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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold shares are enjoying some healthy tailwinds from a fast-rising gold price.

So far in 2023, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD), which also contains some smaller gold stocks outside of ASX 200 gold shares, has gained a whopping 30.0%.

That’s more than five times the 5.9% gains posted by the ASX 200 over that same period.

And with the gold price approaching new all-time highs, there may be more outperformance to come.

What’s happening with the gold price?

ASX 200 gold shares have been benefiting from several factors that are helping drive the gold price higher.

First, investors have been buying the classic safe-haven asset amid rising concerns of a recession in the United States and much of the rest of the world.

Second, investors are increasingly pricing in a near-term end to interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve. That increases the appeal of bullion, which pays no yield and is priced in US dollars.

Third, geopolitical uncertainty remains high amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and rising tensions between China and Taiwan and the island nation’s Western allies.

All told, this has seen the gold price rocket from US$1,839.48 per ounce on 3 January to US$2,041.92 today, a gain of 11.0%.

That’s within a whisker of the yellow metal’s all-time high of US$2,075 per ounce on 7 August 2020.

But bullion could well surpass that record in the months ahead, further fuelling profits for ASX 200 gold shares.

Mike Novogratz, the founder of Galaxy Digital Holdings, is among those with a bullish outlook for gold amid expectations of upcoming easing from the Fed.

“The clearest trades have been and will continue to be long gold, long the euro, long Bitcoin, long Ethereum — these assets that should do well with the Fed stopping hiking and then cutting,” Novogratz said (courtesy of Bloomberg).

And Citi is forecasting gold will hit US$2,300 over the next 12 months, well surpassing its 2020 record highs.

According to Aakash Doshi, senior commodities strategist at Citi:

We are structurally bullish gold … into end-2023. It appears the price floor … is now higher and buttressed by an evolving central bank narrative, the compression in real yields at the belly of the US rates curve, and potential US dollar peak.

Two ASX 200 shares benefiting from a rising gold price

Among the leading gold miners investors can consider adding to their portfolios amid a rising gold price are Regis Resources Ltd (ASX: RRL) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST).

The Northern Star share price is up 29.4% so far in 2023, currently at $14.39 per share.

The ASX 200 gold share retained its full-year guidance when it reported its half-year results in February. Northern Star expects full-year gold sales of 1,560 to 1,680 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $1,630 to $1,690 per ounce.

Northern Star trades on a trailing dividend yield of 1.6%, fully franked.

The Regis Resources share price has also been riding high on the rising gold price, with shares up 17.5% in 2023. The gold miner is currently trading for $2.42 per share.

On reporting its half-year results, Regis also maintained its production guidance for the full 2023 financial year. The ASX 200 gold share forecasts total gold production of 450,000 to 500,000 ounces at an AISC of $1,525 to $1,625 per ounce.

(Note, the costs quoted here for both miners are in Aussie dollars. Today’s gold price is AU$3,012 per ounce.)

Regis trades on a fully franked trailing dividend yield of 0.9%.

Credit Suisse analysts are bullish on both ASX 200 gold shares.

Credit Suisse has a price target of $14.50 on Northern Star shares and $2.70 on Regis Resources shares.

The post <strong>Gold price nears record highs. Could it be time to pay attention to these ASX 200 gold shares?</strong> appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is the Silver Lake share price leading the ASX 200 today?
• Why Allkem, IGO, Northern Star, and Race Oncology shares are racing higher
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why Corporate Travel, Leo Lithium, Regis Resources, and Whitehaven Coal are charging higher
• Could these 2 ASX 200 gold shares be index-beaters in the making?

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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 Scott Phillips.

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ASX lithium share Red Dirt Metals Ltd (ASX: RDT) is showing investors the money, catapulting 24.3% in just five days while the rest of the market hovers around break-even.

By comparison, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has risen by 1.8% over the past five days.

Let’s dig a little deeper into why Red Dirt Metals shares are on fire this week.

What news has this ASX lithium share skyrocketing?

Red Dirt Metals made two price-sensitive announcements this week, and clearly, investors are impressed.

The first one was released yesterday and documented encouraging drilling results at the Mt Ida Lithium Project, which is located in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia.

Red Dirt Metals has got five drill rigs undertaking resource infill and extension drilling to expand and upgrade the initial global resource estimate of 12.7Mt @ 1.2% Li2O.

Additional testing of exploration targets is ongoing over a large prospective area of 170 sq km.

