The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price is on course to start the week with a decline.

In afternoon trade, the travel agent giant's shares are down 2% to $18.45.

Why is the Flight Centre share price falling?

There could be a few reasons for the weakness in the Flight Centre share price on Monday.

This includes high levels of short interest, weakness in the travel sector, and the completion of its share purchase plan (SPP).

In respect to the latter, this morning Flight Centre revealed that it received strong demand for its SPP from eligible retail shareholders. So much so, the company elected to increase the size of the plan from $40 million to $60 million.

Though, it could have raised so much more. The company revealed that it received applications with a total value of $350 million.

Why is Flight Centre raising funds?

The proceeds from the SPP will be used to support the acquisition of United Kingdom-based luxury travel specialist Scott Dunn.

These funds were raised at an issue price of $14.60, which was in line with what institutional investors paid at the end of January.

It's possible that some retail investors are selling their SPP shares today for a quick profit. Especially given that the Flight Centre share price was trading at a 29% premium to the issue price.

Flight Centre's managing director, Graham Turner, was pleased with the news. He said:

We are delighted with the very strong demand and we thank eligible shareholders for their support. By increasing the SPP offer to $60million, we have provided our shareholders with the opportunity to secure a more meaningful stake in their company with a view to benefitting to a larger degree as its post-COVID recovery gains momentum.

We see the Scott Dunn acquisition as an exciting opportunity and a strong addition to our diverse, global brand network. The acquisition will significantly strengthen our northern hemisphere leisure footprint and fast-track our plan to develop a global luxury collection of travel brands operating in a highly resilient sector of the industry.

The post Why is the Flight Centre share price lagging the ASX 200 on Monday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the start of each week, I like to look at ASIC's short position report to find out which shares are being targeted by short sellers.

This is because I believe it is well worth keeping a close eye on short interest levels as high levels can sometimes be a sign that something isn't quite right with a company.

With that in mind, here are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX this week according to ASIC:

• Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) remains the most shorted ASX share despite its short interest easing to 11.8%. Revenue margin headwinds may be causing concerns.
• Betmakers Technology Group Ltd (ASX: BET) has seen its short interest ease slightly to 11.2%. This may be due to competition and cash burn concerns.
• Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) has 10.4% of its shares held short, which is down slightly week on week. Falling lithium prices have been weighing on the sector.
• Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) has short interest of 9.7%, which is down week on week. The sustained weakness in spot lithium prices appears to be spooking investors.
• Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) has short interest of 9.3%, which is up week on week. This may be down to short sellers doubting Zip's ability to achieve its profitability goals.
• Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) has seen its short interest ease to 9%. Short sellers will have been pleased to see this network as a service provider's shares sink last week after the shock exit of its CEO.
• Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) has short interest of 8.5%, which is up week on week again. This appears to be due to major cost blow outs at the Kathleen Valley Lithium Project and lithium price weakness.
• Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH) has returned to the top ten with short interest of 7.2%. Concerns about the sports betting company's cash burn could be behind this.
• JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) has arrived in the top ten with 7% of its shares held short. This may be due to fears over the impact of the cost of living crisis on consumer spending.
• Nextdc Ltd (ASX: NXT) has also entered the top ten with short interest of 6.8%. There may be fears that the economic environment could delay major contracts for this data centre operator.

The post Here are the 10 most shorted ASX shares this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) shares have been very strong performers in 2023.

Since the start of the year, the travel agent giant's shares have risen over 30%.

Why is the Flight Centre share price smashing the market?

Investors have been scrambling to buy the company's shares this year after its financial performance improved materially.

For example, for the first half of FY 2023, Flight Centre revealed the more than tripling of its revenue to $1 billion. This was driven by a significant rebound in the travel market and a particularly strong performance from its corporate business.

Also getting investors excited was its operating profit. It posted underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $95 million for the six months, which was a huge improvement from a $184 million loss a year earlier.

And while it still recorded a modest underlying profit after tax loss of $2.45 million, this was notably better than its $188 million after tax loss in the prior corresponding period.

However, as great an improvement as it was, it wasn't going to put the Flight Centre board in a position to pay an interim dividend. So, when might the company start paying a dividend again?

When will the Flight Centre dividend return?

I have good news and bad news. The good news is that analysts believe the Flight Centre dividend will return. The bad news is that you may have to be patient.

According to a recent note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts are forecasting zero dividends in FY 2023 and FY 2024, before it returns with an 18 cents per share dividend in FY 2025. However, based on the current Flight Centre share price of $19.04, this will mean a rather modest ~1% yield.

