Tag: Motley Fool

  • LIVE COVERAGE: ASX to move lower; Crown-Star $12 billion merger on the table

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    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.*

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    Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Kate O’Brien owns shares of Apple and Rio Tinto Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), and Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), and Apple. 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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  • A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price in danger after downgrading guidance again

    Scared, wide-eyed man in pink t-shirt with hands covering mouth

    The A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price could come under further pressure on Monday.

    This follows the release of a trading update which reveals that it has downgraded its FY 2021 guidance yet again.

    What did a2 Milk announce?

    According to the release, trading dynamics in the China infant nutrition market have continued to be challenging for the company.

    As a result, it has now become clear that the actions taken to address challenges in the daigou/reseller and CBEC channels will not result in sufficient improvement in pricing, sales and inventory levels to meet its downgraded guidance. Particularly after April sales were well below plan.

    Comprehensive review

    The release advises that the a2 Milk Board tasked management to undertake a comprehensive review of inventory in the trade. This work has indicated that the level of channel inventory is higher than had been anticipated.

    As a result of the inventory review, it believes it is clear that the challenges in the daigou/reseller and CBEC channels have been exacerbated by excess inventory and difficulties with visibility.

    In response to this, and in the interest of the long-term health of the a2 brand and the medium-term trading outlook of the business, management advised that it will be taking more aggressive actions to address excess inventory. This will impact FY 2021 revenue and EBITDA, and potentially also the first quarter of FY 2022.

    What now?

    Despite these short-term setbacks, management remains confident in the long-term opportunity that the infant nutrition market in China represents. Furthermore, it is determined to build on the strong position it has built within the key market over the past five years.

    Nevertheless, management recognises that the China market and channel structure is changing rapidly. It has therefore commenced a comprehensive process to review its growth strategy and executional plans to respond to this new environment.

    One person that won’t be sticking around to see this through is a2 Milk’s Chief Executive Officer of Asia Pacific, Peter Nathan. A separate announcement reveals that he has resigned from his role.

    Capital management

    One thing that may be supportive of the a2 Milk share price today is management’s plan to actively consider capital management initiatives.

    This includes putting its vast cash balance to use with a potential share buy-back. Full details on its plans will be revealed with its full year results in August.

    New guidance

    The company is now targeting revenue for FY 2021 in the order of NZ$1.2 billion to NZ$1.25 billion.

    As for earnings, it is expecting an earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin of 11% to 12% (excluding MVM transaction costs).

    This compares to its previously downgraded guidance of revenue of NZ$1.4 billion and an EBITDA margin of 24% to 26% (excluding MVM acquisition costs).

    Looking ahead, management warned that it will take some time to rebalance inventory levels and restore channel health. As a result, an immediate recovery is not expected and a further update for FY 2022 will be provided in August.

    The a2 Milk share price is down 40% since the start of the year.

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    Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended A2 Milk. 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 highly rated ASX dividend shares with generous fully franked yields

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

    Last week the Reserve Bank of Australia kept the cash rate on hold at a record 0.1% for yet another month. Unfortunately for income investors, this looks set to be the case for some time to come.

    But don’t worry, because the share market is here to save the day with its countless dividend options. Two ASX dividend shares that are highly rated are listed below:

    Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

    The first ASX dividend share to consider is Accent. It is a footwear-focused retailer which owns a collection of popular store brands. These include HypeDC, Platypus, and The Athlete’s Foot.

    Thanks to a combination of new store brand launches, the expansion of its existing footprint, and growing demand in-store and online, Accent has been growing its earnings and dividends at a solid rate for a number of years.

    The good news is that this is continuing in FY 2021. In February Accent reported a 6.6% increase in first half sales to $541.3 million and a 57.3% increase in net profit after tax to $52.8 million.

    One broker that is a big fan of Accent is Bell Potter. It has a buy rating and $2.65 price target on its shares.

    The broker is forecasting an 11.9 cents per share dividend in FY 2021 and a 12.2 cents per share dividend in FY 2022. Based on the current Accent share price of $2.64, this will mean a fully franked yields of 4.5% and 4.6%, respectively.

    Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ)

    If you don’t already have exposure to the big four banks, then it could be worth considering ANZ Bank.

    It has been a strong performer so far in FY 2021, as was demonstrated in its recent first half update. The good news is that trading conditions remain favourable and ANZ appears well-placed for growth again.

