Tag: Motley Fool

  • Top brokers have named these 2 ASX shares as buys

    Brokers have been scouring the ASX share market for opportunities and there are a couple that multiple brokers like.

    A business could be an opportunity if multiple analysts think it’s a buy, though of course they could all be wrong at the same time:

    Pinnacle Investment Management Group Ltd (ASX: PNI)

    Pinnacle is a business that takes investment stakes in some of the leading investment managers in Australia and also helps them grow.

    It’s currently rated as a buy by at least three brokers, including Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) which is monitoring the growth of the business and has a price target of $11.37.

    In the latest update, total affiliate funds under management (FUM) at 30 April 2021 of $84.9 billion was up 20.4% compared to $70.5 billion at 31 December 2020 and $58.7 billion at 30 June 2020 (up 44.6%). Total net inflows for the four months to 30 April 2021 were $9.9 billion comprising $8.1 billion of institutional funds and $1.8 billion of retail funds.

    Some of the current investments include Hyperion, Plato, Solaris, Resolution Capital, Metrics Credit Partners and Coolabah Capital.

    That FUM growth and outperformance from its affiliates has been translating into profit growth for the ASX share.

    In the six months to 31 December 2020, net profit after tax  (NPAT) increased 120% to $30.3 million, with earnings per share (EPS) rising by 116% to 17.5 cents. This funded a 70% increase of the dividend to 11.7 cents.

    Based on the FY21 earnings estimate, Macquarie thinks that Pinnacle is valued at 30x this year’s projected earnings.

    Inghams Group Ltd (ASX: ING)

    Inghams is a large Australian poultry business that processes a huge amount of poultry each year.

    It’s currently rated as a buy by at least four brokers including Credit Suisse which has a price target on $4.10. The broker likes the profit margin growth that it’s achieving thanks to efficiency improvement.

    Inghams recently revealed upgraded guidance for FY21 after taking into account the current operational performance, its efficiencies implemented throughout the year and how the rest of FY21 might turn out.

    There has been an improvement in general trading conditions as the impact of COVID-19 restrictions had decreased over the prior six months.

    The ASX share is now expecting statutory earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in a range of between $438 million to $448 million, as well as a statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) to be in a range of between $80 million to $87 million.

    Underlying EBITDA is expected to be between $203 million to $213 million. The underlying net profit after tax guidance is a range between $96 million to $103 million.

    According to Credit Suisse, the Inghams share price is valued at 14x FY21’s estimated earnings.

    The post Top brokers have named these 2 ASX shares as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes could be the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at near dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now.

    *Returns as of May 24th 2021

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    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.

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  • Here’s what I think of Coles, PointsBet, NAB, AMP: analyst

    Fund manager Sean Fenton

    Ask A Fund Manager

    The Motley Fool chats with fund managers so that you can get an insight into how the professionals think. In part 1 of our interview, Sage Capital portfolio manager Sean Fenton tells us whether higher inflation will be transitory or here to stay, plus his tips on 4 of the most-searched stocks.

    Outlook for shares

    The Motley Fool: What’s the outlook for markets this year? Especially with all the worries about inflation?

    Sean Fenton: What we’ve seen with COVID and the shutdowns [is] there is really a shift in behavioural patterns and psychology from consumers and businesses.

    Through that period, we’ve seen a lot of supply shortages. Things like chip shortages, auto manufacturers, and used-car prices have gone through the roof. That’s played out in a whole range of different areas. 

    Generally, commodity prices have bounced back very aggressively, but companies we’ve noted are actually able to pass those price rises through — consumers are more willing to take price rises and pay for scarcity and availability.

    That shift in behaviour, I think, does raise a risk that inflation becomes a little bit more embedded and the short-term supply constraints can actually shift some of the psychology there, and that inflation might not be quite as transient as central banks are expecting.

    So if it does remain elevated through the back half of this year, depending on how central banks react to that, that could be quite challenging for equity markets. [It could] fire up bond markets and [lead to] potentially higher yields and pressuring valuations. 

    That’s the main area of caution. Economic recovery looks quite solid and we’re optimistic there that it might become too good and start driving inflation — and that punchbowl being taken away from the party.

    MF: The chip shortage situation feels understated at the moment. But there are computer chips in everything these days, aren’t there?

