfront consideration of approximately $200 million in cash. Costa has also agreed to pay an additional $31 million in July 2023 for the purchase of the Conaghans property, where a new citrus crop is currently being planted by 2PH.

The release explains that 2PH is expected to generate ~$29 million in EBITDA-S in calendar year 2021 on a pro forma basis. This will make it around 10% earnings per share accretive on a pro forma basis in 2021, excluding future plantings at Conaghans and potential synergy benefits.

Furthermore, management notes that its relatively young citrus orchards are still in growth phase, with yield forecast to more than double by orchard maturity.

Costa Group’s CEO, Sean Hallahan, commented: “There are a number of strategic benefits and alignments that will result from what is a financially compelling acquisition, which include greater export supply to key Asian export markets, production scale, increased variety offering, including rights to commercialise varieties with Plant Breeder Rights (PBRs) in certain jurisdictions, access to a proven 30-year proprietary breeding program, expanded geographic footprint and extended season timing.”

Capital raising

Costa is aiming to raise $190 million via a fully underwritten pro rata accelerated renounceable entitlement offer, with retail rights trading.

Under the entitlement offer, eligible shareholders are invited to subscribe for 1 new share for every 6.33 existing shares held, at a price of $3.00 per new share. This represents an 11.8% discount to the Costa share price at the close of play on Tuesday.

Trading update

In addition to the above, Costa has provided the market with a trading update.

It advised that its first half calendar year 2021 performance is expected to be marginally ahead of the prior comparable period. This is being driven by a strong performance from the international segment, offset by a mixed performance from the produce segment.

Based on unaudited management estimates, it is expecting first half revenue of $627 million, EBITDA-S of $124 million, and NPAT-S of $44 million.

It is expecting this trend to continue in the second half, leading to a full year results marginally ahead of the prior corresponding period. Though, this does not take into account the impacts of the acquisition and the equity raising.

The post Costa (ASX:CGC) launches $190m capital raising for major acquisition appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• What ASX shares might be affected by the UK-Australia trade deal?
• Costa (ASX:CGC) shares dropped 27% in May. Here’s why
• Top ASX shares to buy in June 2021
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares in May
• Why Bravura, Costa, Inghams, & Propel 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 owns shares of and has recommended COSTA GRP 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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Although the Australian share market is trading within a whisker of its record high, not all shares are performing as positively.

In fact, a few ASX shares have actually just hit 52-week lows or worse. Here’s why these ASX shares are down in the dumps:

LiveTiles Ltd (ASX: LVT)

The LiveTiles share price hit a 52-week low of 15.5 cents on Tuesday. Investors have been selling this employee experience software provider’s shares due to its disappointing performance in FY 2021. During the third quarter, the company reported annualised recurring revenue (ARR) of $58.9 million on a reported basis. This was up just 1.4% since the end of December. In addition to this, LiveTiles noted that its customer numbers stood at 1,114, which was down by 18 customers since the end of December. Given its stuttering growth, investors may be concerned that its cash burn will continue and yet another capital raising will be required in the near future.

Perenti Global Ltd (ASX: PRN)

The Perenti share price fell to a 52-week low of 53.5 cents yesterday. Investors have been selling the mining services company’s shares after a severe downturn in its performance. Last month the company advised that it won’t be hitting its guidance in FY 2021 due to COVID-19 headwinds and Australian labour market shortages. It also warned that these headwinds are likely to persist for the next 12 to 18 months.

Splitit Ltd (ASX: SPT)

The Splitit share price dropped to a 52-week low of 57 cents on Tuesday. The buy now pay later (BNPL) provider’s shares are now down by 55% since the start of the year. Investors may believe Splitit is going to get left behind by its larger rivals, particularly given increasing competition. Furthermore, the fact that Splitit runs its BNPL business via credit cards, which other BNPL platforms are supporting the demise of, doesn’t appear to bode well for the future.