Over January and February, 27 holes and 4,392 metres were drilled, revealing “excellent drilling intercepts starting at 30 metres below surface and extending to deeper levels”, the company said.

The new drilling intercepts included:

• 44.5m @ 1.2% Li2O from 357.3m
• 34.9 @ 1.3% Li2O from 398.3m
• 27.2m @ 1.2% Li2O from 430.4m
• 14.1m @ 1.2% Li2O from 93.9m
• 11.7m @ 1.3% Li2O from 75.3m.

The company said the results demonstrated “the calibre of the Mt Ida Lithium Project”.

Red Dirt Metals executive chair David Flanagan commented:

It is all about speed to market. We have a granted mining lease with a long and recent history of mining … 5 rigs in the field, thousands of samples in the lab and targeting approval to start mining this year.

The outlook for lithium is fantastic and with so many high grade and wide drill intercepts we see strong prospects for material resource extensions.

This news prompted a 5% bump for the ASX lithium share yesterday to 42 cents at the market close.

What did Red Dirt Metals reveal today?

Red Dirt Metals released its second announcement for the week today. This one relates to its Yinnetharra Lithium Project in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia.

The project is a whopper in land size, spanning 575 sq km.

The company said new assay results from the project’s Malinda Prospect showed “multiple thick lithium mineralised intercepts” from the surface to a depth of 350 metres.

The Malinda Prospect has 50 mapped pegmatites. Recent drilling of some of them found:

• 29m @ 1.39% Li2O from 121 meters
• 21m @ 1.13% Li2O from 71 metres
• 17m @ 1.06% Li2O from 52 metres
• 12m @ 1.38% Li2O from 155 metres.

Red Dirt Metals said this particular prospect was “very large and remains relatively untested”.

Flanagan quipped that Yinnetharra was starting to look “more like a province than a project”.

He said:

This project just keeps on producing brilliant hits.

It’s hard to believe these results are from first pass drilling at a project we acquired in September in a region already producing 55% of the world’s annual lithium demands.

Red Dirt has drilled 101 holes for 21,150 metres at Yinnetharra. It is assaying a further 77 holes now, with results due over the coming months. The company is on track to complete 230 more holes by September.

Today’s announcement saw the ASX lithium share rise a further 4.2% to 43.25 cents at the close.

Red Dirt Metals share price snapshot

This ASX lithium share has fallen 27% over the past year but is up 210% over the past two years.

Red Dirt Metals is a nano-cap lithium share with a market capitalisation of $193.5 million.

The post Pay dirt: Why is this ASX lithium share up 25% in 5 days? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Passive income in Australia: How I’d invest in ASX 200 shares to easily earn $20 per day
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Friday
• Why is the Silver Lake share price leading the ASX 200 today?
• What’s next for Wesfarmers shares after cashing out $700 million from Coles?
• Here are a couple of high-quality ETFs to add some oomph to your portfolio

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen 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 Scott Phillips.

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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares offer a unique opportunity for Australians seeking passive income.

Many of the listed blue-chip companies pay fully franked dividends with inflation-beating yields.

Now, there are no guarantees that the yields of these ASX 200 shares offered over the past 12 months will remain the same over the coming 12 months. As we’re talking about trailing yields here, the future yields may, of course, be higher or lower.

Ideally, we invest in companies that are growing their revenues and profits and hence will maintain or increase their dividends, alongside potential share price gains.

With that in mind, here’s how I’d invest in three ASX 200 shares, each paying fully franked dividends, to generate $20 a day in passive income. Or a handy $7,300 per year.

$20 a day in passive income from these three ASX 200 shares

First up we have iron ore giant Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG).

2021 saw the ASX 200 share payout record dividends amid a soaring iron ore price and heady profits. While that’s come down some, the past 12 months have still been historically strong in regard to dividend payouts.

Fortescue paid a final dividend of $1.21 per share on 29 September and an interim dividend of 75 cents per share on 29 March for a total payout of $1.96 per share.

At the current price of $22.29, Fortescue trades on a trailing yield of 8.8%. The Fortescue share price is up 3% over the past year.

The second ASX 200 share I’d buy for passive income is ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ).

The big four bank has a lengthy track record of reliable dividend payments. ANZ paid an interim dividend of 72 cents per share on 1 July and a final dividend of 74 cents per share on 15 December for a total payout of $1.46 per share.

At the current price of $23.90, ANZ shares offer a trailing yield of 6.1%. The ANZ share price is down 12% over the past year.