    SF: Yeah, definitely. Who knew that cars these days… it’s like 50 chips or something that go into controlling the car. Between just capacity [constraints] there and a bit of a drought in Taiwan, suddenly the world comes to a grinding halt.

    4 ASX shares: buy or stay away?

    MF: I’ll put to you 4 of the most searched ASX shares recently, and see what you think. First is AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP).

    SF: Look, to say it’s had a shocker in the last few years is probably an understatement. It’s apparently been one of the worst-performing equities for the last couple of decades. I actually worked in the capital investment side for about 10 years. 

    They’re under a lot of pressure and obviously, things amplified a lot through the Royal Commission with reputational damage and collecting fees from dead people and poor advice. 

    When you’re a little bit wounded, you’ve got different groups sniffing around, trying to cherry-pick some of their trusts and funds as well, so you’re starting to lose control of some of the ecosystem in the fund-management business. 

    You’ve had a couple of groups go through the books and look at it and take out the bids and people walk away. Even in this environment of cheap capital and things being bid for, it’s hard to see a takeover as well. 

    But that said, there is some value to the business, but it’s not one, despite the under-performance, I’d be rushing out to buy. There’s a lot of structural challenges. A heap of them.

    MF: How about PointsBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)?

    SF: My only comment is that the whole sector is very hot, with deregulation of sports betting in the US, the points betting and the like, as well as being in fashion. 

    I get a little bit concerned when concept areas like that run on thematics and deregulation. There’s a lot of expectations of growth and not a lot of hard numbers going through. 

    MF: The favourable conditions needed aren’t in their control, are they? 

    SF: No. And there’s also a lot of people looking to take advantage of that, so I do see a lot of competition going into the area. Different people can have advantages and niches and core technology, but the whole space seems a little bit frothy for my liking.

    MF: What do you think of National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)?

    SF: It’s sort of the other end of the excitement spectrum from PointsBet. 

    We did quite well last year out of the banking sector. They were a bit oversold in the tail end of the Royal Commission, [which] clamped down on lending and with slight loan growth and margin compression, it really saw the banks derate. Then with COVID and potential losses, and they were taking large provisions, they got very, very cheap.

    We did well as they bounced back… the economy bounced back and it became quite apparent where house prices were going. The banks really didn’t have any bad debts on their books, and as soon as the last reporting season, they started to aggressively write those back. 

    So we have seen all of the banks, NAB included, bounce back. There’s still a very attractive dividend deal there, that doesn’t look overly expensive within the banks, but it also has a few challenges. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)’s pushing a bit more aggressively into business banking, which NAB has tended to dominate historically. So, that competition won’t help their interest margins going forward.

    There is competition, honestly, coming in with the non-bank lenders now. That’d be interesting just to see how things pan out. 

    MF: The last one, Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL), was a COVID winner. What do you think the longer-term prospects are? 

    SF: People working from home and eating more at home, has been a little bit of a boost for Coles and Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW). But they also both had to invest in high levels of safety standards, and this introduced a layer of costing as well. As with all the retailers that benefited a bit on the margin side from less competition, they needed to do less promotional work, and that’s all started normalising now.

    There’s always a bit of a tussle between Coles and Woolworths in terms of market share. And Woolworths seems to have the upper hand there in recent times. Coles has started to bounce back with a little bit more promotion and the like, but generally, it’s a supermarket, it grows in line with GDP. A lot of the spending pattern shifts around COVID and lockdowns have started to normalise.

    MF: Is it attractive in light of rising inflation?

    SF: Yeah. They do tend to offer a reasonable inflation hedge, and sometimes they can get a gross margin benefit. And you see that with food prices, when they rise more strongly, it does tend to give supermarkets a bit of margin benefit — it’s obviously got a large fixed cost base. 

    So there’s a bit of a natural hedge for them in that place. People don’t certainly tend to eat less in terms of inflation.

    [Coles has] started to bounce back a bit, I think it underperformed Woolworths a bit too dramatically in recent times. So [it’s] a bit more compelling valuation at the moment.

    Tomorrow in part 2 of our interview, Fenton reveals the insurance stock set to explode and the bank he would run from.

    The post Here’s what I think of Coles, PointsBet, NAB, AMP: analyst appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes could be the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at near dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now.

