The All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is having an exceptionally strong start to the trading week, and 2022, this Tuesday. At the time of writing, the All Ords is up a very healthy 1.6% so far today. But one ASX share is putting the index to shame. That is the Kelly Partners Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: KPG) share price.

Kelly Partners shares are currently up a pleasing 6% to $4.61 a share at the time of writing. This comes after the company hit a new all-time high of $4.75 a share earlier this morning. This latest gain means Kelly Partners is now up more than 25% since early December. And an eye-popping 112% over the past 12 months.

So what's behind this recent share price surge?

Kelly Partners is an accounting and tax agent company that has attracted the attention of income investors for its rather unusual (by ASX standards) practice of paying out monthly dividends. As many investors would be aware of, the standard procedure on the ASX boards is for companies to pay out dividends twice a year. That contrasts with the US norm of quarterly payouts.

But Kelly Partners instead gives its investors a fully-franked paycheque 12 times a year. Its most recent monthly dividend was doled out on New Year's Eve. This gave investors 0.36 cents in fully franked dividends per share.

Why are Kelly Partners shares raising the roof today?

So why is this company rising so much today? Well, it's not exactly clear. There has been no major news or announcements out of the company in 2022 as yet. However, the company's exceptional December, which today's rally may be an extension of, might explain it. Over the month just gone, Kelly Partners announced not one, but two new acquisitions.

On 15 December, the company announced that it had "signed agreements to acquire an accounting business located in [the] Central Coast" of New South Wales. Kelly Partners estimates that this acquisition will add between $1.08 and $1.35 million in annual revenue to the company. It is scheduled for a 1 May 2022 completion date.

The following day, Kelly Partners announced another acquisition. This time, the company told investors it is to acquire "an accounting business located in Canberra ACT". This business is estimated to bring in between $880,000 and $1.1 million in revenues to the Group. This deal is expected to wrap up by 1 February.

But these are just two of the six acquisitions Kelly Partners has in its FY2022 pipeline. Two acquisitions have already been completed so far this financial year. The company expects the Central Coast acquisition will be its sixth by the time 1 May rolls around.

It's this fast-paced growth that might have had investors excited over December and could be what is continuing to drive Kelly Partners shares higher as we get into January.

At the current Kelly Partners share price, this ASX monthly dividend payer has a market capitalisation of $208 million, with a dividend yield of 1.68%.

The post Kelly Partners (ASX:KPG) shares are up 27% since early December and pay monthly dividends appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The arrival of COVID-19 last year saw many dividend-paying ASX shares reduce their payouts.

Most ASX companies, if they pay a dividend at all, hand out once or twice a year. Very occasionally you might see a stock pay a dividend quarterly.

So 2020 was an unpleasant time for income investors who may be relying on these irregular payments to pay living expenses. If they copped a less-than-expected amount one time, they might've had to wait months for another contribution.

When some companies, like the big banks, increased their dividends again this year, those punters will have breathed a sigh of relief.

But did you know there is one ASX stock that's been paying out dividends every month?

This ASX small-cap is as reliable as the moon

Stocks for accounting and taxation firm Kelly Partners Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: KPG) have been a star performer recently.

The North Sydney company's share price zoomed up 38% over June, going from $2.46 to $3.40. It closed Monday at $3.20.

Kelly Partners was the Cyan C2G Fund's best performer of the month.

"We have been long-term investors in the business — since IPO in June 2017 — and believe the stock has been fundamentally undervalued for some time," Cyan portfolio manager Dean Fergie said in a memo to clients.

"However we're not entirely sure what has prompted the timing of this recent price spike other than some rumoured offshore buying."

According to Fergie, Kelly Partners has "a solid business model" playing in an industry that's very stable and reliable.

But there could be another reason for the recent popularity.

"[It] is one of the only ASX listed companies — to our knowledge at least — that pays a monthly dividend," said Fergie.

"In an era of almost zero interest rates, this is obviously an attractive investment feature that may well have helped support the recent price activity."

And indeed, The Motley Fool's stock profile page confirms Kelly Partners has paid a dividend every month starting last December.

It paid out quarterly prior to that.

It gets better

What's more, last week the accounting firm announced it would increase the monthly amount.

"We are pleased to announce from July 2021 the company will increase its monthly dividends from 0.33c per share to 0.36c per share, representing an increase of 10%," its statement to the ASX read.

"Total dividends paid in relation to FY22 is expected to increase from 5.32 cents per share in FY21 to 5.85cps. The company has grown its dividends by 10% per annum for the fifth straight year."

Kelly Partners' yield currently stands at 1.45%.

The firm employs more than 250 people who service more than 8,000 small-to-medium business clients.

The post This ASX share up 38% last month pays MONTHLY dividends appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Kelly Partners Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: KPG) released a positive set of results today for the first half of the 2021 financial year. But despite the news, trading in the Kelly Partners share price remains unbudged late morning, and currently remains at the starters gate price of $2.10.

