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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) share Smartgroup Corporation Ltd (ASX: SIQ) is enjoying a solid lift today.

The company, which provides outsourced administrative and vehicle fleet management services, is up 2.5% in afternoon trade at $4.74 per share.

That will come as welcome news to shareholders who’ve watched the Smartgroup share price tumble 43% over the past six months.

Also likely to raise the spirits of investors in the ASX 200 share was the latest upgrade by Morgans.

The broker has raised Smartgroup stock to an ‘add’ classification with a price target of $5.65 per share.

That represents a 19.2% upside to the current share price.

What’s been happening with this beaten-down ASX 200 share?

Investors may be reanalysing the outlook for Smartgroup shares following Wednesday’s earnings update and contract renewal announcement.

On the contract end, the ASX 200 share reported that one of its major customers, the Health Administration Corporation of New South Wales (NSW Health), renewed its salary packaging and novated leasing services arrangements. Including extensions, the renewed agreement runs until 2028.

As for earnings expectations, Smartgroup estimated its full 2022 calendar year NPATA to be in the range of $60 million to $61 million. (The company notes that NPATA is net profit after tax, “adjusted to exclude the non-cash tax effected amortisation of intangibles and significant non-operating items”.)

Commenting on Wednesday’s update that could be spurring ASX 200 investor interest, Smartgroup CEO Tim Looi said:

We expect to deliver a full-year profit result that demonstrates the resilience of our business in the face of a difficult economic environment and continuing car supply constraints. We are very pleased to have renewed our contract with NSW Health and look forward to continuing this excellent long-standing relationship.

Smartgroup share price snapshot

The Smartgroup share price has dropped 37% over the past 12 months. For some context, the ASX 200 is down 2% over that same period.

The post Could this beaten-down ASX 200 share be packing nearly 20% upside now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Core Lithium, Invictus Energy, New Hope, and Smartgroup shares are sinking
• Why PolyNovo, Smartgroup, Star, and WiseTech shares are falling
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

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 positions in and has recommended SMARTGROUP DEF SET. 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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National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) shares have seen plenty of volatility this year. But, despite all the hurt that has impacted the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), the NAB share price is up 6%.

The banks are under the spotlight this year, with interest rates going up rapidly in Australia, the US, and many other major economies.

With NAB being such a large ASX bank share, along with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ), they don’t need to re-invest a lot of the profit for growth. Instead, they can pay out a sizeable amount of profit each year as a dividend.

A big dividend yield is one thing – but how much growth can it achieve from here?

Latest NAB dividend

The last payout from NAB was its final FY22 dividend. The payment was 78 cents per share – this was an increase of 16%.

This led to a full-year payout of $1.51 per share, which was an increase of 19% year over year.

NAB funded that dividend increase from an 8.3% increase of cash earnings to $7.1 billion. It generated $2.12 of cash earnings per share (EPS). The bank had a cash dividend payout ratio of 68.4%, leaving plenty of profit in the business for future growth.

How likely is growth?

When NAB recently reported its FY22 result, it said this:

We enter FY23 well positioned for what is likely to be a more challenging environment. Our business has growth momentum aligned to our strategy, supported by focused and persistent investment and prudent balance sheet settings. Disciplined execution of our strategy remains our key priority to further improve customer and colleague outcomes, drive sustainable growth and improve returns to shareholders.

However, it also noted that housing lending competitive pressures are “likely to intensify” and that the net interest margin (NIM) impact of the RBA cash rate increases on unhedged deposits is expected to peak in the first half of FY23, with the “estimated benefit of cash rate increases from October 2022 expected to be lower”.

Commsec numbers suggest that NAB shares could pay an annual dividend per share of $1.71 in FY23, implying a potential rise of around 13%. This would be funded by $2.50 of EPS in FY23.

NAB could then grow its dividend by another 3.5% to $1.77 per share in FY24.

If those dividends were to be paid, the ASX bank share could pay a grossed-up dividend yield of 7.75% in FY23 and 8% in FY24.