And the final ASX 200 share I’d aim to get my $20 a day in passive income from is Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC).

Buoyed by soaring coal prices, Whitehaven paid out a record interim dividend of 32 cents per share on 10 March. The coal miner paid its final dividend of 40 cents per share back on 16 September, bringing its total payouts for the 12 months to 72 cents per share.

At the current share price of $6.89, Whitehaven pays a trailing yield of 10.5%. The Whitehaven share price is up 51% over the past year.

How many shares do I need for $20 a day in passive income?

Assuming I buy an equal amount of stock in each of the ASX 200 shares above, my average trailing yield works out to 8.5%.

That means to secure my $20 a day ($7,300 per year) in passive income with potential tax benefits I’d need to invest $85,882 and change.

Now, that’s a big investment to make all in one go.

But that’s okay.

Investing is a long game.

With my eye fixed on that $20 a day in passive income, I’d put aside some money each month to invest in ASX 200 dividend shares.

In time, I’ll achieve my goal.

The post Passive income in Australia: How I’d invest in ASX 200 shares to easily earn $20 per day appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Could more FFI spending be a saviour or stumbling block for Fortescue shares?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Investor or depositor? Warren Buffett sounds off on banking crisis
• Forget term deposits and buy ANZ and this ASX dividend share for income: experts
• Why Corporate Travel, Leo Lithium, Regis Resources, and Whitehaven Coal are charging higher

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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 Scott Phillips.

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It’s looking like the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on track for a positive end to the trading week after yesterday’s rude interruption to what was an unblemished week of gains before that. 

At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has lifted by a healthy 0.46%, putting the Index at just under 7,360 points.

What a way to start the weekend! But let’s now take a deeper dive into these positive moves by taking stock of the shares that are currently at the top of the ASX 200’s share trading volume charts right now, according to investing.com. 

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Friday

Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS)

First up today is the blue chip ASX 200 telco Telstra. So far this Friday, a hefty 8.42 million Telstra shares have been dialled in for trading. There hasn’t been any official news from Telstra itself for almost a month. So this volume looks like it’s a consequence of the movements of Telstra shares themselves.

Telstra has indeed had a solid day. It’s currently up by 0.71% at $4.28 a share, almost doubling the rise of the broader market. This gain is probably why we are seeing Telstra grace our list today.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Next up this Friday is the ASX 200 lithium stock Pilbara Minerals. This session has seen a sizeable 28.97 million Pilbara shares brought to auction thus far. There’s been nothing out of Pilbara itself either during today’s trading.

So again, this looks like it is being driven by the gyrations of the Pilbara share price. Pilbara has indeed had a volatile day. It has spent time in both positive and negative territory this session, but investors have been stepping on the gas this afternoon, putting Pilbara up a pleasing 3.36% at $3.69 a share. With this gain, no wonder so many Pilbara shares are bouncing around.

Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA)

Our third, final and most traded ASX 200 stock today is another lithium share in Sayona Mining. At this point of the day, a whopping 29.92 million Sayona shares have been taken to market. With no news or announcements out of Sayona.

Once more it seems we have share price movements to thank for this elevated trading volume. Sayona has had a bouncy, if inconsequential, day of trading thus far this Friday. At present, the company is flat at 19 cents a share but has lifted as high as 19.2 cents and dropped as low as 18.7 cents over the day’s trading.

The post Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Building industry woes and ASX 200 materials shares: What investors need to know
• Own Bank of Queensland shares? Your dividends might be about to be slashed
• Passive income alert! Buy these ASX 50 dividend shares now: analysts
• Flight Centre shares are up 30% in 2023. Can it last?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Telstra Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Telstra Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Silver Lake Resources (ASX: SLR) share price is the best-performing ASX 200 share of the day so far, climbing 7.3% in late afternoon trading to $1.35.

With no news from the ASX gold miner today, we can put this down to rising commodity prices.

The gold price is ascending on the market today and is now close to its all-time record of $2,069.40 set in 2020. The gold price is currently trading up 0.24% to US$2,044.52 per ounce.

The yellow metal is up 2.77% for the week and 6.6% over the month, according to Trading Economics.

This is the highest level the gold price has traded at in more than a year.

What’s going on with the Silver Lake share price?

Like all ASX shares tied to commodity values, the Silver Lake share price will rise and fall in line with the commodity.

Silver Lake happens to be the top benefactor among ASX 200 gold shares today, but it’s in good company.