The post These ASX shares just sank to 52-week lows appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Quarterly rebalance: Appen kicked out of ASX 100, Uniti added to ASX 200
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Sandfire (ASX:SFR) share price lifts following Perenti partnership
• Splitit (ASX:SPT) share price higher on BNPL network partnership
• These 3 ASX 200 shares have dropped 50% or more in 2021 so far

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 LIVETILES FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended LIVETILES 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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Ask A Fund Manager

In part 1 of our interview, 1851 Capital portfolio manager Martin Hickson explained why Uniti’s business model is irresistible. Now in part 2, he tells us how he regrets the way his fund launched last year and the 8 stocks that lifted it out of pandemic trouble.

Overrated and underrated ASX shares

The Motley Fool: What’s your most underrated stock at the moment?

Martin Hickson: I don’t know if it’s the most underrated — we think it’s underrated, it’s Enero Group Ltd (ASX: EGG).

They operate a number of marketing agencies, both here in Australia, the UK and the US. It trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of sub 10 times. Their earnings are growing in excess of 30%.

The company has $50 million of net cash on the balance sheet. So, that provides them optionality to deploy into acquisitions. They’ve got a platform business in the UK which helps their customers deploy their online marketing budgets. It’s very high margins on that business. It’s called OB Media. 

We think that the valuation that Enero trades on is quite suppressed, but yet the market isn’t giving them credit for that fast growing, high margin business in OB Media. And also the market is discounting the potential for them to deploy that cash. 

They made a small acquisition in the UK a month or two ago, but we think that over time, they can make further earnings, creative acquisitions as they deploy that capital. 

One of the largest shareholders has been selling down recently… So we think that the share price has been weaker due to this shareholder selling out. The price has gone from sort of $3.30 down to $2.50. We think it’s very underrated, undervalued [at] where the share price currently is trading today.

MF: What do you think is the most overrated stock at the moment?

MH: I don’t really want to call a single stock out individually. But as a broad statement, I think concept stocks. 

So stocks that are trading on revenue multiples, a lot of them in the technology space, but they don’t necessarily have to be. Concept stocks that aren’t making money and are losing money for the next couple of years. I think that a lot of those stocks are overvalued. 

There’s been a lot of risk in the last sort of 6 to 9 months. And a lot of those stocks’ share prices are down 30 or 40%. They still can fall further because there’s no valuation support when you’re trading on a 10 times revenue multiple, [and] you’re not going to have any earning for a couple of years.

If we get interest rates increasing over the coming years… that will also put pressure on a lot of these concept stocks. There are longer-duration assets, where when you’re discounting the future earnings back at a higher rate, that can lead to large declines in their valuation and share prices. So, that’s an area of the market that we’re avoiding at the moment.

MF: If the market closed tomorrow for 5 years, which stock would you want to hold?

MH: I’ll probably have to say our largest position, Uniti Group Ltd (ASX: UWL). Reason is 90% of their earnings are recurring — so there’s not a lot of risk around that. They’re providing data to their customers. And so they’re participating in that thematic of increased data usage, demand for high speeds, and that’s not going away over the next 5 years.

MF: Internet connectivity is a utility now, isn’t it? 

MH: Correct. Exactly, you’re right. It’s a need to have. 

So, for those reasons, if the market was closed and we look at that stock again in 5 years, I think that their earnings would have been able to grow over that 5-year period and it feels like a very safe one to own.

Looking back

MF: Is there a move that you regret from the past? For example, a missed opportunity or buying a stock at the wrong timing or price.

MH: We launched the fund in early February last year. 

We’d been running a paper portfolio for 6 months leading up to that. We had a hit list of the stocks that we wanted to buy. We deployed a lot of that capital in the first couple of weeks of February, and then coronavirus accelerated in that final week of February. 

So for the first 2 months of the fund’s launch, February and March, [it] was down 33% over that period. It would’ve been great to launch the fund at the end of March. The performance numbers on returns would look a lot better if we’d launched it then! 