CEO comments

The NAB CEO Ross McEwan had some reassuring words about the bank:

Our strategy is long term, and is not dependent on any particular operating environment or economic conditions. It is centred around an enduring ambition to improve the outcomes for our customers and colleagues. We have made good progress over the past two years which positions us well for a changing environment. However, there is more we can do. We will continue to remain focused on the disciplined execution of our strategy to support sustainable growth in earnings and shareholder returns over time.

NAB share price snapshot

Compared to a month ago, NAB shares are almost flat after dropping to around $30 but then steadily rising since mid-November.

The post Could NAB shares pay bigger dividends in the future? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• If I’d bought $5,000 of NAB shares at the start of this year, guess how much I’d have now
• Will ASX 200 shares bottom before the year is out? Here’s Macquarie’s ‘best guess’
• 4 quality, undervalued ASX 200 shares in an earnings upgrade cycle revealed: fund manager
• Are ASX 200 bank shares a buying opportunity hiding in plain sight?
• 3 reasons why I think it’s time to snap up NAB shares

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Westpac Banking Corporation. 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 CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price is holding above the $300 mark today, up 0.77% to $301.33 at lunchtime. Meantime the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is also in the green by 0.19%.

It’s been an exciting couple of days for the ASX healthcare share. CSL’s unique haemophilia B treatment, called Hemgenix, has just received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration.

CSL CEO Paul Perreault describes the decision as a “historic approval”. This is because Hemgenix is the first and only one-time gene therapy to become available for adults with haemophilia B.

A commercial launch is expected in FY24.

What does this mean for the CSL share price?

According to The Australian, Wilsons analyst Shane Storey says Hemgenix is a “powerful driver of sector dominance” for CSL.

Storey said:

Hemgenix will open up the haemophilia B market to a younger cohort of patients that exhibit suboptimal adherence to prophylactic therapy due to the onerous nature of delivery.

The potential to replace ≥10 years of regular prophylactic management for these patients with a single shot of Hemgenix is a powerful driver of sector dominance, which brings with it margin expansion and sales leverage opportunities within the CSL Behring recombinant haemophilia (rHaem) portfolio.

CSL is already a market leader in haemophilia treatments. It has a drug called Idelvion, which extends the half-life of factor IX infusions, meaning patients need less frequent treatment (every 14 days).

Wilsons is tipping a 12-month share price target of $327 for CSL shares and has an overweight rating.

As my colleague James reported today, Citi has reaffirmed its buy rating and share price target of $340.

Macquarie is retaining its outperform rating but has lifted its price target by 4.1% to $343.

How does Hemgenix work?

Haemophilia is a blood disorder caused by a genetic defect that stops the body from creating its own coagulating factors.

Haemophilia A means low factor VIII and haemophilia B means low factor IX.

The factors are proteins that help the blood coagulate. Without them, the blood gets too thin and this can lead to bleeding.

One of the most common treatments to date is regular factor infusions. Even then, patients can still experience spontaneous bleeds, leading to problems like joint damage and strong pain.

Hemgenix can stop spontaneous bleeds in haemophilia B patients by prompting the body to produce its own factor IX.

The Australian quotes Kim Phelan, chief operating officer of The Coalition for Haemophilia B, who said gene therapy offered “the possibility of freedom from the need for regular, ongoing infusions”.

The European Medicines Agency is also reviewing Hemgenix for approval.

CSL shares snapshot

CSL shares crossed the $300 mark this week for only the third time in 2022.

Prior to COVID-19, the CSL share price was trading up around $340 before the market crash.

Since then, it has risen above $300 several times but hasn’t been able to stay there.

The post Why this could be a ‘powerful driver of sector dominance’ for CSL shares: Wilsons appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here’s what Citi is saying about the CSL share price
• Why did the CSL share price just crack $300 for only the third time in 2022?
• 3 dividend-paying ASX growth shares I would buy to retire rich
• 4 ASX 200 shares to buy in an unmissable sector: expert
• Will ASX 200 shares bottom before the year is out? Here’s Macquarie’s ‘best guess’

Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in CSL Ltd. and Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group Limited. 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 Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price has probably been a source of disappointment for ASX bank share investors this year. To be fair, 2022 hasn’t been a great year for most ASX shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) remains down by around 4.3% year to date.

