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Are you fed up with the low interest rates on savings accounts? You’re not the only one, if you are.

The good news is that the ASX is home to a large number of shares with attractive dividend yields. Two to consider are as follows:

National Storage REIT (ASX: NSR)

National Storage is one of the region’s largest self-storage operators with over 190 locations.

It recently released its half year results and revealed underlying earnings of $39.2 million. This was an increase of 14% over the prior corresponding period.

This was driven by a solid increase in its occupancy rate to 85.4% and the acquisition and development of new centres.

Looking ahead, management has lifted its full year guidance for underlying earnings in the range of 8.1 to 8.5 cents per share. From this, it plans to payout 90% to 100% to shareholders as distributions.

Based on the latest National Storage share price, this will mean a distribution yield of ~4.2%.

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

Rural Funds is a real estate investment trust which owns a diverse portfolio of high quality Australian agricultural assets. These assets are leased to highly experienced operators, such as Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE), on very long leases.

In fact, when it released its half year results, management revealed that its weighted average lease expiry (WALE) metric had increased from 10.9 years to 11.1 years.

Another positive was that management reaffirmed its FY 2021 distribution guidance of 11.28 cents per share. Based on the current Rural Funds share price, this will mean a 4.9% yield.

In addition to this, the company revealed its FY 2022 distribution guidance for the first time. It plans to pay shareholders 11.73 cents per share next year, which represents a 5% yield. This is in line with management’s aim of growing its distribution by 4% per annum.

More reading

• 2 ASX dividend shares with yields above 5%
• 2 top ASX dividend shares to buy in March
• 2 quality ASX dividend shares to buy this week
• 3 ASX shares that keep growing the dividend every year
• Did you miss the Rural Funds (ASX:RFF) 94% profit growth in HY21?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended RURALFUNDS STAPLED and Treasury Wine Estates Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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On Monday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gave back the majority of its morning gains but still finished higher for the day. The benchmark index rose 0.45% to 6,739.6 points.

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

ASX 200 expected to rise

The Australian share market looks set to push higher again on Tuesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 56 points or 0.8% higher this morning. This follows a strong start to the week on Wall Street, which in late trade sees the Dow Jones up 1.6% and the S&P 500 up 0.4%. However, the Nasdaq index is missing out on the gains and is down 1.3%.

Tech shares on watch

Tech shares such as Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) could come under pressure again after US tech shares tumbled overnight. In late trade the Nasdaq index is down 1.3%. Investors are continuing to dump high-flying tech stocks amid rising rates. Both Apple and Tesla dropped more than 3% at one stage.

Oil prices soften

Energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could come under pressure today after oil prices pulled back. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 1.8% to US$64.92 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has fallen 1.8% to US$68.14 a barrel. This appears to have been driven by profit taking from traders after some strong gains.

Gold price drops

Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could trade lower today after the gold price dropped again. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down a further 1.1% to US$1,679.20 an ounce. Rising bond yields and a stronger US dollar are weighing on the price of the precious metal.

Shares going ex-dividend

A number of shares are going ex-dividend this morning and could trade lower. One of those is Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL), which is trading without the rights to its partially franked 36 cents per share dividend. This will then be paid to eligible investors later this month on 24 March.

More reading

• ASX 200 rises, TWE jumps, Zip sinks
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• How the CSL (ASX:CSL) share price weakness exposes its dividend strength
• What’s up with the Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL) share price?
• Aristocrat (ASX:ALL) share price surges as it finds a sweet spot

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 AFTERPAY T FPO and Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Sonic Healthcare 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 Cobalt Blue Holdings Ltd (ASX: COB) share price is making strong gains today as the company announced the start of its pilot trial. Shares in the exploration company are currently trading 3.8% higher to 41 cents. 

What Cobalt Blue does

Cobalt Blue is primarily involved in exploration, however, it also undertakes project development. On this front, the company is working towards its Broken Hill project in New South Wales.

It sees itself as a green company thanks to its interest in cobalt generation. It is a strategic metal with strong demand used in batteries, gaining traction as the demand for electric vehicles rises. However, as outlined by the company its “ambitious goals are subject to funding availability”.

The small cap currently boasts a market capitalisation of $104 million.

What Happened

Today, Cobalt Blue announced that its pilot plant commissioning plant is well underway. With the first cobalt samples expected shortly.

Following the first samples there will be an independent assay, and then shipments starting in late March.