Over at Citi, its analysts are a little more upbeat. They expect no dividends in FY 2023, but a 36 cents per share dividend in FY 2024 and then an 81 cents per share dividend in FY 2025. This represents yields of 1.9% and 4.25%, respectively.

Finally, Morgans agrees that no dividends will be paid this year but expects dividends per share of 47 cents in FY 2024 and then 74 cents in FY 2025. This will mean yields of 2.5% and 3.9%, respectively.

All in all, it could be worth being patient with Flight Centre shares if you're an income investor.

The post When will Flight Centre shares resume paying dividends? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price has shot higher in 2023 – it's up by around 30%. That's an excellent return considering the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has only risen by 5% in 2023 so far.

The ASX travel share has done very well but, interestingly, it's at a price that's lower than where it was for a lot of the first half of 2022.

Maybe investors were too optimistic too early last year, but now the share price is reflecting the positive situation.

A couple of weeks ago, the business revealed a number of positives in its FY23 half-year result.

Earnings recap

Flight Centre said that in the first six months of the financial year, it generated $95 million of underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). This was 19% higher than the mid-point of its initial first-half target of between $70 million to $90 million while being in line with its upgraded guidance.

That means it was almost a $280 million turnaround from the FY22 first-half loss.

The ASX travel share said that it was profitable in the corporate and leisure divisions, and profitable in nearly all regions except Asia where it was breakeven.

Flight Centre said its total transaction value (TTV) was $9.9 billion and was 80% of its record FY20 half-year result. The corporate business is delivering "record TTV and set to top $10 billion during FY23".

The company said there are positive margin trends as the company targets a 2% underlying profit before tax (PBT) margin by the end of FY25. It noted a record low underlying cost margin (of under 10%), while the revenue margin is trending "upwards".

FY23 guidance

Reassuringly, Flight Centre reaffirmed its FY23 guidance with no signs of a slowdown in the early part of the FY23 second half. Guidance can have a notable impact on the Flight Centre share price if it wasn't what the market was expecting.

Excluding the acquired Scott Dunn, Flight Centre is targeting $250 million to $280 million of underlying FY23 EBITDA.

January 2023 saw a post-pandemic record for monthly TTV and profit in leisure. There was also an acceleration of corporate activity from mid-January. China is seeing a "solid rebound" after the COVID reopening.

Is the Flight Centre share price a buy?

The ASX travel share is now seemingly firing on all cylinders and it's benefiting from the strong demand.

Analyst estimates suggest that profit will return to normal in FY24 and FY25. Current Commsec projections are for earnings per share (EPS) of $1.01 in FY24 and $1.24 in FY25.

That puts the current Flight Centre share price at 19 times FY24's estimated earnings and 15 times FY25's estimated earnings.

In FY25, the dividend could normalise with a possible payment of 64 cents, which would be a grossed-up dividend yield of 4.9%.

I think that Flight Centre shares could rise more during 2023. However, investors are now expecting a strong profit rebound. Flight Centre would need to positively surprise investors even further to outperform, in my opinion.

I wouldn't be rushing to try to buy at this price, but I think the company has a promising future and may be one of the few ASX 200 shares to report profit growth in both FY23 and FY24 amid wider economic uncertainty.

The post Should I buy Flight Centre shares at $19? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This is because I believe it is well worth keeping a close eye on short interest levels as high levels can sometimes be a sign that something isn't quite right with a company.

With that in mind, here are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX this week according to ASIC:

• Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) has returned to the top of the chart after its short interest rose to 12%. Short sellers don't appear to be giving up on Flight Centre despite its return to form in FY 2023. Revenue margin headwinds may be a cause for concern.
• Betmakers Technology Group Ltd (ASX: BET) has seen its short interest ease slightly to 11.6%. Competition and cash burn concerns could be weighing on this betting technology company's shares.
• Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) has 10.7% of its shares held short, which is flat week on week. There are fears that lithium prices have now peaked and are about to decline materially.
• Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) has short interest of 10.1%, which is up week on week. As with Sayona Mining, continued weakness in spot lithium prices appear to have spooked investors.
• Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) has seen its short interest fall again to 9.3%. Short sellers have been targeting this network as a service provider after it reported softening operating trends with its results.
• Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) has short interest of 9.1%, which is up strongly week on week. Short sellers appear to be doubting this buy now pay later provider's ability to achieve its profitability goals.
• Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) has short interest of 8.1%, which is up week on week. Concerns over material cost blow outs at the Kathleen Valley Lithium Project have been weighing on sentiment.
• City Chic Collective Ltd (ASX: CCX) has jumped into the top ten with short interest of 7.3%. This plus sized fashion retailer's abject performance and inventory management are likely to be behind this short interest.
• Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE) has 6.9 % of its shares held short, which is flat week on week. Doubts over this lithium developer's technology and project funding are reasons why one short seller is targeting Lake.
• Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL) has short interest of 6.8%, which is down slightly week on week. This also appears to be down to lithium prices being tipped to fall materially in the next 18 months.