But ANZ shares have shone out as a particularly poor performer. This ASX 200 bank has lost more than 10.5% of its value over 2022 thus far.

Adding salt to the wound, ANZ is also the only member of the big four to lose to the ASX 200 over the year so far. In fact, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares are all in the green for the year. Westpac is actually up more than 10%.

So ANZ shares have really let the ASX bank team down.

But what about over the past 12 months? How much would a $10,000 investment in ANZ shares a year ago be worth today? Let’s find out.

What would a $10,000 buy of ANZ shares last year be worth today?

Well, 12 months ago, on 25 November 2021, ANZ shares closed up at a share price of $27.05 – a good 9% or so from where the bank is trading at today.

If an investor bought $10,000 worth of ANZ shares at that price, they would end up with 369 shares, with a little change left over.

Today, those 369 ANZ shares would be worth a total of $9,158.58, down almost $900.

Now, ANZ has paid out two dividends over the past 12 months, so we can’t discount those. These two dividends add up to a total of $1.46 per share for the year. So we can add $538.74 in dividend income for our 369 shares.

But even adding that to the capital our investor would have today, we come up with a total of $9,697.32. So still underwater.

Thus, we can conclude that ANZ shares have been a fairly poor investment to have held over the past 12 months. Especially so considering the fate of the other three ASX 200 major bank shares.

The post If I’d invested $10,000 in ANZ shares a year ago, here’s how much I’d have now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Use the ASX 200 market correction to retire early. Here’s how
• 5 ASX 200 shares Macquarie just recommended its clients buy
• Macquarie is cooling off on its outlook for BHP shares. Should you?
• Looking to buy ANZ shares? Here’s why the ASX 200 bank is hitting headlines
• Will ASX 200 shares bottom before the year is out? Here’s Macquarie’s ‘best guess’

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in National Australia Bank Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Westpac Banking Corporation. 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 EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) share price is ending the week on a high after the company outlined “a new chapter” at today’s annual general meeting (AGM).   

It comes after an 18-month period of upset brought about by regulatory issues, misaligned organisational structure, and a competitive environment.

Right now, the EML share price is up 12.26%, trading at 59.5 cents. That’s more than 80% lower than it was 18 months ago.

For comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up 0.22% at the time of writing.

Let’s take a closer look at the news driving the EML Payments share price today.

What’s boosting the EML share price today?

The EML share price is roaring upward today as the company’s leaders address recent challenges. Speaking at its AGM, chair Peter Martin said:

As far as EML is concerned it’s been one of the toughest periods in our history.

It is clear that uncertainty about EML’s future prospects has led to a loss of confidence and contributed to the fall in market value. I’m referring to the continuing regulatory issues in our Irish subsidiary, PFS Card Services, and our UK subsidiary, Prepaid Financial Services, and the related costs.

Despite our genuine efforts, there’s been a lack of clarity about what this means to EML and how we are going about fixing the problems.

How indeed? Well, that was also outlined today. EML has undergone a strategic review, with CEO and managing director Emma Shand commenting:

The review identified numerous shortcomings which the company will address as a priority in a bid to reshape it a competitive valuable proposition for stakeholders.

“It won’t happen overnight, but we can do it,” Shand said, continuing:

Of EML’s seven acquisitions between FY15 and FY21, six were prepaid card businesses. However … the acquired businesses have largely been left to operate in silos, missing an opportunity to integrate, extract synergies, and align culturally.

Finally, while EML’s point solutions are well appreciated by our loyal client base, these highly bespoke point solutions, across 10+ industry sectors, are not easily scaled.

What’s next?