Moreover, the company outlined that is has secured over 30 partners from around the world. These partners include the company’s from Europe, India, the US, China, and Australia. Notably, there is one partner that is requesting a particularly large sample so that they are able to test if the product is worthy of being an approved supplier. However, these qualifications will take at the very least 12 months to be verified.

Management Comments

Speaking about the program Cobalt Blue’s CEO Joe Kaderavek, said:

With commissioning underway then kicking off our expanded global Cobalt Sample Program later this month, Cobalt Blue is making tremendous strides towards technical and commercial milestones.

About the Cobalt Blue share price

More reading

• ASX 200 rises, TWE jumps, Zip sinks
• Legal action against ex Qantas (ASX:QAN) executive leaves share price on watch
• Why the Vital Metals (ASX:VML) share price just hit a 5 year high
• Where next for the Xero (ASX:XRO) share price?
• Here’s why you should think twice about chasing the next hot ASX trend

Motley Fool contributor Daniel Ewing has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went up by 0.4% today to 6,740 points.

There were a number of movers today in the ASX 200, including the Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price which fell 6.7%.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX:

Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE)

The Treasury Wine share price rise more than 6% today on rumours that it’s the potential target of a takeover.

According to reporting by This is Money, there is talk that the large French business Pernod Ricard is thinking about launching a takeover offer for Treasury Wine Estates.

Pernod Ricard could want to buy some, or all, of Treasury Wine Estates.

Reportedly, there is an offer $15.67 per share, though the reporting couldn’t say if the offer was from the French business or a US private equity group.

Treasury Wine Estates may already have said no to Pernod Ricard, which may decide to buy up to a third of the ASX 200 share.

Santos Ltd (ASX: STO)

The Santos share price went down 2.5% after news that its biggest shareholder had decided to sell a large portion of shares. 

ENN Group told Santos that it has sold around 107 million shares, meaning just over 5% of the business, at $7.33 per share.

Santos said that the sale process was oversubscribed and received strong support from existing and new institutional shareholders.

ENN said that it’s still completely supportive of Santos’ strategy and future direction and is excited to remain Santos’ largest individual shareholder.

It will no longer have board representation of the ASX 200 share.

ALS Ltd (ASX: ALQ)

The testing and certification business gave a trading update today and announced an acquisition.

The ALS share price ended the day higher by 0.6%.

ALS said that the group continued to trade resiliently in its third and fourth quarters, despite the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects.

Management remain committed to matching the cost base to client demand, whilst managing capex and maintaining a focus on key growth opportunities.

The company said that life science volumes have been stable with laboratories providing their essential services to clients in major markets.

ALS revealed that the commodities division is starting to benefit from the improving cycle. Geochemistry sample flows increased by 13% in the third quarter of FY21, with that momentum carrying on into the fourth quarter. Major miners as well as junior and intermediate miners have contributed to this growth, although it’s proportionally unchanged from late in the second quarter of FY21.

In the industrial division, tribology has seen an improvement in the third quarter of FY21, whilst the trading environment for asset care remains challenging.

The ASX 200 company said it has more than A$600 million of liquidity.

ALS’ acquisition is called Investiga, which it is buying for 11x adjusted FY20 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) on a deferred basis, paid from existing debt facilities with no shareholder approval needed. Key management will remain with the business.

Investiga is a pharmaceutical testing business with operations in Brazil and the USA. It was founded in 1993 and it generated A$20 million of revenue in FY20. Investiga specialises in the cosmetic and personal care market, providing services to a range of major global clients.

It will be integrated in the existing ALS life sciences network, with a particular focus on growing in the US, which represents over a quarter of the global market.

Managing director and CEO Raj Naran said:

Growing the life sciences division is a key part of the ALS strategy and Investiga significantly increases our presence in the pharmaceutical market.

We have a strong track record of integrating acquisitions into our existing life sciences network and Investiga provides us with the platform to grow our cosmetic and personal care offering, particularly in the USA.  

More reading

• Here’s why the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is down 8% today
• Treasury Wine (ASX: TWE) share price shoots over 8% higher on takeover talks
• How the CSL (ASX:CSL) share price weakness exposes its dividend strength
• Why Audio Pixels, Nick Scali, Smartgroup, & Zip are tumbling lower
• Aristocrat (ASX:ALL) share price surges as it finds a sweet spot

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 ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Treasury Wine Estates 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 Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) share price is slightly down today. This comes after news surfaced that the airline operator is taking former Jetstar Japan head, Nick Rohrlach, to court.