The post Here are the 10 most shorted ASX shares this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The good news is that not all shares dropped with the market. In fact, some even managed to record strong gains in February. Here's why these were the best performing ASX 200 shares last month:

GUD Holdings Limited (ASX: GUD)

The GUD share price was the best performer on the ASX 200 in February with a 23% gain. Investors were scrambling to buy this diversified products company's shares after it reported a 55.7% increase in half year revenue and an 88.7% jump in net profit. Management advised that this was driven by a strong core automotive result combined with full six-month contributions from APG and Vision X.

Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE)

The Eagers Automotive share price wasn't far behind with a gain of 20% last month. Once again, a solid result was behind this impressive gain. Australia's largest car sales group achieved a record underlying operating profit before tax of $405.2 million. This allowed the company to declare a final dividend of 49 cents per share, bringing its full-year dividend to a record of 71 cents per share for FY 2022.

Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX: LNK)

The Link share price was a strong performer and charged 19.3% higher over the period. It was a busy month for this administration services company. It released its results, announced a partnership extension with Rest, released an update on the Fund Solutions divestment, and completed the sale of its PEXA Group (ASX: PXA) shares.

Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT)

The Flight Centre share price was on fire in February and charged 18.9% higher. This travel agent giant surged higher last month after it released its unaudited half-year results early to support its capital raising to fund the acquisition of luxury travel company Scott Dunn. Flight Centre revealed the more than tripling of its revenue to $1 billion thanks to a significant rebound in the travel market and a particularly strong performance from its corporate business.

The post These ASX 200 shares smashed the market in February appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, the travel agent's shares are up 0.5% to $18.70.

If the Flight Centre share price finishes here, it will mean a monthly gain of almost 18%.

This compares very favourably to the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which is currently down 2.9% month to date.

Why is the Flight Centre share price outperforming?

On the very first day of the month, the Flight Centre share price surged higher after it released its unaudited numbers to support its capital raising.

Flight Centre revealed the more than tripling of its revenue to $1 billion thanks to a significant rebound in the travel market and a particularly strong performance from its corporate business.

And while the company's revenue margins remain under a spot of pressure, this couldn't stop Flight Centre from recording underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $95 million for the half. This was up from a $184 million loss a year earlier and 19% ahead of the midpoint of its original half-year guidance.

New acquisition

Also getting investors excited was news that the company has bolstered its offering with the acquisition of the Scott Dunn business for $211 million.

The company notes that Scott Dunn is a high-margin leisure business in the luxury travel segment with large average booking values and strong repeat bookings. It pulled in $199 million of total transaction value (TTV) and $51 million of revenue last year.

Commenting on the acquisition, Flight Centre's managing director, Graham Turner, said:

Scott Dunn provides us with the opportunity to grow our leisure presence in the large UK and US luxury markets in an attractive and growing segment, while also fast-tracking our objective of developing a global luxury collection of travel brands. High-net-worth, time poor customers highly value the services of Scott Dunn as shown by their customers' loyalty.

All in all, many in the market appear to believe the worst is now behind the company and the Flight Centre share price. Though, it is worth noting that Flight Centre shares remain one of the most shorted shares on the Australian share market.

The post How did the Flight Centre share price manage to leap almost 18% in February? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) started the week out on the wrong foot, falling 1.12% to close at 7,224.8 points.

And it was the giant S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) that weighed heaviest. It fell 3.15% following a rough Friday session for commodity prices.

Gold futures price dropped 0.5% to US$1,817.10 an ounce on Friday and iron ore futures dumped 0.1% to US$125.85 a tonne. At the same time, copper futures dumped 2.7% and aluminium futures tumbled 2%.

But not all commodities suffered. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) jumped 0.25% on the back of stronger oil prices.

Brent crude oil and US Nymex crude oil each lifted 1.2% to US$83.16 a barrel and US$76.32 a barrel respectively on Friday.