On the back of the findings, EML will begin a transformation. It will focus on its European and UK remediation efforts, streamlining its customer and operational effectiveness, and repositioning the business for growth. Speaking on the latter, Shand said:

There is a significant and exciting opportunity to evolve our business over time; from being largely in prepaid cards, to an embedded finance leader within the next five years.

The company will focus its efforts on embedded payments solutions, human capital management, retail, and government. It says these four pillars represent 70% of global total addressable payments revenue.

It expects to have a controllable cost out of the business of between 10% and 15% by FY24, with full impact in FY25.

Trading update

EML also provided a trading update this morning.

Its revenue fell 5% over the first quarter on that of the prior comparable period (pcp), coming in at $49 million. Its gross profit also slumped 4% to $32.5 million after cycling $5.3 million of one-off revenues in the pcp.

The company’s overheads lifted 29% on those of the pcp but fell quarter-on-quarter. Its gifting segment has started off the holiday period strongly.

It also saw $2.5 million of net interest income last quarter, compared to $1.4 million over the whole of FY22.

Finally, it recognised $14 million of casts relating to regulatory matters, one-off restructuring, executive retentions, and European fraud costs.

Is new FY23 guidance also lifting the EML share price?

The company’s new guidance may be another driver lifting the EML share price today.

It expects its net interest margin to increase to between $17 million and $21 million this fiscal year. Rising interest rates are also expected to add $16 million to $20 million to its full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA).

EML’s revenue is tipped to come in at between $240 million and $260 million. Meanwhile, its gross profit margin is expected to be around 67%.

The company’s overheads guidance is between $135 million and $145 million. Finally, its underlying EBITDA is expected to come in at $26 million to $34 million.

The post EML share price jumps 12% in ‘new chapter’ after troubled past appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 big ASX announcements making news this week
• Leading fund manager names the 3 ASX stocks that drove its returns higher in October
• Why has the EML share price rebounded 30% in 2 days?
• Here are 3 ASX All Ords shares that are off to the races today
• Why Brainchip, Bubs, EML, and Fortescue shares are falling today

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended EML Payments. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended EML Payments. 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) lithium shares were all in the green following the first three trading days of the week.

As at Wednesday’s closing bell, here’s how the big lithium stocks had fared for the week:

• Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) shares were up 0.7%
• Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) shares were up 1.5%
• Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) shares were up 1.4%
• IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) shares were up 1.5%

Then Thursday rolled in. And those gains evaporated.

Why have ASX 200 lithium shares been falling for two days?

All of the big lithium stocks closed in the red yesterday.

And today those losses are mounting.

Here’s how ASX 200 lithium shares are currently tracking since the opening bell on Monday:

• Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) shares are down 5.8%
• Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) shares have lost 6.7%
• Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) shares are down 8.0%
• IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) shares have lost 4.7%

The retrace looks to be linked to a massive spike in COVID infections in China, with infections in the world’s most populous nation reaching all-time highs.

China, also the world’s number two economy is a global leader in EV production. Hence the nation has a voracious appetite for lithium, a critical element in most EV and grid storage batteries.

While Chinese authorities have yet to issue new sweeping lockdown orders, increasing restrictions this week are dampening hopes that China’s economy will come roaring back anytime soon.

That, in turn, looks to be working into investor expectations of near-term lithium demand, and throwing up headwinds for ASX 200 lithium shares.

But don’t feel too bad for shareholders just yet.

How have the big lithium stocks performed over the year?

Over the past 12 months, all ASX 200 lithium shares have smashed the benchmark returns.

Since this time last year, the ASX 200 is down 2%.

Over that same time, Allkem shares are up 38%; IGO shares have gained 44%; Pilbara shares are up 73%; and the Core Lithium share price has surged 143%.