    *Returns as of May 24th 2021

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    Tony Yoo 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 Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended COLESGROUP DEF SET and Woolworths Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended 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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  • 2 ASX shares tipped to pay bumper dividends in 2021

    Dividend stocks represented by paper sign saying dividends next to roll of cash

    With savings accounts and term deposits still offering very low interest rates, the share market arguably remains the best place to earn a passive income.

    But which ASX dividend shares should you consider buying? Two to look closely at are listed below:

    Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT (ASX: CQE)

    The Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT is a real estate investment trust focused on social infrastructure properties. These include specialist use properties with low substitution risk such as childcare centres and government sites.

    At the end of the first half of FY 2021, the company had an occupancy rate of 99.7% and a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 14 years. This helped drive solid earnings growth during the half, allow the Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT board to increase its fully year distribution guidance to 15.7 cents per share for FY 2021.

    Based on the current Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT share price, this will mean a yield of 4.5% for investors.

    Goldman Sachs currently has a buy rating and $3.45 price target on its shares.

    Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

    Another dividend share to look at is Fortescue. It is one of the world’s largest producers of iron ore, with a number of operations across the Pilbara region in Western Australia.

    Fortescue has been tipped to reward shareholders with very generous dividends in the near term thanks to the sky high iron ore price, which has just surpassed US$210 a tonne. This compares favourably to its C1 costs guidance of US$13.50 to US$14.00 per wet metric tonne. And while its lower grade product won’t command the full iron ore price, it will still be generating significant profits on each tonne.

    Ord Minnett is very positive on the company and is forecasting fully franked dividends of $3.36 per share in FY 2021 and $2.93 per share in FY 2022. With the Fortescue share price currently fetching $22.65, this will mean massive dividend yields of 14.8% and 12.8%, respectively.

    Its analysts have a buy rating and $28.00 price target on the company’s shares.

    The post 2 ASX shares tipped to pay bumper dividends in 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes could be the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at near dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now.

    *Returns as of May 24th 2021

    More reading

    James Mickleboro does not own any shares 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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  • Do brokers think the Appen (ASX:APX) share price is a buying opportunity?

    A woman works on an openface tech wall, indicating share price movement for ASX tech shares

    The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price has fallen a long way over the last six months. It has dropped just over 50% during that time period. Do brokers believe that the business is currently worth looking at or not?

    As a reminder, it’s a business that’s involved in the development of high-quality, human annotated datasets for machine learning and artificial intelligence.

    February 2021 saw a sizeable part of the decline of the Appen share price.

    What happened with Appen during reporting season?

    In February 2021, Appen revealed its FY20 result to investors. It said that revenue was up 12% for the year to $600 million. Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 8% to $108.6 million, with statutory EBITDA going up 23%.

    The company said that its growing customer base included 136 new customer wins in 2020. There was also a 34% increase in the number of projects with its top five customers.

    The committed revenue increased to 31% of the FY20’s second half total, up from 12% in the first half of FY20. Appen also said that Chinese revenue was growing at 60% quarter on quarter.

    At the time of the release of the FY20 result, it had provided guidance for the full FY21 for underlying EBITDA to be in a range of $120 million to $130 million. That represented growth of between 18% to 28%.  

    Any other updates?

    A few weeks ago, Appen updated the market to say that it has been restructured to align its product-led growth strategy with four customer-facing business units – global, enterprise, China and government.

    Global will focus on providing data annotation services and products to its major US tech customers. Enterprise will drive growth outside of its global customers by leveraging its product suite to serve new customers and AI use cases. The China and government units will continue to focus on capturing market share in their high-growth markets.

    Appen believes that the new leadership structure, together with profit and loss responsibility, will increase visibility of, and accountability for, performance.

    The company revealed a trading update along with this restructuring news. It said that its year to date revenue plus orders in hand for delivery in FY21 was approximately US$260 million at the end of April 2021.

    Appen also disclosed near the start of May that COVID-19 was impacting some of its customers including online advertising and regulatory pressures such as anti-trust and data privacy. Some customers are switching resources between development projects as they pursue new ‘break-out products’, impacting a few larger programs. It also noted that competitors are “maturing” and that Appen has to maintain its flow of new product features and that it needs to fight harder to stay ahead.