Looking at today's earnings releases, the Downer EDI Ltd (ASX: DOW) share price plummeted 24% on lower profits and a guidance downgrade, while today's top performer also posted earnings this morning. Let's take a look at how it performed in 2022.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown

TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG) shares outperformed all other ASX 200 stocks today after the company revealed a 354% increase in full-year profits, coming in at $513 million.

These shares made today's biggest gains:

Our top 10 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to let you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the weekday market closes to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This is because I believe it is well worth keeping a close eye on short interest levels as high levels can sometimes be a sign that something isn't quite right with a company.

With that in mind, here are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX this week according to ASIC:

• Betmakers Technology Group Ltd (ASX: BET) has become the most shorted share on the Australian share market despite its short interest easing slightly to 11.8%. This high level of short interest appears to have been driven by competition and cash burn concerns.
• Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) saw its short interest fall meaningfully to 11.4%. With its shares up strongly this year, some short sellers appear to have been closing positions in a hurry.
• Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) has 10.7% of its shares held short, which is up week on week. This seems to have been driven by fears that lithium prices have now peaked.
• Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) has short interest of 9.9%, which is flat week on week. Continued weakness in spot lithium prices appears to have spooked investors.
• Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) has seen its short interest fall to 9.4%. This network as a service provider appears to have been targeted after reporting softening operating trends with its results.
• Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) has short interest of 7.7%, which is up week on week again. This buy now pay later provider's shares took a tumble last week following the release of its half-year results. Short sellers appear to believe it will struggle to achieve its profitability goals.
• Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) has short interest of 7.7%, which is down week on week. Major cost blow outs at the Kathleen Valley Lithium Project have been weighing on sentiment.
• Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH) has 7.1% of its shares held short, which is down week on week. This appears to be due to competition and cash burn concerns.
• Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE) has 6.9 % of its shares held short, which is down sharply week on week. Lake Resources has come under-fire due to doubts over its technology and project funding.
• Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL) is the fifth lithium share in the top ten with short interest of 6.9%. With lithium prices tipped to fall materially over the next 18 months, there may be concerns that this Germany-based developer could miss out on the sky high prices.

The post Here are the 10 most shorted ASX shares this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In afternoon trade, the travel agent's shares are down a fraction to $18.46.

This follows a lukewarm response to the company's half-year results release earlier this week.

Should you buy Flight Centre shares following its results?

Firstly, let's take a step back and look at what the company delivered during the first-half.

Flight Centre reported the tripling of its total transaction value (TTV) to $9.9 billion, a 217% increase in revenue to $1 billion, and a modest $2.4 million underlying loss after tax. The latter was a major improvement on the $188 million loss it recorded a year earlier.

However, as this result was largely pre-released at the end of last month, there wasn't much that wasn't already known. This may explain why investors have responded in the way they have.

So, should you buy Flight Centre shares?

A number of analysts appear to be sitting on the fence right now and are suggesting that investors wait for a better entry point.

For example, Morgans has responded to the results release by reiterating its hold rating with an improved price target of $19.11. This implies modest upside of 3.5% for Flight Centre shares from current levels.

However, the broker does concede that there is potential for material upside if the company delivers on its medium term margin guidance. In fact, it has suggested that Flight Centre could be "extremely undervalued" if it does. The broker commented:

We maintain a Hold rating with a new A$19.11 price target. However we note that if FLT achieves its margin targets in FY26, there is material upside to consensus earnings and the stock is extremely undervalued. Given its changing business mix and different margin profile, execution is the key risk.

All in all, Flight Centre could prove to be a great ASX share to hold onto for the long term if you believe management will deliver on its targets.

The post Are Flight Centre shares a buy following the ASX 200 company's latest results? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Flight Centre Travel Group Limited (ASX: FLT) share price is in the red on Wednesday amid the company posting an underlying pre-tax loss of $2.4 million for the first half, as The Motley Fool Australia reported earlier.

That's a major improvement on the $188 million loss it posted for the same period of last financial year.

Though, brokers were disappointed by its performance in the Americas.

The Flight Centre share price is $18.04 right now, 3.01% lower than its previous close.

Let's take a look at what might be going so wrong for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) travel giant.

Flight Centre share price falls as broker responds to earnings

Flight Centre is "lying foundations for more meaningful profit recovery", CEO Graham Turner says, but it seems that's not enough to boost its share price today.

It's falling as the company's operating cash flow and performance in the Americas disappoints broker Goldman Sachs.

The Americas region brought in $2.11 billion of total transaction value (TTV) for the company. That's up 149% year-on-year but 14.9% lower than the broker's forecasts.