At the time of writing, the Qantas share price is down 1.6% to $5.02.

Rewards program secrets worth keeping

Reportedly, the issue swirls around the potential of Mr. Rohrlach utilising confidential information from Qantas that could be implemented into Virgin’s own Velocity loyalty program.

The trade secrets were allegedly shared by Qantas to Mr. Rohrlach after he had agreed to take up a senior position within Qantas’ own loyalty business.

Mr. Rohrlach was selected as chief executive of Virgin’s Velocity program in mid-January.

Qantas is making a bid for Mr. Rohrlach’s commencement to be delayed to September from May.

Where to from here?

Qantas officially submitted documents for the legal case to the NSW Supreme Court last week. The case will hold a direction hearing tomorrow.

More details will proceed following this initial hearing.

It’s been a bumpy ride for Qantas and its share price

The past 12 months have been fraught with devastation as a result of COVID-19 for Qantas and other airlines. However, domestic travel has greatly improved with it now generating positive cash flows once more.

Additionally, the company is proceeding with its goal of saving a minimum of $1 billion in annual savings from FY23 and beyond.

Despite its plans, the continuation of international border closures remains to weigh on the Aussie airline. As such, Qantas certainly doesn’t want to lose its edge in its loyalty program now.

The airline’s share price has eked out a positive 8% return for shareholders in the last year. Bringing the company’s shares reasonably in line with the 8.5% return from the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

Ironically, we covered the UBS’ rating of Qantas yesterday. The broker currently has a buy rating on the airline with a price target of $6.20. This would represent a 23% upside to the current $5.02 share price.

More reading

• Is it time to buy these 2 ASX travel shares?
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell next week
• Why analysts are backing these 2 ASX travel shares
• Is the Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price a buy?
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Friday carnage ruins last week of ASX earnings

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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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Vital Metals Limited (ASX: VML) share price was up 24.6% today – hitting a 5-year record of 8.6 cents in morning trade. The rise coming after the company announced the production of a rare earth carbonate.

As of writing, shares had slightly retreated to sit at 7.1 cents each. This is still nearly 16% above yesterday’s close of 6.9 cents per share. In comparison, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index is up only 0.6%.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s affecting the company’s share price.

What did Vital Metals announce and how is it affecting its share price?

In a statement released to the ASX, Vital Metals declared it had produced a “12kg sample of rare earth carbonate…”. Vital Metals produced the sample at its Nechalacho project in Canada. The company expects rare earth mineral production at the site to begin in Q4 of FY21.

Construction at the Nechalacho project should begin by the end of March.

Vital Metals also announced rare earth expert, George Bauk, who was only recently appointed as an advisor, would be leaving the company. Bauk stated that:

It is with great disappointment that due to unforeseen circumstances I am no longer able to fulfil the role of Strategic Advisor to Vital. During my short time working with the Vital team, I have been extremely impressed by the quality of the Nechalacho project, the management and Board of Vital.

He added:

My time with the team has left me in no doubt that Vital are well on track to successfully bringing the Nechalacho project into production in 2021 to become Canada’s first rare earth operation.

What are rare earth elements?

According to Geoscience Australia, rare earth elements (RRE) is a collective term for 15 different elements. Despite the name, they are not particularly rare. They are called rare because the elements are usually concentrated in specific parts of the earth’s crust. RRE is used in a range of products, including magnets, batteries, and fibre optic cables.

Neodymium, an RRE found at the Nechalacho Project, is trading at USD 885,000 a tonne – up 24.7% on last month.

Vital Metals share price snapshot

This time last year, shares in Vital Metals were trading at 0.8 cents each. An investor would be sitting on a generous 690% return on investment if they bought into the company 12 months ago.

The market capitalisation of Vital Metals is $197.9 million.

More reading

• Where next for the Xero (ASX:XRO) share price?
• Here’s why should think twice about chasing the next hot ASX trend
• Why the TNG (ASX:TNG) share price is up 7% today
• Why the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price just hit a 52-week high
• 3 small cap ASX shares that powered higher in February 2021

Motley Fool contributor Marc Sidarous has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price was out of form on Monday and started the week with a small decline.

The cloud-based business and accounting platform provider’s shares ended the day 0.5% lower at $112.60.

This latest decline means the Xero share price is now down almost 29% from its 52-week high.

Is the Xero share price in the buy zone?

The market appears reasonably undecided on whether or not the recent weakness in the Xero share price is a buying opportunity.