    Broker thoughts on the Appen share price

    Ord Minnett rates Appen shares as a buy, with a price target of $24.75. That suggests a potential upside of over 90% over the next 12 months if that projection were to come true. The broker thought the May trading update was reassuring, particularly with the consistent underlying EBITDA expectations.

    Brokers at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) have been negative on Appen for some time, but it’s currently rated as a hold here, with a price target of $14.70 – over 10% higher than today’s Appen share price.

    Using Macquarie’s numbers, Appen is valued at 30x FY21’s estimated earnings.

    The post Do brokers think the Appen (ASX:APX) share price is a buying opportunity? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes could be the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at near dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now.

    *Returns as of May 24th 2021

    More reading

    Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Appen 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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  • Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

    ASX shares Hand writing Time to Buy concept clock with blue marker on transparent wipe board.

    Many of Australia’s top brokers have been busy adjusting their financial models again, leading to the release of a large number of broker notes this week.

    Three broker buy ratings that have caught my eye are summarised below. Here’s why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:

    BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

    According to a note out of Macquarie, its analysts have retained their outperform rating and $57.00 price target on this mining giant’s shares. The broker believes that BHP is generating significant free cash flow thanks to sky high iron ore prices and expects this to result in generous cash returns for shareholders. And with spot prices well ahead of its forecasts, it suspects that BHP could smash expectations with its results in August. The BHP share price is currently fetching $48.67.

    EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML)

    Another note out of Macquarie reveals that its analysts have retained their outperform rating but trimmed their price target slightly on this payments company’s shares to $3.95. Its analysts believe the market is expecting a far worse outcome from its dealings with the Central Bank of Ireland than is likely. In addition, it was pleased with its recent trading update and suspects the company will hit the top end of its guidance range. The EML Payments share price is currently trading at $3.78.

    Superloop Ltd (ASX: SLC)

    Analysts at Morgans have retained their add rating and lifted their price target on this telco’s shares to $1.33. This follows its announcement to undertake a capital raising to acquire the Exetel business. According to the note, the broker is pleased with its decision to acquire Exetel and sees meaningful synergies from the deal. It also believes it is positive strategically and is expecting it to boost its margins. The Superloop share price is currently trading at $1.05.

    The post Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes could be the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at near dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now.

    *Returns as of May 24th 2021

    More reading

    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 EML Payments and SUPERLOOP FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended EML Payments. 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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  • 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursda

    Young man with laptop watching stocks and trends while thinking

    On Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gave back its morning gains and tumbled lower. The benchmark index fell 0.3% to 7,270.2 points.

    Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:

    ASX 200 expected to fall

    The Australian share market looks set to extend its decline on Thursday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 8 points or 0.1% lower this morning. This follows a poor night of trade on Wall Street, which saw the Dow Jones fall 0.4%, the S&P 500 drop 0.2%, and the Nasdaq edge 0.1% lower.

    Carsales has major growth opportunity

    The Carsales.Com Ltd (ASX: CAR) share price will be on watch today after being the subject of a positive broker note out of Goldman Sachs. It commented: “We believe there is a significant opportunity for CAR to capitalize on its dominant market position and evolve from a listing based advertising platform, into a much more holistic marketplace model […] We estimate that CAR dealer revenues currently represent just 2.7% of the A$5.4bn dealer GP market.”

    Oil prices fall

    Energy producers such as Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) will be on watch after oil prices softened. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 0.5% to US$69.71 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has fallen 0.3% to US$72.00 a barrel. Weaker than anticipated fuel demand in the US weighed on prices.

    Gold price edges lower

    Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) could trade lower today after the gold price weakened overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 0.15% to US$1,891.50 an ounce. Traders appear nervous ahead of tonight’s US inflation data release.

    Iron ore price rises

    The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price could be given a boost today by rising iron ore prices. According to Metal Bulletin, the steel making ingredient has extended its recent gains and was up a further 1.5% to US$212.67 a tonne overnight.

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

    Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes could be the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at near dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now.

    *Returns as of May 24th 2021

    More reading

    James Mickleboro does not own any shares 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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  • 2 high yield ASX dividend shares

    large block letters depicting four percent representing high yield asx dividend shares

    With interest rates likely to remain low for some time to come, the yields on the ASX dividend shares listed below could be even more attractive than normal for income investors.