    Analysts at Morgans are positive on the bank and are forecasting generous dividends from ANZ over the next two years. Its analysts are forecasting fully franked dividends of 145 cents per share and 163 cents per share in FY 2021 and FY 2022, respectively. With the ANZ share price currently fetching $27.75, this will mean yields of 5.2% and 5.9%.

    Morgans has an add rating and $34.50 price target on its shares.

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    Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Accent Group. 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 Monday

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    On Friday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finished a solid week on a positive note. The benchmark index rose 0.3% to 7,080.8 points.

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

    ASX 200 futures pointing lower

    The Australian share market looks set to start the week with a small decline despite a solid finish on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the week 4 points lower this morning. On Wall Street on Friday, the Dow Jones rose 0.65%, the S&P 500 climbed 0.75%, and the Nasdaq stormed 0.9%.

    Crown-Star merger

    Both the Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN) share price and the Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR) share price will be ones to watch closely amid speculation the latter has tabled a merger proposal. According to the SMH, Star is proposing a $12 billion merger that would create a gambling and hospitality giant.

    Oil prices rise

    Energy producers such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could start the week on a positive note after oil prices pushed higher. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price rose 0.3% to US$64.90 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price climbed 0.3% to US$68.28 a barrel. Oil prices added 2% for the week.

    Gold price pushes higher

    Gold miners including Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) will be on watch today after the gold price stormed higher on Friday night. According to CNBC, the spot gold price recorded a 0.85% gain to US$1,767.0 an ounce. The precious metal had its best week in six months.

    Iron ore price jumps again

    The shares of BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) could be on the rise today after the iron ore price continued its ascent. According to Metal Bulletin, the spot iron ore price rose US$10.37 per tonne or 5.1% to US$212.25 per tonne on Friday night.

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    Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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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  • 2 small cap ASX shares to keep your eyes on

    Woman in pink sweater lying on dock with binoculars to her eyes

    At the small end of the market, there are a number of ASX shares with the potential to grow strongly in the future.

    Two that should be on your watchlists are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

    MNF Group Ltd (ASX: MNF)

    MNF Group is a small cap ASX share to watch. It specialises in Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology which is used to support services like teleconferencing, online business meetings, and digital data transfers.

    It looks well-placed for growth over the long term thanks to a number of favourable tailwinds. These include the NBN rollout and the work from home initiative.

    The company is also expanding into the Asian market. In February it was on the cusp of entering Singapore and was looking at a further six markets in the region. 

    This should be supportive of further recurring revenue growth in the coming years. Speaking of which, at the end of December, its recurring revenues stood at $55.7 million. This was up 15% on the prior corresponding period.

    Morgan Stanley is a fan of the company. It currently has an overweight rating and $6.30 price target on its shares.

    Whispir Ltd (ASX: WSP)

    Another small cap share to watch is Whispir. It is a software-as-a-service communications workflow platform provider.

    Whispir provides an industry-leading software platform that allows governments and businesses to deliver actionable two-way interactions at scale using automated multi-channel communication workflows. Demand has been increasing strongly, leading to stellar recurring revenue growth in recent years.

    This continued in the third quarter of FY 2021. According to the release, at the end of March, the company’s Annualised Recurring Revenue (ARR) was up 20.3% over the prior corresponding period to $50.3 million. This was also up 5.2% since the end of the second quarter.

    However, it is still only scratching at the surface of its TAM. Management estimates that it has a total addressable market (TAM) of US4.7 billion in the just the United States.

    Ord Minnett currently has a buy rating and $4.25 price target on its shares.

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    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 recommends Whispir Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended MNF Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Whispir 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 sell next week

    Scared, wide-eyed man in pink t-shirt with hands covering mouth

    Once again, a large number of broker notes hit the wires last week. Some of these notes were positive and some were bearish.

    Three sell ratings that caught my eye are summarised below. Here’s why top brokers think investors ought to sell these shares next week:

    Bubs Australia Ltd (ASX: BUB)

    According to a note out of Citi, its analysts have retained their sell rating and 35 cents price target on this infant formula company’s shares. While the broker felt there were a few improvements in its third quarter update, it isn’t enough to become more positive. Not until there is clear evidence that its Daigou 2.0 strategy is delivering results. Outside this, the broker still has concerns over growing competition by domestic players in the key China market and its ability to compete with bigger players. The Bubs share price was trading at a multi-year low of 37.5 cents at the end of the week.