That was offset by Australia and New Zealand's $5.22 billion of TTV – a 290% jump and 17.2% more than Goldman Sachs tipped.

The group's $9.9 billion of TTV and $1 billion of revenue beat expectations by 2.5% and 3.2% respectively. Though, its operating cash flow disappointed in a major way. It came in at a $91.8 million loss, compared to a forecasted $8.9 million positive result.

Ultimately, the results failed to convince the broker. Goldman Sachs remains neutral on Flight Centre's shares, slapping them with a $16.40 price target – a potential 9% downside.

At the same time, Morgans was expecting the company to post around $80 million of corporate earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA), my Fool colleague James reported last week. It also might've had its eye out for a guidance upgrade.

Neither of these outcomes occurred today. Flight Centre's corporate EBITDA was $72 million and its underlying EBITDA guidance remained at $250 million to $280 million.

Looking forward, Turner said the company hasn't noticed any downturn amid rising cost of living pressures, saying customers view travel as essential.

The ASX 200 travel giant also declined to offer a dividend for this half. Though, it's started a review of its capital structures ahead of an expected uptick in earnings and cash.

The post Flight Centre share price tumbles despite losses narrowing appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

All eyes are on the Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price this morning after the company dropped its earnings for the first half of financial year 2023.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) travel agency last traded at $18.60.

Flight Centre share price in focus as revenue triples

Here are the major takeaways from the travel giant's results:

• $2.4 million underlying post-tax loss – up from the prior comparable period's (pcp) $188 million loss
• $1 billion of revenue – a 217% jump on that of the pcp
• $9.9 billion of total transaction value (TTV) – triple that of the pcp
• $95 million of underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) – up from a $184 million loss
• No dividend declared

Flight Centre posted a profitable period for both its corporate and leisure businesses, as well as all geographic segments aside from Asia.

Its global corporate travel business revealed a record $5 billion in TTV, while its leisure business posted $4.4 billion in TTV – up 150% and 441% respectively.

It ended the period with a $465 million net cash position.

What else happened last half?

But it wasn't all easy for Flight Centre last half.

Whiles its costs were 70% of pre-COVID levels in the first half, its short-term profitability was dinted by recruitment and training, development, and sustainability.

The company's revenue margin also lifted from 0.4% to 10.1% in the period. That's lower than normal amid high airfares, more air-only sales, and heavier corporate weighting.

What did management say?

Flight Centre CEO Graham Turner commented on the news likely to drive the company's share price today, saying:

Flight Centre Travel Group has delivered a solid start to FY23 in an improved, but not fully recovered, trading environment.

While we continue to monitor market conditions. we are not currently seeing evidence that the recovery is slowing with the leisure business currently trading at post-COVID highs and corporate travel activity escalating after the traditional holiday period.

While travel is a discretionary purchase, customers typically view it as essential and prioritise it above other discretionary items.

What's next?

Flight Centre notes its first-half underlying EBITDA came in 19% higher than the mid-point of its initial financial year 2023 guidance.

It's now expecting to post between $250 million and $280 million of underlying EBITDA this fiscal year, excluding the contribution of its recently acquired Scott Dunn business.

The company also points out that airline capacity is recovering, which is expected to lower the price of fares and allow for higher volumes. Its international capacity is tipped to reach 85% of pre-COVID levels by the end of June.

Flight Centre share price snapshot

The Flight Centre share price has been taking off in 2023.

The stock is currently up 29% year to date. Though, it's 5% lower than it was this time last year.

For comparison, the ASX 200 has jumped 6% year to date and 2% over the last 12 months.

The post Flight Centre share price on watch as revenue triples, reaching $1b appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This is because I believe it is well worth keeping a close eye on short interest levels as high levels can sometimes be a sign that something isn't quite right with a company.

With that in mind, here are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX this week according to ASIC:

• Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) continues its long run as the most shorted ASX share after its short interest rose to 12.8%. Weak revenue margins appear to be a concern for investors.
• Betmakers Technology Group Ltd (ASX: BET) has seen its short interest reduce to 11.9%. Competition and cash burn concerns seem to be weighing on this betting technology company's shares.
• Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) has seen its short interest rise to 10.2%. This network as a service provider's slowing growth may have attracted short sellers.
• Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) has short interest of 9.9%, which is up week on week. Continued weakness in spot lithium prices has been weighing on investor sentiment.
• Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) has 9.5% of its shares held short, which is up week on week. This also appears to have been driven by fears that lithium prices have peaked.
• Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) has short interest of 8%, which is up week on week. As well as lithium price concerns, cost blow outs at the Kathleen Valley Lithium Project have caught the eye of short sellers.
• Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE) is the fourth lithium share in the top ten with 7.8% of its shares held short, which is up week on week. A well-known short seller is targeting Lake Resources due to doubts over its technology and project funding.
• Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) has short interest of 7.4%, which is up strongly week on week. Concerns over major regulatory changes could be partly behind this high level of short interest.
• Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH) has 7.3% of its shares held short, which is flat week on week. As with Betmakers, competition and cash burn concerns appear to be behind this.
• NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) has short interest of 7.1%. This may be due to concerns that economic conditions could weigh on this data centre operator's performance.

The post Here are the 10 most shorted ASX shares this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Since the start of 2023, the travel agent's shares have risen an impressive 26%.

Investors appear to be betting on a strong performance from Flight Centre in FY 2023.

This could make it worth watching Flight Centre shares closely next week when the company releases its half year results on 22 February.

Ahead of the release, let's take a look at what the market is expecting.

What is the market expecting from Flight Centre?

Well, the good news is that a lot is already known about Flight Centre's performance during the half.

That's because earlier this month the company released a trading update to support its capital raising and revealed a performance ahead of consensus estimates.

Flight Centre revealed that it expects to report total transaction value (TTV) of $9.9 billion, group revenue of $1.0 billion, and group underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $95 million.

However, there are a few things that could be worth looking out for outside these metrics.

For example, according to a note out of Morgans, its analysts are looking forward to digging deeper into its earnings.

The broker suspects that the company's Corporate business could be delivering the goods and contributing strongly to its earnings. It commented:

The 1H23 beat to consensus was led by the strong profitability of Corporate. This business is on track to deliver record TTV in FY23 (MorgansF is ~A$11.6bn vs pre-COVID of A$9.0bn). November EBITDA was in line with the monthly run rate implied at the AGM (A$14.5m/month). December EBITDA was lower given usual seasonality. If we conservatively assume December EBITDA was A$7.5m, this would equate to 1H23 Corporate EBITDA of ~A$80m. FLT is continuing to gain market share through high customer retention rates and material new account wins.

And given how Flight Centre's earnings are expected to be heavily weighted to the second half, Morgans is likely to be looking out for another update on its guidance. It added:

FLT has provided FY23 EBITDA guidance of A$250-280m. This was below Morgans previous forecast of A$289.5m. However it was largely at the midpoint of FactSet consensus of A$266.3m. This guidance is prior to any benefits from the acquisition. The midpoint of guidance implies a 35%/65% 1H vs 2H split, which is broadly in line with FLT's historical seasonality.

The post Own Flight Centre shares? Here's what the market expects from its half year results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price is once again having a rosy day so far this Tuesday. After yesterday's pleasing and market-bucking performance, this ASX 200 travel share is once again in the green today.

At the time of writing, Flight Centre shares are up by 0.33% to $18.31 each. Perhaps investors have been buoyed by some heavy buying into the company this week.

Yesterday, we covered the emerging news that a monster trade had taken place with Flight Centre shares.

There were early indications that a massive block of 1.2 million shares had changed hands, which was worth around $22.1 million. In fact, 1.2 million shares are worth 0.7% of all the Flight Centre shares on the market, so this was a big move to see for the company.

The transaction took place at a share price of $18.45 each but for now, this is all we know.

Today, some more information has come to light about Flight Centre shares.

The company has just released some details about another dramatic transaction of Flight Centre shares. But this time, it's a sell.

According to the release, investment bank and broker JP Morgan has sold more than two million Flight Centre shares.

This sale was reported as taking place on 9 February (last Thursday) and resulted in JP Morgan reducing its holdings from approximately 13.14 million shares down to 10.98 million shares.

That takes the broker's voting power in the company down from 6.56% to 5.17%.

So there have certainly been some whales making some big moves when it comes to Flight Centre shares of late.

Flight Centre share price snapshot

The Flight Centre share price has had an incredibly strong start to the year. In 2023 so far, this ASX 200 travel share is now up a healthy 27.3%. Saying that though, the company still remains down by 9.6% over the past 12 months.

Factoring in the new shares issued during 2020, Flight Centre shares are also still down more than 70% from their pre-COVID highs of more than $61 each.

At the current Flight Centre share price, this ASX 200 travel share has a market capitalisation of $3.89 billion.

The post Are whales dipping in and out of this ASX 200 travel share? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

It's been a rather dour start to the trading week for the share markets this Monday. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has recorded a 0.21% loss for the session at today's close.