Having said that though, we’re still pretty happy with the performance… Over the first 15 or 16 months, the fund’s up 43.5% versus S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries Index (ASX: XSO) up 13.5%. So we’ve been able to recover those losses and generate strong returns, post that initial selloff. So, in terms of wrong timing, that would’ve been nice to launch 2 months later.

MF: Which stock are you most proud of from a past purchase?

MH: Post that sell-off, it led to some of the best buying opportunities that we’ve seen in a decade since coming out of the GFC. A lot of stocks were down 60%, 70% in the smaller micro-cap end of the market. 

So we found some incredible buying opportunities through that March, April, May period. To call out a couple: Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE), one of the largest automotive companies here in Australia. We initially started buying shares in AP Eagers at $3.30 back in March. Shares today are around $15. So it’s performed very strongly for us. 

Capital Health Ltd (ASX: CAJ), which I mentioned earlier, we started buying it back in April last year at 18 cents. It’s now 34 cents. 

People Infrastructure Ltd (ASX: PPE), we participated in a placement at $1.10 and then bought more at $1.50 in April last year. Those shares are now $4.70. 

So, there were a couple of really incredible buying opportunities that we saw coming out of that COVID sell-off. And that’s what’s really set up the performance that we’ve been able to deliver over the last 12 months — being able to buy into some high quality companies at very depressed valuations.

MF: At the time, was it nerve-wracking not knowing how we’d recover out of the pandemic?

MH: Oh, you can never be entirely certain. But when both the government here stepped in with JobKeeper and the Federal Reserve stepped in with a massive stimulus program in the US, that was a key catalyst for us. 

I remember coming out of the GFC, we had QE one, two, three [rounds of stimulus] and they were big amounts of money that were going into the financial system. As part of the COVID response in the US, the amount of stimulus that’s been put into the market meets around 2.5 times QE one, two, and three combined. 

So it’s an incredible amount of liquidity that’s gone into the market. And so, when we saw that occurring, we believed that that was going to be a big tailwind for the market. 

The other thing that we noticed in probably late April, early May, was given the stimulus here in Australia — JobKeeper specifically, and also the ability for people to take money out of super — that was going to be very, very supportive of the retailers. We made some really good investments in some of the online retailers.

We sold a lot of them in August, September last year, but we had holdings in Adairs Ltd (ASX: ADH), Shaver Shop Group Ltd (ASX: SSG), Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW), Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN), Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK).

A lot of those retailers performed really, really strongly through that period… It was very clear by looking at Google Trends, as an example, you could see that the hits of today’s online retailers websites were just growing at an incredible rate through that period. People were spending that stimulus money. 

Don’t get me wrong, it was concerning in March — particularly for us, because we know we just launched a fund two months earlier. But as the market started to recover, we turned around and put money back in the market. 

To put some numbers around that, at the end of March, we were holding 40% of the fund in cash. So we had increased cash levels in that final week of February and first couple of weeks of March.

We were preparing for an elongated bear market. And typically bear markets go for 9 months. We were preparing for a large global recession — so we were preparing for the worst. Then we had to pivot quite quickly in April when all of that large stimulus was announced.

The post 8 ASX shares that supercharged us out of COVID-19: analyst appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 stellar ASX tech shares rated as buys
• Which ASX 200 shares are winners from the latest retail trade figures?
• Why the Adairs (ASX:ADH) share price is edging higher today
• Why we avoid mining and biotech ASX shares: fund manager
• 4 factors that could make the Temple & Webster (ASX:TPW) share price a buy

Tony Yoo holds shares of Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Kogan.com ltd, People Infrastructure Ltd, and Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended ADAIRS FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended ADAIRS FPO and Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended People Infrastructure Ltd and Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Fortunately, in this low interest rate environment, there are plenty of shares offering investors attractive dividend yields.

Two dividend shares that are currently rated as buys are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Carsales.Com Ltd (ASX: CAR)

The first dividend share to look at is Carsales. It is the dominant auto listings company in the ANZ market and operates a number of similar websites across the world.