The second best-performing ASX 200 share today is fellow gold miner West African Resources Ltd (ASX: WAF), up 5.4% to $1.11 per share.

Not far behind is Regis Resources Ltd (ASX: RRL), up 5% to $2.43 per share.

Why is the gold price going up?

According to Trading Economics analysis, a softer United States dollar is boosting the gold price today.

This follows news that US inflation is falling and the labour market is cooling, raising expectations that the Federal Reserve may cease its interest rate hikes, or even cut rates, soon.

According to Trading Economics:

Both headline producer and consumer inflation slowed more than expected while weekly claims surprised on the upside.

Also, FOMC minutes showed the Fed sees more policy firming as appropriate, but some officials considered a pause in the tightening cycle in March due to the banking turmoil.

What’s next for this ASX 200 gold share?

Silver Lake Resources owns the Deflector and Mount Monger gold mines in Western Australia.

It also operates the Sugar Zone Mine in Canada, which it acquired 14 months ago.

Back in February, the company reported substantially reduced earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) at $73.1 million in the 1H FY23.

That’s less than half its 1H FY22 EBITDA of $157.6 million.

Over the period, the Silver Lake share price dropped 1.65%.

However, the company says this reflects “a period of investment”.

Silver Lake spent $13.3 million over 1H FY23 to improve infrastructure at its Western Australian mines and integrate the Sugar Zone mine into its operations.

In a statement, the company said:

Capital expenditure for the period reflects investment across the portfolio, with the period-on-period increase comprised of the inclusion of infrastructure projects and underground development at the Sugar Zone operation, the establishment of the Tank South underground at Mount Monger and elevated underground development levels at Deflector to access higher grade production fronts.

The Silver Lake share price is up 12.7% in the year to date and down 39% over the past 12 months.

The post Why is the Silver Lake share price leading the ASX 200 today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why Corporate Travel, Leo Lithium, Regis Resources, and Whitehaven Coal are charging higher
• Could these 2 ASX 200 gold shares be index-beaters in the making?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen 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 Scott Phillips.

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Well, a 16-year partnership between two of the largest and most famous companies on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) seems to have finally come to an end this week. We are, of course, talking about Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) and Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) shares.

The partnership between these two giants of the ASX (and the Australian retail landscape) began back in 2007. That was when Wesfarmers sensationally acquired the Coles business in its entirety, paying $22 billion for the business in what was one of the largest corporate takeovers in history at the time.

Wesfarmers ran Coles out of its own stable for the next 11 years before announcing a spinoff in 2018. Five years ago, Coles was floated under its own steam on the ASX, with Wesfarmers shareholders receiving one share of the newly-listed Coles for every share owned at the time.

Wesfarmers shares and their history with Coles

However, under the deal, Wesfarmers retained a significant portion of Coles shares, worth around 15% of the company.

Over the years, Wesfarmers has steadily sold off its remaining Coles shares though. By the end of last week, the company had just 2.8% of Coles remaining on its books.

But Wesfarmers may have cashed out of Coles completely at last. We haven’t heard anything from either company officially to confirm this. But according to reporting in Reuters this week, Wesfarmers has finally offloaded its remaining 2.8% in the supermarket giant.

The report cites a sale figure of $18.50 per share, which would place the sale at a value of around $688 million, but this could not be verified.

So now that Wesfarmers has closed this very long chapter in its history, what might the conglomerate have in mind for this cash windfall?

Wesfarmers is a company with a long pattern of mergers, acquisitions and spinoffs. It was only in 2021 that it made its largest recent acquisition, taking total control of pharmacy operator API, which is well known for its Priceline pharmacy chain.

Before that, the company made a venture into the lithium industry with its acquisition of Kidman Resources in 2019. It has since expanded its lithium exposure with its Covalent Lithium business and flagship Mt Holland Project.

What will the conglomerate spend its Coles cash on?

But Wesfarmers has made no official indications of what its next acquisition might be. In its most recent earnings report from February, the company stated that its outlook involved the following:

The Group maintains its long-term focus and continues to invest in strengthening its existing operations, renewing the portfolio and developing platforms for long-term growth.

Recent investments enable Wesfarmers to take advantage of growing consumer and industrial demand in the health and critical minerals sectors.

It’s possible Wesfarmers will use the proceeds from its Coles sale to make further investments into its online-facing OneDigital division. This includes Wesfarmers’ catch.com.au business, as well as the OnePass and OneData programs. This division of Wesfarmers is growing rapidly, with more than 1.5 million digital interactions per month reported in February, up from half a million a month in FY 2019.