But not all ASX 20 shares dipped into the red today. Just take Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) shares.

Flight Centre had a turbulent start this morning. After closing at $18.21 a share last week, the ASX 200 travel share opened at $18.13 this morning before dropping as low as $18.06.

But investors quickly got over their nerves, and the Flight Centre share price was trading comfortably in the green, up 0.74% at $18.34 at the market close.

There hasn't been any fresh news out of Flight Centre itself that could explain these gains on a down day. And Flight Centre is one of the only ASX travel shares in a good place. Others, such as Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) and Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) did not escape losing value today.

So perhaps these gains are the result of some trading action.

Flight Centre shares defy the ASX 200 amid monster trade

According to reporting in The Australian today, Flight Centre shares have just seen an enormous trade take place. A block of 1.2 million shares changed hands today, worth around $22.1 million. That's the equivalent of 0.7% of all the Flight Centre shares on the market. 

This trade reportedly took place for a price of $18.45 per share. So clearly, a large investor (or group of investors) has decided to take up a substantial investment in the company.

Such a vote of confidence could be helping push up the Flight Centre share price this session, and might explain why this ASX 200 travel share is defying the gloom of the broader market this Monday.

No doubt shareholders will be pleased.

Flight Centre shares have already had a stellar start to 2023. Since the start of the year, this company has rallied by an impressive 27.6%. However, Flight Centre remains down by more than 9% over the past 12 months:

The post Someone just bought $22 million of Flight Centre shares. Here's what we know appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This is because I believe it is well worth keeping a close eye on short interest levels as high levels can sometimes be a sign that something isn't quite right with a company.

With that in mind, here are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX this week according to ASIC:

• Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) remains the most shorted ASX share despite its short interest falling heavily to 12.6%. Short sellers may have been closing positions after the travel agent's recent update.
• Betmakers Technology Group Ltd (ASX: BET) has seen its short interest edge lower to 12.5%. Competition, cash burn, and valuation concerns may be weighing on this betting technology company's shares.
• Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) has seen its short interest rise to 9.9%. Short sellers have been adding to their positions since the network as a service provider released a disappointing quarterly update.
• Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) has short interest of 9.6%, which is up week on week. Valuation concerns have been weighing on this lithium share.
• Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) has 9.3% of its shares held short, which is up slightly week on week. Fears that lithium prices have peaked could be behind this high level of short interest.
• Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) has short interest of 7.7%, which is down slightly week on week. Once again, lithium price concerns appear to be behind this. In addition, project cost blow outs have sparked fears that a capital raising could be coming.
• Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE) is a fourth lithium share in the list with 7.6% of its shares held short, which is up week on week. J Capital is shorting this lithium developer due to concerns over its technology and project funding.
• Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH) is back in the top ten with 7.3% of its shares held short. Competition and cash burn concerns appear to be why short sellers are going after this sports betting company.
• NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) has returned to the top ten with short interest of 7%. Short sellers may have concerns that economic conditions could weigh on its performance.
• Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) has short interest of 6.9%, which is flat week on week. Short sellers appear to be doubting that Zip will be able to deliver profitable growth.

The post Here are the 10 most shorted ASX shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price has slipped just 0.05% to $18.22 after touching an intraday high of $18.52 in early afternoon trading.

This represents an increase of around 20% over the past month.

So, what's going on here?

What's pushing the Flight Centre share price skywards?

The main factor is the $211 million purchase of United Kingdom-based luxury travel brand, Scott Dunn.

Flight Centre entered a trading halt when it announced the acquisition on 31 January.

Investors responded enthusiastically with a 15% bump to the Flight Centre share price when trading resumed the next day.

The company conducted a $180 million institutional capital raise to help fund the purchase.

A $40 million share purchase plan (SPP) for ordinary ASX investors is now open til 6 March.

The SPP shares will be issued at an offer price that is the lower of either $14.60 (the same as the institutional offer price) or a 2% discount to the volume weighted average price of Flight Centre shares traded over the five trading days up to, and including, the SPP closing date).

What else is going on?

The Scott Dunn deal was the only price-sensitive news that Flight Centre announced during the month. So, most of Flight Centre's share price growth over the period can be attributed to that.

But positive broker notes certainly help, and as my colleague James reported on Wednesday, top broker Macquarie is positive on the ASX travel stock.

Macquarie has increased its rating on Flight Centre to outperform with a share price target of $20.75. So, there's a 14% upside to be had over the next 12 months for new investors buying today.