The post Here’s why ASX 200 lithium shares are ending the week with a fizzle appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• If I’d bought $5,000 of Core Lithium shares at the start of this financial year, guess how much I’d have now?
• 3 ASX 200 shares analysts are tipping for stellar growth
• Three comforting lessons for investors whose portfolio has been smashed versus the surprisingly good return of the ASX 200
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday
• What $10,000 in ASX lithium shares a year ago would be worth today

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 turning out to be a pretty top week for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and ASX shares. So far this Friday, the ASX 200 has gained another 0.1%, putting the index at around 7,250 points. That’s at a six-month high. The ASX 200 has added value every day this week, bar Monday, and is up 1.3% since last Friday. But let’s talk about the Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price.

Although the ASX 200 is having a pleasing week, the Qantas share price is flying far higher. Qantas shares ended last week at $5.88. But yesterday, the airline hit a new 52-week high of $6.36 a share.

That was also a new post-COVID high for the airline, which, until this month, hadn’t seen a share price with a ‘6’ in front of it since early 2020.

Although Qantas shares have fallen today, down 0.73% so far at $6.14, the airline is still up a healthy 4.4% over just this week.

So why has the Qantas share price been having such a pleasant week?

Well, it probably has quite a lot to do with the update Qantas gave to investors on Wednesday. This update saw Qantas raise its guidance forecast for the first half of FY2023.

It was only last month that Qantas declared that it expects to make an underlying profit before tax of between $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion for the half.

But on Wednesday, just a month later, Qantas told investors that they can add another $150 million to those figures, with the new guidance range set for $1.35-$1.45 billion. This comes off the back of the insatiable demand for travel.

Qantas also declared that it expects net debt to fall to between $2.3 billion and $2.5 billion by the end of December. That represents an improvement of $900 million.

So understandably, investors were very impressed with this update. Qantas shares rose 6% on the day it was released, and remain elevated for the week, despite today’s mild falls.

The post Why is the Qantas share price having such a top run this week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ASX 200 company banned from selling its products. Here’s why
• 5 of the craziest things making news on the ASX this week
• The share market is full of stupidity: here’s how you take advantage
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Why has the Lake Resources share price tumbled 11% in 10 days?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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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The Objective Corporation Limited (ASX: OCL) share price is ending the week in a disappointing fashion.

At the time of writing, the technology solutions company’s shares are down 15% to $12.74.

This means the Objective Corp share price is trading within sight of its 52-week low of $12.50.

Why is the Objective Corp share price being sold off?

Investors have been selling down the Objective Corp share price today in response to the release of a disappointing trading update after the market close on Thursday.

As management previously advised, Objective Corp has followed the lead of TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE) and switched its focus to a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model. This has seen the company stop offering purchase perpetual right to use (PRTU) licensing options to new customers.

Management expects this to boost its annual recurring revenue (ARR) in the coming years. However, this has had a negative impact on its sales revenue in FY 2023 and management is now guiding to softer than normal revenue growth.

In addition, the company notes that salary growth in the technology industry has been “very robust” over the past 18 months and it has spent heavily on travel costs to re-engage with customers.

In light of the above, FY 2023 revenue growth is going to be “single-digit rather than the double-digit figures that shareholders have come to expect” and its operating margin will decrease.

While this is disappointing, management remains very positive and highlights its very strong balance sheet (cash of $60 million and no debt), its highly cash generative business, and positive long term outlook. In respect to the latter, the company concluded:

The customer demand and fundamentals of our business remain strong. This will put us in a strong position to deliver outstanding headline numbers again from FY 2024.

The post Why is this ASX All Ords tech share crashing 15%? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 3 ASX tech shares that risk going up in flames, and 1 sturdy stock I’d buy instead
• If you invested $5,000 in each of these ASX shares 10 years ago, you’d be a millionaire today

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 positions in and has recommended Objective Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended TechnologyOne Limited. 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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Retail investors have been prohibited from putting money into two funds that deal in ASX shares.

Corporate watchdog Australian Securities Investments Commission announced Friday that it has issued interim orders to stop Perpetual Limited (ASX: PPT) from offering or distributing two funds:

• Perpetual Pure Microcap Fund
• Perpetual Geared Australian Share Fund

The order prohibits the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) company from issuing interest in the funds, providing product disclosure statements or recommending retail investors invest in those products.