    OceanaGold Corp (ASX: OGC)

    Analysts at Macquarie have downgraded this gold miner’s shares to an underperform rating and reduced the price target on them to $2.00. This follows the release of a mixed first quarter update which revealed solid production but higher costs. Combined with a valuation that Macquarie appears to believe is looking stretched and ongoing disruption at Didipio, the broker feels investors would be better off investing elsewhere in the sector. The OceanaGold share price was trading at $2.28 at Friday’s close.

    Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)

    A note out of UBS reveals that its analysts have retained their sell rating and $2.65 price target on this shopping centre operator’s shares. While the broker felt that the company’s quarterly update was decent given the tough trading conditions it is facing, it was still disappointed with its cash collections. Particularly given that it suspects Scentre is collecting rent that was already recognised in 2020. In light of this, it feels its gross rental collections are actually running 8% below its forecasts. The Scentre share price ended the week at $2.74.

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    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 BUBS AUST FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BUBS AUST 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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  • Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week

    three building blocks with smiley faces, indicating a rise in the ASX share price

    Last week saw a number of broker notes hitting the wires once again. Three buy ratings that caught my eye are summarised below.

    Here’s why brokers think investors ought to buy them next week:

    Booktopia Group Ltd (ASX: BKG)

    According to a note out of Morgans, its analysts have retained their add rating and lifted their price target on this online book retailer’s shares to $3.54. The broker was pleased with Booktopia’s third quarter update and notes that its strong growth and operating leverage has continued. The broker expects the company to have won almost 8% of the book market by the end of FY 2021. After which, it expects its market share gains to continue. The Booktopia share price ended the week at $2.56.

    Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG)

    Analysts at UBS have retained their buy rating and $35.70 price target on this appliance manufacturer’s shares. According to the note, the broker expects that Breville’s earnings growth will slow in the second half due to the company pulling forward cost investments. However, it appears supportive of the move and expects it to underpin solid sales growth over the coming years. It also sees upside potential from merger and acquisition opportunities. The Breville share price was fetching $25.83 at Friday’s close.

    PointsBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)

    A note out of Credit Suisse reveals that its analysts have upgraded this sports betting company’s shares to an outperform rating with a $16.15 price target. According to the note, the broker believes that PointsBet’s third quarter update demonstrates the company’s ability to win market share in the massive United States market. Overall, it is forecasting very strong revenue growth over the coming years as its footprint in the market grows. The PointsBet share price was trading at $13.56 on Friday.

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    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 recommends Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Booktopia Group 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 200 shares to buy for dividends

    A row a pink piggy banks ranging in size from small to big, indicating ASX share price and dividends growth CBA bank dividend increase

    There are some S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares that have quite high dividend yields whilst also offering investors the potential of long-term growth.

    Not every ASX 200 share has been growing their dividend. Many ASX 200 companies cut the dividend in 2020. Whilst others, like Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS), are just maintaining the dividend each year.

    These two have a track record of growing their ordinary dividends for shareholders:

    Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

    Rural Funds has increased its distribution every year since it listed several years ago. At the current share price, Rural Funds has a FY21 distribution yield of 4.6%.

    The ASX 200 business is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns farmland across Australia. It’s invested in variety of sectors – cattle, vineyards, almonds, macadamias and cropping (cotton and sugar).

    Its underlying value is steadily rising. That’s measured by the adjusted net asset value (NAV), which includes its water entitlements at market value. The ASX 200 dividend share owns a substantial amount of water entitlements for use by the tenants.

    At the end of the FY21 half-year result, Rural Funds’ adjusted NAV had grown by another 4% to $2.01.

    Thanks to built-in rental increases, farm productivity improvements and occasional acquisitions, Rural Funds has been able to steadily grow its adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) over the years. AFFO is essentially the rental profit. This is what funds the distribution growth.

    Management aim to grow the distribution by 4% per annum. In FY22 it expects to pay a distribution of 11.73 cents per unit, which will be a distribution yield of 4.75%.

    Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)

    Magellan is an ASX 200 share that pays out a high level of its annual profit each year to investors. It generates management fees from its funds under management (FUM). Magellan can also generate performance fees if its funds do better than the benchmark.

    In its FY21 half-year result, it saw management fees grow by 8% to $309.4 million and the funds management business saw profit before tax and before performance fees saw 8% growth to $256.2 million. That scalability of the business allows it to maintain a payout ratio north of 90% whilst continuing to grow.

    The ASX 200 share’s HY21 net profit after tax grew 3% to $202.3 million and diluted earnings per share (EPS) rose 2% to 110.6 cents. That allowed the interim dividend to grow by 5% to 97.1% with a franking rate of 75%.