Following the announcement of its acquisition of Planday last week, analysts at Goldman Sachs retained their buy rating and $157.00 price target.

This price target implies potential upside of almost 40% for its shares over the next 12 months.

The broker believes the acquisition will provide it with a meaningful step into Europe. It also notes that it will help build out its app ecosystem, which is something Goldman is particularly positive on over the long term.

Sitting on the fence

Not everyone is as bullish as Goldman Sachs. One broker that is sitting on the fence is Macquarie. This morning it reaffirmed its neutral rating and trimmed its price target down to $120.00.

While the broker believes the acquisition could contribute around 10% of Xero’s total revenue over the long term, it has reduced its near term estimates to reflect its integration.

Macquarie’s price target implies potential upside of just 6.6% for the Xero share price over the next 12 months.

Bearish view

Finally, analysts at UBS remain bearish on Xero. While it sees positives in the acquisition, it isn’t enough for a change in rating.

UBS continues to believe its shares are overvalued at the current level. In light of this, it has reaffirmed its sell rating with a slightly higher price target of $79.50.

Based on the current Xero share price, this equates to potential downside of almost 30% over the next 12 months.

Time will tell which broker is correct.

More reading

• Why interest rates matter for ASX 200 shares
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX finishes higher, despite tech selloff
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• ASX 200 drops again, Zip sinks, Worley wins
• This was the week that ASX dividend shares proved their worth

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Xero. 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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It is often said that successful investing involves a fair degree of ‘investing for tomorrow, not today’. If you can find a small company today that will grow to become a large company in the future, that’s usually where some of the ‘real money’ is made on the share market.

Buying Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) shares at US$100 in 2009. Or A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) shares at 50 cents back in 2015. That’s the stuff of legend. As such, a significant army of investors out there are always on the hunt for the ‘next Amazon’. And finding the next Amazon also usually involves picking a field, a trend, that that company will grow into. It was impossible to envisage Amazon becoming the giant it is today without first understanding all of the potentials that the internet could bring.

But finding a lucrative field isn’t as easy as you might first think. Every few years we hear stories about ‘the next big thing’ in investing. It always follows a pattern too. Investors think they have found ‘a new thing’ that will revolutionise everything. They then rush out and buy shares of companies that may or may not have something to do with that ‘thing’. Then, it usually implodes on itself when investors realise that ‘the thing’ doesn’t actually make any money. This happened with the internet in the early 2000s. The ‘dot-com crash’ was the result of investors psyching each other up for the unlimited potential of internet companies. It was a ‘things really are different now’ moment. Until it wasn’t. Internet companies spent most of 2000, 2001 and 2002 coming down from those highs. It was only a few years later that the real internet winners like Amazon became really dominant.

Big trends don’t always mean big profits

We’ve seen this paradigm play out over and over again, slightly differently each time. Remember 3D printing? That didn’t last long. Or the lithium craze of 2017? Sure, lithium probably will have some kind of supercycle one day. The world is still irrevocably moving towards the electrification of transport, which will require a lot of lithium. But it certainly didn’t happen in 2017, when everyone thought it was.

Some successful trends don’t even make anyone money at all. Warren Buffett is famous for describing the airline business as a place where everyone loses money. He even once joked that if investors had been at the first aircraft flight, they should have shot it down due to all the money that the entire industry has cost investors. The coronavirus pandemic certainly wouldn’t have helped that equation. Think about that though, a massive industry that people from all around the world (used to) use, that makes no money for its investors. That’s something you probably don’t want to be a part of.

So when you’re considering the next investment that you think is poised to benefit from ‘a trend’, history suggests you think twice. For every one real success story, there are a thousand planes that never make it into the air.

More reading

• International Women’s Day: Which ASX companies are fighting gender inequality?
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• Leaving growth? Don’t get caught by value traps when value investing
• This was the week that ASX dividend shares proved their worth
• Why is everyone talking about bond yields?

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Sebastian Bowen owns shares of A2 Milk. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Amazon and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon and short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended A2 Milk. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon. 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 TNG Ltd (ASX: TNG) share price is climbing today after the company announced its Mount Peake project was awarded Major Project Status.

TNG is an Australian resource and mineral processing technology company. Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, the Honourable Karen Andrews MP, awarded the project its status due to its proposed significance in growing and diversifying Australia’s critical minerals industry.

At the time of writing, TNG’s share price is 9.7 cents.