The latter will soon include a stake in the US-based Trader Interactive. Carsales recently agreed to pay US$624 million (A$800 million) for a 49% interest in the leading digital marketing solutions and services provider to the commercial truck, recreational vehicle, powersports, and equipment industries. It also has a call option to acquire the remaining interest on specified terms in the future.

One broker that believes the company is well-placed for growth in the coming years is Morgan Stanley. Its analysts currently have an outperform rating and $23.00 price target on its shares.

The broker is forecasting dividends of 62 cents per share in FY 2021 and 71.6 cents per share in FY 2022. Based on the latest Carsales share price of $19.53, this represents fully franked dividend yields of 3.2% and 3.65%, respectively.

Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD)

Sydney Airport is another dividend share that could be worth looking at. This airport operator has been hit particularly hard during the pandemic. With passenger numbers falling materially, Sydney Airport’s income also fell materially.

The good news is that with domestic tourism continuing to improve and international travel expected at the end of the year, things are starting to look a lot more positive.

It is for this reason that analysts at Goldman Sachs are predicting a big dividend increase in 2022 from Sydney Airport. It is forecasting an 8.8 cents per share dividend in FY 2021 and then 27.1 cents per share in FY 2022.

Based on the current Sydney Airport share price of $5.92, this will mean yields of 1.5% and 4.6%, respectively. Goldman Sachs has a buy rating and $6.73 price target on the company’s shares.

The post 2 ASX dividend shares with attractive yields appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX makes it 5 out of 5
• Carsales (ASX:CAR) and 4 other ASX tech shares still worth holding: analyst
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX edges even higher, led by tech rebound
• 2 growing ASX dividend shares named as buys
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended carsales.com 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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On Tuesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was back on form and raced higher. The benchmark index jumped 1.5% to 7,342.2 points.

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

ASX 200 expected to edge lower

The Australian share market looks set to edge lower on Wednesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 5 points or 0.1% lower this morning. This is despite it being a positive night of trade on Wall Street, which saw the Dow Jones rise 0.2%, the S&P 500 climb 0.5%, and the Nasdaq storm 0.8% higher.

Oil prices soften

Energy producers such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could trade lower on Wednesday after oil prices retreated. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 0.8% to US$73.08 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 0.1% to US$74.83 a barrel. This appears to have been driven by profit taking from some traders.

Tech shares could push higher

It could be a good day for tech shares such as Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Appen Ltd (ASX: APX). They could be on the rise today after the Nasdaq index stormed to a new record high. As the local tech sector tends to follow the Nasdaq’s lead, this bodes well for today’s trading session.

Gold price falls

Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) will be on watch after the gold price fell overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 0.3% to US$1,776.70 an ounce. Traders were selling the precious metal ahead of the release of a testimony from U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell. That testimony is expected to provide more clarity on monetary policy plans.

Iron ore price rebounds

After a tough couple of days, the iron ore price is rebounding, which could bode well for BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG), and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) shares today. According to Metal Bulletin, the spot iron ore price is up 3% to US$214.32 a tonne.

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

More reading

• ASX 200 jumps, Soul Patts rises, Openpay soars
• 2 ASX shares with IPOs that have delivered market-beating returns
• Inflation? The tough choice facing all ASX investors right now…
• Liar loans could return to haunt ASX bank shares as 1-in-5 borrowers lie to lenders
• Why is the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price sliding 10% in 2021?

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 Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO and 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose by 1.5% today to 7,342 points.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX:

Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) and Milton Corporation Limited (ASX: MLT)

Soul Patts announced today that it’s going to merge with Milton through a scheme of arrangement. In other words, it’s going to acquire Milton.

Milton shareholders will be offered new Soul Patts shares as payment, with Milton shares to be valued at a 10% premium to the adjusted net tangible assets (NTA).