There is also anticipation regarding Flight Centre's 1H FY23 results, which will be released on 22 February.

In an investor presentation relating to the Scott Dunn deal, Flight Centre said preliminary unaudited accounts indicated the company would beat its guidance for underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) in the first half.

Flight Centre is expecting to report an underlying EBITDA of $95 million for 1H FY23. This is beyond its initial market guidance range of $70 million to $90 million.

Fellow ASX travel shares hitting 52-week highs in 2023

Also boding well for the Flight Centre share price, two fellow ASX travel shares recorded new annual highs over the past month.

Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) hit its highest share price since the onset of COVID-19 at $7 per share on 1 February.

Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) hit a new 52-week high of $6.69 on 18 January.

The post Why has the Flight Centre share price soared 20% in a month? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) shares are up 1.93% in intraday trading today.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) travel company are currently changing hands for $18.45 apiece.

That's up more than 28% so far in 2023.

But according to analysts at Macquarie (courtesy of The Australian), there look to be more gains ahead for the company.

Macquarie has raised Flight Centre to 'outperform'. Its analysts have a price target of $20.75 for the stock, 12.5% above the current price.

What else is going on with the ASX 200 travel stock?

This morning, Flight Centre reported that it has completed the acquisition of United Kingdom-based luxury leisure travel business Scott Dunn.

As The Motley Fool reported last Wednesday, 1 February, Flight Centre emerged from a trading halt after the company completed a $180 million share placement to fund the acquisition.

Flight Centre shares closed up 8.1% on the day and have finished in the green every trading day since.

 "High-net-worth, time poor customers highly value the services of Scott Dunn as shown by their customers' loyalty," Flight Centre CEO Graham Turner said last week.

The total acquisition cost for Scott Dunn was reported to be $211 million. Atop the $180 million raised from the oversubscribed institutional share placement (issued at a sharp discount of $14.60 per share), Flight Centre will splash out an additional $40 million in cash for the UK travel business.

Eligible shareholders will have the opportunity to apply for up to $30,000 worth of Flight Centre shares at the same discount under a $40 million share purchase plan (SPP).

The SPP opens tomorrow and closes on 6 March.

How have Flight Centre shares been performing longer-term?

Flight Centre has had a strong start to 2023, but not strong enough to put the company in the green over 12 months. As you can see in the chart below, since this time last year, its shares are down 8.8%.

The post Buy Flight Centre shares now for 13% upside: Macquarie appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The travel agent's shares beat the ASX 200 and ended the day 1.5% higher at $18.00.

This means the Flight Centre share price is now up 25% since the start of the year.

Should you buy Flight Centre shares ahead of its results?

While buying ASX 200 shares before the release of a result can be a bit risky, Flight Centre has already provided the market with an unaudited preview of its half year results.

In light of this, there's not likely to be any surprises when the company releases its full set of results later this month.

So, should you buy shares?

Unfortunately, I'm not aware of any brokers that have a buy rating on Flight Centre shares at present. The most positive broker is arguably Morgans, which has a hold rating and $18.10 price target on its shares.

This is broadly in line with where the Flight Centre share price is currently trading, which appears to indicate that investors might be best keeping their powder dry and waiting for a better entry point.

What did the broker say?

Morgans was reasonably pleased with the company's proposed acquisition of luxury travel company Scott Dunn. It was even more pleased with its performance during the first half. It said:

While the acquisition of Scott Dunn ticks the boxes strategically, FLT has paid a full price and it is only mildly EPS accretive based on recovery year earnings. Importantly, Flight Centre Travel's 1H23 result has beaten guidance, led by a strong Corporate result.

One slight negative, though, is that despite the first half beat, its FY 2023 guidance has fallen short of the broker's expectations. It explained:

FLT has provided FY23 EBITDA guidance of A$250-280m. This was below Morgans previous forecast of A$289.5m. However it was largely at the midpoint of FactSet consensus of A$266.3m. This guidance is prior to any benefits from the acquisition. The midpoint of guidance implies a 35%/65% 1H vs 2H split, which is broadly in line with FLT's historical seasonality.

Finally, while the broker isn't recommending Flight Centre as a buy, it is encouraging existing shareholders to take part in the company's capital raising. It concludes:

We view the placement and SPP price as attractive (FY25 recovery PE of 11.7x) and encourage investors to take up their allocation. We maintain a Hold rating with a new $18.10 price target.

The post Should ASX 200 investors buy Flight Centre shares ahead of this month's earnings update? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.