So why did ASIC take such action?

Risks of funds could be inappropriate

ASIC stated it was compelled to act to “protect retail investors from potentially investing in funds that may not be suitable for their financial objectives, situation or needs”.

Perpetual has been accused of not sufficiently considering whether the risks and features of those funds are appropriate for the target markets.

The Perpetual Pure Microcap Fund exclusively invests in microcap ASX shares, which can be more volatile than larger cap stocks.

“Microcap equities carry a significant level of risk due to high price volatility, shallower market depth (with few traders and turnover in share transactions) and the limited operational history of microcap companies,” stated ASIC.

In contrast, the watchdog was worried about how the Perpetual Geared Australian Share Fund can borrow up to 60% of the fund’s total assets as leverage for ASX shares.

“The fund’s investment strategy comes with elevated risks, including the potential for a high level of price volatility and the use of leverage, which increases the chances of investors incurring large losses.”

Perpetual co-operating with ASIC

Perpetual confirmed to The Motley Fool that the company is “engaging with ASIC to respond to the interim stop order”.

“Perpetual takes its regulatory obligations seriously and has taken immediate steps to comply with this interim stop order,” a Perpetual spokesperson said.

“Perpetual has ceased the sale and distribution of these products effective 24 November 2022 until further notice.”

The order itself initially lasts 21 days, although this is subject to change.

The Perpetual share price was up 0.63% at the time of writing. The stock has lost 30.8% year to date, and currently pays out an 8.15% dividend yield.

The ASX 200 business has a market capitalisation of $1.47 billion.

The post ASX 200 company banned from selling its products. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• The share market is full of stupidity: here’s how you take advantage
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Why has the Lake Resources share price tumbled 11% in 10 days?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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) coal shares are ending a strong week with a strong performance on Friday.

In early trade the Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price is up 0.8%; New Hope Corp Limited (ASX: NHC) shares are up 3%; and the Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL) share price is up 1.4%.

The ASX 200 is in the green as well, up a slender 0.1%.

With today’s intraday gains factored in, investors who bought shares in any of the big coal stocks on Monday morning will be sitting on some outsized gains for the week.

Since the opening bell on Monday, New Hope shares have gained 6.1% while both Yancoal and Whitehaven shares are up 7.9%.

So, what’s been happening with the ASX 200 coal shares this week?

What’s been drawing investor interest this week?

Prices for thermal coal (primarily used to generate electricity) gained over the week, up roughly 4% from last week.

The coal price continued to trade near historic highs, at just under US$350 per tonne. That’s more than double the price that same tonne was fetching 12 months ago. And that’s continuing to see the ASX 200 coal shares rake in the cash.

New Hope’s strong performance over the week came despite the miner closing 8.8% lower yesterday. That followed on the company’s release of its quarterly update.

New Hope reported a 167% increase in underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). That’s the raking in the cash part.

However, investors appear to have sold off the stock after the miner reported production slipped slightly as it struggles with wet weather and industry-wide labour shortages.

ASX 200 investor interest in the big coal shares also likely remains strong in light of their smashing trailing dividend yields.

At current share prices, New Hope trades at an 8.9%, fully franked yield; Whitehaven at a yield of 5.7%, fully franked; and Yancoal at a whopping trailing yield of 21.1%, unfranked.

How have the ASX 200 coal shares performed in 2022?

We know investors in ASX 200 coal shares this week were holding some outperforming stocks.

As for the calendar year, you’re unlikely to hear any complaints.

Since the opening bell on 4 January, the New Hope share price is up 138%; Yancoal shares have gained 88%; and the Whitehaven share price has soared 227%.

The post What’s happening with ASX 200 coal shares this week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 of the craziest things making news on the ASX this week
• 8%+ dividend yields! 3 ASX 200 shares I’d snap up to beat inflation
• Three comforting lessons for investors whose portfolio has been smashed versus the surprisingly good return of the ASX 200
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday
• Why is the New Hope share price tumbling 8% on Thursday?

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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