As part of the takeover, Milton shareholders will be entitled to the benefit of three fully franked dividends totalling 52 cents per share. Those dividends, if paid, will also come with 22 cents per share of franking credits.

The implied offer value from the ASX 200 share of $6 represents a 20% premium to the previous closing price on 22 June 2021 of $5.

Milton’s independent directors have unanimously recommended the deal.

Managing director of WHSP, Todd Barlow, said:

This is a transformative merger bringing together two of Australia’s great investment companies to create a $10 billion group with enhanced liquidity, diversification and access to a broad range of asset classes.

Milton shareholders are being offered script at a significant premium to both Milton’s share price and NTA, the potential benefits of three fully franked dividends, and exposure to WHSP’s diverse portfolio of assets which have historically delivered significant outperformance over the long term.

We look forward to progressing this merger with Milton, with the view of welcoming Milton’s management team and up to 30,000 new shareholders and the benefits this will bring to both companies.

The Soul Patts share price rose 0.8%, whilst the Milton share price went up 16%.

Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY)

The Openpay share price increased 17% after announcing an acquisition.

It announced a deal that it called “highly material”. It’s going to acquire Payment Assist, a leading BNPL provider to the UK automotive sector in one of the largest acquisitions made by a BNPL outfit in the UK.

Openpay said that the transaction is an important stepping stone on Openpay’s path to becoming a leader in its chosen verticals including in the UK and the US. The acquisition, according to the company, provides further differentiation from peers in the “pay in 4” space and underscores Openpay’s focus on delivering its plans for particular industries.

On a 2020 calendar year basis, the pro-forma combined UK entity would have recorded almost triple the total transaction value (TTV), increasing from £43.6 million to £121.7 million. UK revenue would have also more than tripled from £2.4 million to £8.4 million, with high margins.

Michael Eidel, the managing director and CEO of Openpay, said:

In Payment Assist, we saw a unique opportunity to acquire a profitable, market-leading player in the £26.7 billion UK addressable automotive market. The proposed acquisition of this fast-growing business accelerates our automotive market entry and secures a significant foothold for Openpay in the UK. Material growth synergies exist between Openpay and Payment Assist. We also have shared values and a common vision to become the leading BNPS provider in our verticals globally.

The post ASX 200 jumps, Soul Patts rises, Openpay soars appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 ASX shares with IPOs that have delivered market-beating returns
• Inflation? The tough choice facing all ASX investors right now…
• Soul Patts (ASX:SOL) share price climbs higher on Milton merger
• These ASX 200 shares are on the move today
• What will Soul Patts’ (ASX:SOL) portfolio look like post-Milton merger?

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. 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 Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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If you are looking for some new portfolio additions, then the ASX 200 shares listed below could be worth considering.

Here’s why these ASX 200 shares have been given buy ratings:

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

The first ASX 200 share to look at is Goodman Group. It is an innovative global property group that owns, develops, and manages industrial real estate. This includes logistics and industrial facilities, warehouses, and business parks.

Thanks to its high quality portfolio, which has been curated expertly by management to give it exposure to industries benefiting from structural tailwinds, Goodman has been growing its earnings at a solid rate over the last decade.

Pleasingly, the company has a development pipeline that looks set to support further growth over the next decade. This is particularly the case with its new multi-storey warehouse development in south Sydney. This week Morgan Stanley spoke very positively about the development and expects much stronger than normal yields from it. But it may not stop there, the broker estimates that Goodman owns around a fifth of the land in south Sydney, giving it significant development opportunities.

Unsurprisingly, Morgan Stanley is very positive on the company’s outlook and has an overweight rating and $23.00 price target on its shares.

REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)

Another ASX 200 share to look at is this property listings company. While trading conditions have not been easy for REA Group over the last few years, things have been improving significantly this financial year.

This is thanks to the booming housing market and its domination of the Australian market. Positively, this is expected to lead to a material increase in listings volumes in the near term. Combined with price increases, new revenue streams, and acquisitions, this bodes well for its earnings growth in the coming years.