    Here’s what you need to know about these dividend shares:

    BWP Trust (ASX: BWP)

    The first ASX dividend share to take a look at is BWP. It is a retail property company and the largest owner of Bunnings Warehouse sites across Australia. At the end of the first half, the company had a total of 68 properties which were leased to the home improvement giant.

    Bunnings has proven to be the dream tenant for BWP. Thanks to its strong performance over the last few years, despite whatever the economy threw at it, BWP has been able to grow its rental income at a decent rate. This has led to the company’s distribution also growing nicely, much to the delight of income investors.

    This year the company’s board plans to pay a full year distribution of ~18.3 cents per share. Based on the current BWP share price, this equates to an attractive 4.3% dividend yield.

    Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)

    Things haven’t been quite as positive for this shopping centre operator. Its Westfield properties in Australia have struggled during the pandemic after some retailers were forced to close down and others fought hard for rental reductions.

    Positively, the worst appears to be over for the company now and a return to growth could be on the cards.

    Goldman Sachs is positive on Scentre, particularly given Australian inflation expectations. It notes that expectations are currently at their highest level since 2015, which is good news for Scentre. This is due to the company being far more positively leveraged to inflation than any other Australian real estate investment trust under its coverage.

    In light of this, the broker recently reiterated its buy rating and $3.60 price target on the company’s shares. It is also forecasting a 14 cents per share dividend in FY 2021. Based on the latest Scentre share price, this equates to a 4.9% yield.

    The post 2 high yield ASX dividend shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    These Dividend Stocks Could Be Your Next Cash Kings (FREE REPORT)

    Motley Fool Australia’s Dividend experts recently released a brand-new FREE report revealing 3 dividend stocks with JUICY franked dividends that could keep paying you meaty dividends for years to come.

    Our team of investors think these 3 dividend stocks should be a ‘must consider’ for any savvy dividend investor. But more importantly, could potentially make Australian investors a heap of passive income.

    Don’t miss out! Simply click the link below to grab your free copy and discover these 3 high conviction stocks now.

    Returns As of 15th February 2021

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    James Mickleboro does not own any shares 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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  • Why Zip (ASX:Z1P) and this ASX growth share are highly rated by analysts

    Big green letters spell growth, indicating share price movements for ASX growth shares

    If you’re wanting to boost your portfolio with a couple of growth shares in June, then you may want to consider the ones listed below.

    Here’s why these ASX growth shares have been rated as buys:

    Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP)

    The first ASX growth to look at is Domino’s. It is the largest Domino’s franchisee outside of the United States.

    The company currently holds the master franchise rights to the Domino’s brand and network in Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Japan, Germany, Luxembourg, and Denmark. But it may not stop there. Management advised that it is looking at acquisition opportunities. This could include expanding into new geographic locations, increasing its potential market opportunity.

    Not that it necessarily needs to. The company currently operates approximately ~2,800 stores in existing markets and sees opportunities to double its network over the next decade.

    Combined with its same store sales growth targets, this would underpin strong top line growth for many years to come if executed successfully.

    Bell Potter currently has a buy rating and $122.00 price target on the company’s shares.

    Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

    Another ASX growth share to look at is Zip. This buy now pay later (BNPL) provider has been a very impressive performer over the last few years.

    After breaking out of the shadow of its larger rival, it is now becoming a force of its own. This is particularly the case in the United States where its Quadpay business is growing its customer numbers and sales at a rapid rate. This is a big positive given how the US market is estimated to be worth upwards of $5 trillion.

    In addition to this, Zip has just extended its total addressable market by expanding into mainland Europe and the Middle East via acquisitions. If these acquisitions are successful, then the company’s growth could be given a huge boost over the 2020s.

    Morgans is a fan of Zip. Its analysts currently have an add rating and $10.39 price target on its shares.

    The post Why Zip (ASX:Z1P) and this ASX growth share are highly rated by analysts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes could be the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at near dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now.

    *Returns as of May 24th 2021

    More reading

    James Mickleboro does not own any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Dominos Pizza Enterprises 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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  • AGL Energy (ASX:AGL) loses Federal Court battle against Greenpeace

    Woman shouts into a megaphone amongst a group of protesters

    AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL) shares were in the red for most of today, rallying to finish the day higher just before the market closed. At the end of trade, the AGL share price was sitting at $9.16 – 0.11% higher than yesterday. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) also had a lacklustre day, falling by 0.31%.