But the division is still losing Wesfarmers money on the bottom line, contributing an earnings loss of $108 million for the half-year ending 31 December 2022.

The company could also have plans to use the proceeds to invest back into its growing Health division, or else expand further into lithium or battery technologies, as per its outlook discussed above.

Whatever Wesfarmers has planned for its extra cash, it’s certainly a big week for both Coles and Wesfarmers as one of the most significant corporate partnerships in Australian history closes its final chapter.

The post What’s next for Wesfarmers shares after cashing out $700 million from Coles? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Which ‘high conviction’ ASX 200 shares is this fundie backing to beat the market?
• Morgans names more of the best ASX 200 dividend shares to buy in April
• How much would you need to invest in Coles shares to generate a $100 monthly passive income?
• Blue chip beat-down: 5 huge ASX 200 shares cementing new 52-week highs today
• Is Wesfarmers a good defensive ASX 200 stock to buy in the current climate?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Wesfarmers. 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 positions in and has recommended Coles Group and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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If you’re looking for exchange traded funds (ETFs) to buy right now, then you could do a lot worse than the high-quality options that are listed below.

Here’s why they could add some oomph to your portfolio:

BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA)

The first ASX ETF for investors to look at is the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF. This ETF gives investors easy access to ~50 of the largest technology companies that have their main area of business in Asia.

These tigers include well-known players such as Alibaba, Baidu, Infosys, JD.com, Samsung, and Tencent Holdings.

Alibaba, for example, is a multinational technology company specialising in e-commerce through its Alibaba, AliExpress, Taobao, and Tmall platforms. It has an active customer base closing in on 1 billion.

Whereas Tencent, which owns the WeChat mega app, has already surpassed this milestone. The company currently has over 1.3 billion active users on its platform.

BetaShares Global Energy Companies ETF (ASX: FUEL)

Another ETF that investors might want to consider right now is the BetaShares Global Energy Companies ETF.

As its name implies, this ETF give investors exposure to the energy sector, which looks well-placed to benefit from higher oil prices in the near. Especially given how OPEC plans to cut production to support prices.

And while there are plenty of ways to gain exposure to this thematic on the Australian share market, this ETF could still be well worth considering.

For example, BetaShares notes that the companies in the ETF are larger, more geographically diversified, and more vertically integrated than Australian-listed energy companies.

Among the ETF’s holdings are giants such as BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Halliburton, Kinder Morgan, Phillips 66, Royal Dutch Shell, and Total.

The post Here are a couple of high-quality ETFs to add some oomph to your 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 recommended Betashares Capital – Asia Technology Tigers Etf. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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It has been another busy week for Australia’s top brokers. This has led to the release of a large number of broker notes.

Three broker buy ratings that you might want to know more about are summarised below. Here’s why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:

Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT)

According to a note out of Bell Potter, its analysts have retained their buy rating on this energy producer’s shares with a trimmed price target of $2.18. Following the release of its quarterly update, the broker remains bullish. This is due to its strong, fully funded production growth outlook, which it highlights is diversified across five energy basins and across four separate gas markets. The Beach Energy share price is trading at $1.51 today.

Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD)

A note out of Morgans reveals that its analysts have retained their add rating on this corporate travel specialist’s shares with an improved price target of $24.00. This follows news that the company has won a major contract from the UK Home Office. Morgans believes this should give the market confidence in the company’s ability to achieve its guidance in FY 2023 and FY 2024. In fact, the brokers feels that FY 2024’s guidance is now conservative. The Corporate Travel Management share price is fetching $21.56 today.

Nextdc Ltd (ASX: NXT)

Analysts at Citi have retained their buy rating on this data centre operator’s shares with an increased price target of $14.45. This follows news that NextDC has reported a huge increase in contracted utilisation. Citi was pleased with the news and highlights that a key hyperscale customer is committing to a contract with a long billing ramp of 5 to 6 years. This compares to typical contracts of 2 to 3 years. The broker feels this points to a strong demand outlook. The NextDC share price is trading at $12.20 this afternoon.

The post Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Expect huge returns from this ASX 200 energy share: Bell Potter
• 11 times your money? Yes, it’s possible (we did it)
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why Corporate Travel, Leo Lithium, Regis Resources, and Whitehaven Coal are charging higher

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Nextdc. 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 Corporate Travel Management. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares are in the green today, up 0.7%.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bank stock closed yesterday trading for $98.22. Shares are currently changing hands for $98.88.