    Magellan is now looking at high quality external investments that have high quality management, meaningful scale, contributes to the intellectual capital of the business, has optionality and can produce good returns. Its first three investments have been Barrenjoey, Finclear and Guzman y Gomez.

    During April 2021, Magellan’s funds under management (FUM) increased by $4.4 billion over one month. This will help grow management fee profitability, as well as the dividend.

    Magellan is currently rated as a buy by Ord Minnett, with a price target of $52. In FY21, it expects Magellan will pay a partially franked dividend yield of 4.8%.

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    Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of Magellan Financial Group and RURALFUNDS STAPLED. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended RURALFUNDS STAPLED and Telstra 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 top ASX growth shares rated as buys

    A hand holding a graph trending up, indicating a surging share price on the ASX

    If you’re wanting to boost your portfolio with a couple of growth shares in May, 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. At present, it holds the master franchise rights to the brand and network in Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Japan, Germany, Luxembourg, and Denmark.

    Across these countries, the company currently operates approximately 2,800 stores. From these stores, during the first half of FY 2021, Domino’s generated sales of $1.84 billion and an underlying net profit after tax of $96.2 million. This was up 16.5% and 32.8%, respectively, over the prior corresponding period.

    The good news is that more strong growth is expected in the second half. This should be boost by further store openings as well.

    In fact, the store openings won’t stop there. Management is aiming to almost double the size of its network over the next decade in its existing markets. It is also looking for acquisitions and could expand into new territories in the future. Combined with its same store sales growth targets, the future looks bright for Domino’s.

    Morgans is a fan of Domino’s. It currently has an add rating and $119.00 price target on its shares.

    IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL)

    Another ASX growth share to look at is IDP Education. It is a leading provider of international student placement and English language testing services.

    The pandemic hit the company particularly hard last year, but it has been bouncing back strongly. In fact, IDP Education revealed that in December testing volumes were broadly in line with those experienced in the final month of 2019 prior to the pandemic.

    And while the current and terrible situation in India, its largest market, is going to weigh on its recovery in the second half, once the pandemic passes, it will be onwards and upwards. Particularly given its software business and how many of its smaller rivals have not survived. This puts IDP Education in a position to potentially gobble up market share in FY 2022.

    Morgan Stanley remains positive on the company. Last week it retained its overweight rating and $30.00 price target on the company’s shares. It actually believes that the longer the pandemic weighs on the industry, the stronger IDP Education’s market position will be when the crisis passes.

    Where to 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 are the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they are great buys right now.

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    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 Idp Education Pty Ltd. 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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  • The big four banks and Macquarie offer these juicy dividend yields

    Woman holding up wads of cash

    Last week, three of the big four banks and Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) released their respective results.

    Much to the delight of income investors, all four of the banks reported significant improvements in their performances and made increases to their dividends. 

    Given that analysts have now had time to digest the results and make adjustments to their estimates, I thought I would take a look to see what dividend yields are on offer in the sector.

    Here’s what I found:

    Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ)

    Analysts at Morgans are expecting some generous dividends from ANZ over the next two years. According to a note from last week, it is forecasting fully franked dividends per share of 145 cents and 163 cents in FY 2021 and FY 2022, respectively. With the ANZ share price currently fetching $27.75, this will mean yields of 5.2% and 5.9%.

    Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)

    Commonwealth Bank is the only bank that hasn’t reported its results this month (its third quarter update is coming). However, that hasn’t stopped Citi from recently upgrading its forecasts. Late last month it forecast fully franked dividends of $3.45 per share in FY 2021 and $3.75 per share in FY 2022. Based on the current CBA share price of $93.92, this represents yields of 3.7% and 4%, respectively, over the next two years.

    National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)

    According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts are forecasting fully franked dividends of 124 cents per share and 133 cents per share in FY 2021 and FY 2022, respectively. Based on the current NAB share price of $26.78, this will mean yields of 4.6% and 5%.

    Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

    According to a note out of Morgan Stanley from last week, its analysts expect Westpac to pay fully franked dividends per share of $1.18 and $1.25 over the next two years. Based on the latest Westpac share price of $26.09, this will mean yields of 4.5% and 4.8%.

    Macquarie

    Finally, this investment bank declared a full year dividend of $4.70 per share last week. Looking ahead, a recent note out of Morgan Stanley reveals that it is expecting Macquarie to increase this to $5.90 per share in FY 2022. With the Macquarie share price ending the week at $158.45, these dividends represent partially franked yields of 3% and 3.7%.

    Where to 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 are the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they are great buys right now.

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    Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking. 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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