    The struggling AGL share price came as the energy provider’s Federal Court loss against Greenpeace Australia Pacific hit headlines.

    Let’s take a look at AGL’s claims against Greenpeace and the Federal Court’s ruling.

    Court rules for Greenpeace

    AGL took Greenpeace to court after the climate-focused charity organisation began a campaign against the energy provider. AGL claimed Greenpeace broke copyright laws by using a logo “substantially identical” to AGL’s trademarked and copyrighted logo.

    AGL sought an injunction on Greenpeace’s use of its logo and damages caused by the alleged infringement.

    Justice Stephen Burley ruled in Greenpeace’s favour late yesterday afternoon.

    Greenpeace used a doctored version of AGL’s logo on online banners, street posters, Greenpeace’s parody website, and protest placards, in a campaign against the energy company.

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

    Greenpeace claimed it didn’t break copyright law as it used AGL’s logo’s likeness for parody and satire – which is protected under Australian law. Greenpeace also argued it didn’t commercially benefit from its use of the similar logo.

    AGL refuted this, saying Greenpeace used its logo to disseminate information and pressure the company to change its operations.

    Justice Stephen Burley ruled that, except for three social media posts, Greenpeace’s use of the logo was justified. He denied AGL’s request for damages. Justice Burley’s ruling stated:

    Copyright protects the owner’s interest in the artistic work, it does not provide a mechanism for protecting a copyright owner’s reputation…

    Although the ultimate purpose of the Greenpeace campaign is to bring about a change in AGL’s environmental conduct, the satirical message in the impugned materials has only the effect of drawing viewers into the debate about AGL’s environmental impact…

    It is not the use of AGL’s logo in the campaign that causes damage, but rather the informational message.

    Greenpeace says it will continue to challenge the company to close its coal-burning power stations by 2030.

    AGL share price snapshot

    2021 has been a tough year for AGL shares.

    Currently, the AGL share price is 23.35% lower than it was at the start of this year. It has also fallen 49.25% since this time last year.

    The energy company has a market capitalisation of around $5.7 billion, with approximately 623 million shares outstanding.

    The post AGL Energy (ASX:AGL) loses Federal Court battle against Greenpeace appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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  • Is the Treasury Wine (ASX:TWE) share price going to lose its fizz?

    rising ASX share price represented by cork popping out of wine bottle

    It certainly has been a volatile 12 months for the Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) share price.

    Although the wine company’s shares are up 3% over the period, this only tells half the story. In November the Treasury Wine share price was down as much as 34% from where it trades today after China first took aim at the Australian wine sector.

    Can the Treasury Wine share price go higher?

    According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts believe the Treasury Wine share price is fully valued now.

    This morning the broker retained its neutral rating and $10.60 price target on the company’s shares.

    Based on the latest Treasury Wine share price, this price target implies potential downside of ~11% over the next 12 months.

    What did Goldman say?

    Goldman has been looking into market trends and, while it has seen some encouraging signs in May, it isn’t enough for a more positive rating.

    Goldman commented: “Monthly data trends are supportive in the US, with encouraging comments out of recent global peer earnings releases. Chinese data continues to fall off, and in some cases becoming immaterial. TWE took market share in May with a decline of 5.3% against a market down 14%, with both volume and price driving the outperformance.”

    “Industry feedback confirms the strong off premise sales; however, the recovery in on premise, particularly in North America, is an emerging trend which could prove beneficial to TWE, given its now reduced mix of commercial ranges and range of premium Californian brands,” the broker added.

    Goldman also notes that wine companies are finding markets to export to after being hit with tariffs in China.

    It explained: “Chinese imports were down 8.6% in April, although largely driven by plummeting imports from Australia, down -94.8% yoy on a value basis. Despite this, Australian alcohol exports are showing greater resilience, suggesting alternate market focus from industry.”

    What would make Goldman more positive?

    While Goldman doesn’t see value in the Treasury Wine share price at the current level, that could change in the future.

    It advised that it would become more positive if the Australian dollar weakened, there was a faster recovery of trading in its US operations, improvements in the China tariff situation, and evidence of tangible progress on its proposed demerger of Penfolds.

    But until then, it will be holding firm with its neutral rating on the Treasury Wine share price.

    The post Is the Treasury Wine (ASX:TWE) share price going to lose its fizz? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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