A closer look at the Mount Peake project

The Mount Peake project, solely owned by  TNG, is set to be a world-scale strategic metals asset. It will produce titanium dioxide, vanadium pentoxide and iron oxide through TNG’s patented, energy-efficient and cost-effective production measures.

The project is to be located across two Northern Territory sites – approximately 235km north of Alice Springs – and a processing facility in Darwin. It is anticipated that the project will make a significant contribution to Australia’s critical minerals industry, with a mine and processing facility life of 37 years.

According to today’s announcement, the project will create up to 1,600 jobs during construction, 1000 on-going positions and contribute to economic development in the Northern Territory.

The project plans to not only deliver new mining infrastructure to the Northern Territory, but non-processing infrastructure like haul roads, office facilities and infrastructure for logistics and utilities.

As well as its mining sites, the project will incorporate the creation of the Darwin TIVAN Processing Facility (DPF). The TIVAN process, patented by TNG, promises to be more energy-efficient and cheaper than traditional recovery processes. The DPF will treat magnetite concentrate, extracting and producing minerals to satisfy the demands of the renewable energy sector.

Further, TNG is in partnership with German-based engineering firm SMS group to develop carbon-neutral hydrogen production technology to be applied to the TIVAN process.

TNG is in the process of seeking confirmation of the final cost of the Beneficiation Plant and the DPF. After which, it will seek out an Engineering Procurement Construction proposal for delivery of the facilities.

Commentary from management

TNG’s managing director and CEO Paul Burton said the award of Major Project Status is testament to the substantial benefits expected to be delivered by Mount Peake.

Securing the support and involvement of the Australian Government in helping to facilitate the development of a global scale critical minerals project like Mount Peake is significant for TNG and its shareholders. It will assist in ensuring certainty of process for the remaining permitting and approvals required both for the Mount Peake mine site and the Darwin TIVAN Processing Facility and represents an important endorsement of the Project as we embark on the next stages of project financing.

Additionally, TNG and the Mount Peake Project is well positioned to contribute to the growing demand for sustainable green energy through TNG’s newly established VRFB business unit and its strategic partnership with SMS group to develop a CO2-neutral technology for green hydrogen production.

TNG share price snapshot

The TNG share price is currently up 33% over the past 12 months, but is flat so far this year.  

It has a market capitalisation of approximately $113 million and 1.25 billion shares outstanding.

More reading

• Why the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price just hit a 52-week high
• 3 small cap ASX shares that powered higher in February 2021
• Why the Cogstate (ASX:CGS) share price is rising today
• Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price and others caught in Greensill insolvency
• Here’s why the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is down 8% today

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper 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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Although it is on course to end the day lower, at one stage today the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price was pushing higher.

In fact, the banking giant’s shares were pushing so high they climbed to a 52-week high of $25.28.

Why is the Westpac share price at a 52-week high?

Investors have been scrambling to buy Westpac shares since the release of its first quarter update last month. And it isn’t hard to see why.

For the three months ended 31 December, Australia’s oldest bank reported a $1.97 billion first quarter cash profit. This was more than double the quarterly average cash earnings of $808 million it recorded during the second half of FY 2020.

Even when adjusting for notable items, Westpac’s growth was impressive. The bank’s normalised first quarter cash earnings were up 54% over the second half average.

Those normalised earnings exclude the positive impact of a COVID impairment reversal.

Westpac reported an impairment benefit of $501 million for the three months. This was due to improved credit quality, stronger economic outcomes, and a better economic outlook.

It noted: “While uncertainty remains around the impact of local COVID outbreaks, there is cause for optimism. The economy is recovering, consumer and business confidence is strong, and the labour market has been much more resilient than expected.”

What else is driving the Westpac share price higher?

Also giving the Westpac share price a lift was the reaction to its update by the broker community. The likes of Citi, Goldman Sachs, and Morgans have buy ratings on the bank’s shares, to name just three.

Morgans is arguably the bullish of them all and currently has an add rating and $27.50 price target on the bank’s shares.

Based on this, the Westpac share price could soon be making a new 52-week high. This price target implies potential upside of approximately 11% over the next 12 months.

Positively, Morgans is also forecasting a fully franked 5% dividend yield on top of this.

This could make it one to consider if you haven’t already got meaningful exposure to the banking sector.

More reading

• ANZ (ASX:ANZ) hits 3 year high. Can we thank dividends?
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX finishes higher, despite tech selloff
• Beat low interest rates with this outstanding ASX dividend share
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy right now
• ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price outperforms on broker “buy” upgrade

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking. 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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