Morgan Stanley is positive on the company’s prospects. It recently put an overweight rating and $185.00 price target on its shares.

The post 2 top 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. 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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Generally, an individual’s risk appetite will fall with age. This is because someone in their 20s has a lot more time to recoup their losses compared to someone in their 60s who is nearing retirement and will soon be reliant on their nest egg to fund their future lifestyle.

In light of this, it may be important to focus on capital preservation when you are reaching retirement and select shares that are consistent with your risk profile and investing timeframe. With that in mind, here are a couple of shares that could be suitable for a well-balanced retirement portfolio:

National Storage REIT (ASX: NSR)

National Storage could be a good option for a retirement portfolio. It is one of the region’s largest self-storage operators with a total of over 200 centres in the ANZ market. Through this growing network the company provides tailored storage solutions to tens of thousands of residential and commercial customers.

It has been growing at a solid rate over the last few years thanks to its strong position in a fragmented market and its growth through acquisition strategy. The good news is that management still sees plenty of room to grow both organically and through acquisitions and developments.

According to a note out of Ord Minnett, its analysts have an accumulate rating and $2.20 price target on its shares. The broker is forecasting an 8.2 cents per share dividend in FY 2021 and 8.6 cents per share in FY 2022. Based on the current National Storage share price of $2.07, this represents 4% and 4.15% yields.

Transurban Group (ASX: TCL)

Another ASX retirement share for investors to look at is this leading toll road operator. Transurban owns a portfolio of 17 key roads in Australia and four in North America. It also has a significant project pipeline across its networks that could support its growth in the coming years.

Although Transurban was hit hard by the pandemic, it has been seeing significant improvements in recent months. These improvements are expected to continue as vaccines are rolled out and mobility increases.

One broker that is particularly positive on the company is Ord Minnett. Its analysts currently have a buy rating and $16.00 price target on the company’s shares. This compares to the latest Transurban share price of $14.84.

Its analysts are forecasting dividends of 37 cents per share in FY 2021 and then 58 cents per share in FY 2022. This will mean yields of 2.5% and 3..9%, respectively, over the next two years.

The post 2 excellent ASX shares for a retirement portfolio appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has 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 tech sector has been out of form this year and is significantly underperforming the rest of the market. However, with investors flooding back into the sector, the second half of the year could be much more positive.

So if you’re looking to add a bit of tech exposure to your portfolio, you might want to take a look at these shares:

Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)

The first tech share to consider is Kogan. It is an ecommerce company which has been growing at a rapid rate over the last few years. This has been driven by the shift to online shopping, which accelerated during the pandemic. And while inventory issues have brought its earnings growth to an abrupt end during the second half of FY 2021, this is only expected to be a short term headwind. This could make the recent weakness in the Kogan share price a buying opportunity for investors.

Credit Suisse has an outperform rating and $17.93 price target on its shares.

Nitro Software Ltd (ASX: NTO)

Another tech share to look at is Nitro Software. It is a software company that is aiming to drive digital transformation in organisations around the world. Its key solution is the Nitro Productivity Suite, which provides integrated PDF productivity and electronic signature tools to customers. Demand has been growing strongly in recent years and has continued in FY 2021, underpinning stellar recurring revenue growth.

Morgan Stanley is bullish on the company. Its analysts currently have an overweight rating and $3.70 price target on Nitro’s shares.

PointsBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)

A final tech share to look at is PointsBet. It is a growing sports wagering operator and iGaming provider. PointsBet offers innovative sports betting products and services via its scalable cloud-based platform. It currently operates in the ANZ and United States markets and is generating significant revenue growth in both. Positively, thanks to its huge opportunity in the United States, it has been tipped to deliver very strong growth over the next decade.

Goldman Sachs is a big fan of PointsBet. It currently has a buy rating and $17.20 price target on its shares.

The post 3 stellar ASX tech 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 Kogan.com ltd and Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nitro Software Limited and Pointsbet Holdings 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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