Which brings us to our headline question.

Are CBA shares a bargain at under $100?

What’s been happening with CommBank stock in 2023?

CBA shares enjoyed a terrific start to 2023.

From the closing bell on 30 December through to the end of trade on 3 February, the big four bank saw its share price leap 8.3%, closing the day at $111.15 per share.

Then the bank ran into some macroeconomic headwinds.

Some of those headwinds came from the banking crisis that swept through the United States with the collapse of Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank and other regional banks. The crisis soon spread across to Europe, where Credit Suisse was days from collapse before its government-engineered merger with UBS.

Investors have also been concerned about the potential of a recession, both here in Australia and across much of the world. That could see an increase in bad debts and lower demand for new loans.

The combination of concerns has seen CBA shares slide 11% since 3 February.

Here’s why they could be a bargain at today’s prices.

CBA shares have room to run higher

CBA trades at the highest price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of any of the big banks, at right about 17 times.

But there are good reasons for that.

CBA is Australia’s biggest bank, and it also has a very solid Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio. This measures the core equity capital of a bank compared to its risk-weighted assets.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) requires banks to have a minimum 10.25% CET1 ratio.

CBA handily exceeds that with a CET1 ratio of 11.4%, making it highly unlikely the bank will suffer the type of liquidity crunch and subsequent meltdown we witnessed in Europe and the US.

CBA shares also pay twice yearly fully franked dividends. The bank paid out its most recent interim dividend of $2.10 on 30 March, up 20% year on year. CommBank trades on a current trailing yield of 4.3%.

The big dividend boost came when CommBank reported some very strong half-year results.

Those included a 9% year-on-year increase in cash net profit to $5.15 billion. That was helped by a 0.18% increase in the bank’s net interest margin, which reached 2.10%.

The bank did report a $586 million increase in its loan impairment expenses from the corresponding half-year period. This was largely due to weakness in the housing market, inflation pressures, and rapid rate hikes from the Reserve Bank of Australia.

All of those three forces still have the potential to drag on CBA shares in the year ahead.

But inflation is slowly retracing. We are most likely approaching the final few interest rate hikes from the RBA. And the Aussie housing market will rebound, eventually.

A global recession, further banking turmoil overseas, or ongoing weakness in the housing market all have the potential to spook investors and send CBA shares lower in the short to medium term.

Yet these may not eventuate at all.

Longer-term, I believe investors will look back at today’s CBA share price of $98.88 as a real bargain.

The post Are CBA shares bargain buys at under $100? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Investor or depositor? Warren Buffett sounds off on banking crisis
• I’m buying ASX 200 dividend stocks ahead of the next bull market
• How reliable are the dividends from CBA shares?
• It’s official, the ASX 200 big four banks are the world’s most capitalised. Should you buy?
• Is the CBA share price heading back over $100?

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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 Scott Phillips.

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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end the week on a positive note. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.4% to 7,351.1 points.

Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are racing higher:

Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE)

The Allkem share price is up 4.5% to $11.55. This is despite there being no news out of the lithium miner. However, it is worth noting that a number of lithium shares are ending the week strongly. In addition, Goldman Sachs named Allkem as one of two ASX lithium shares to buy earlier this week.

IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO)

The IGO share price is up 5% to $13.38. This morning, this green metals miner revealed that it has secured land to build its proposed Integrated Battery Material Facility (IBM Facility). The project’s development will see a downstream nickel refinery integrated with a plant producing high-value nickel dominant precursor cathode active material.

Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST)

The Northern Star share price is up 4% to $14.36. Investors have been buying Northern Star and other gold miners today after the price of the precious metal rose to a new one-year high. This has seen the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index rise a sizeable 2.9% this afternoon.

Race Oncology Ltd (ASX: RAC)

The Race Oncology share price is up 6.5% to $1.87. This has been driven by the release of a detailed commercial assessment of the market potential for its Zantrene product as a cardio-protective agent or dual cardio-protective and anti-cancer agent in breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancers. Management sees scope to generate revenue as high as US$8 billion a year from the product.

The post Why Allkem, IGO, Northern Star, and Race Oncology shares are racing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is the IGO share price busting the benchmark on Friday?
• Could these 2 ASX 200 gold shares be index-beaters in the making?
• Goldman Sachs names the ASX 200 lithium shares to buy (and avoid)
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Why are ASX lithium shares leaping ahead today?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Allkem. 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 Scott Phillips.

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