We'll look at the past months' share price action below, but first a look at the company's latest results.

What results did Kelly Partners report?

In this morning's ASX release, Kelly Partners reported revenue of $24.8 million. That's an increase of 5.8% from the $23.5 million in the first half of FY20. It attributed the rise to annualised revenue contributions from acquisitions the group completed in FY20.

Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $9.6 million was up 16.8% from the previous corresponding half year. And cash flow from operations increased by 41.8% to $8.1 million.

The company also reported its underlying NPATA* earnings per share (EPS) were 6.24 cents per share. It credited the 55.7% lift in EPS to the company's share buybacks along with the growth in the underlying attributed NPATA.

(*NPATA is adjusted for amortisation of customer relationship intangible assets acquired.)

Ordinary dividends per share (DPS) of 2.66  were up 10% from the first half of the 2020 financial year.

Commenting on the first-half results, CEO Brett Kelly said:

Kelly Partners is a strongly defensive annuity style revenue business growing at c.15% p.a. since IPO three years ago.

Our strategy is to be focused on tax and accounting services to private business owners with an addressable market in excess of $12.0 billion ensures that we feel confident that there is still very substantial growth ahead. The 1H21 performance of our businesses is pleasing and has improved significantly on 1H20.

Looking ahead, Kelly added:

We expect to continue to grow our earnings. We have and continue to prepare the business for the current economic environment and the business remains well positioned and well capitalised over the medium term to execute its five-year growth plan.

In other forward guidance, Kelly Partners forecast an increase in its FY21 dividend to 5.32 cents. That's up 10% from the 4.84cents for FY20. Cautioning that COVID-19 remains a wild card, it also stated its intention to maintain the dividend payout ratio of 50–70% of underlying NPATA.

Kelly Partners share price snapshot

2021 has been a bit of a slog for the Kelly Partners share price, down 4.1%. That compares to a 2.4% gain on the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

But go back a bit further, and Kelly Partners' shares have hugely outperformed. Over the past 12 months, shares are up 139%. And the share price has surged a remarkable 250% since the 23 March lows.

The post What's with the Kelly Partners (ASX:KPG) share price today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Kelly Partners Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: KPG) share price had a mixed trading day today. After hitting a 52-week high of $1.45 in early trading, the Kelly Partner's share price dropped back to close flat at $1.30. Let's take a closer look.

Why is the Kelly Partners share price on the move?

Kelly Partners announced last month it was conducting an on-market share buyback. The chartered accounting network plans to buy back up to 45.3 million shares or 10% of its shares outstanding. 

The company reported it was experiencing continued growth. Senior management also recently purchased 344,417 shares from CEO Brett Kelly to align management interests with the company's performance. The CEO maintains a holding of 50.01%.

According to Kelly Partners, the company has experienced revenue growth of 32% per year since its inception in 2006, and revenue growth of 15% per year since its initial public offering (IPO) in 2017. Dividend growth has been at 10% per year since its IPO.

Kelly Partners said it expected to reach revenue of $80 million per year by the 2024 financial year. The company also anticipates earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $28 million per year by FY 2024. The company forecasts that it will double its net profit after tax and amortisation (NPATA) to $8 million per year by FY 2024.

About the Kelly Partners share price

Kelly Partners provides accounting services to small to medium-sized businesses and private clients. The company has offices in NSW, Victoria and Hong Kong.

In the year to 30 June 2020, Kelly Partners increased its net profit after tax to $4 million, up 64.8% compared to the prior year. The company had revenue of $46.4 million in the 2020 financial year, an increase of 16% compared to FY2019. The company's underlying EBITDA in FY 2020 was $13.7 million, up 26.1% compared to the prior year.

In June, Kelly Partners acquired an accounting firm based in Bathurst, NSW. The acquisition was expected to deliver recurring revenue of $270,000 and add $130,000 to EBITDA. The acquired firm was set to move into Kelly Partners existing office in Bathurst. The company also announced that it was in acquisition discussions with several other firms.

The Kelly Partners share price is up 132.14% since its 52-week low of 56 cents, and has increased 30% since the beginning of the year. The Kelly Partners share price is up 34.02% since this time last year.

The post Why the Kelly Partners (ASX:KPG) share price hit a 52-week high today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Here's a short recap of the Australian market:

• S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) lower 0.57% to 6,710.20
• ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) lower 0.61% to 6,814.70
• AUD/USD at US 68 cents
• Gold at US$1,528.37 an ounce
• Brent Oil at US$62.59 a barrel

The best-performing ASX 200 share today was the Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) share price. It finished 13% after a broker upgrade and an AUSTRAC update.

The falling oil price caused the Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) share price to decline by 5.6%.

Global news is having a negative effect on businesses that are affected by what's going on in the world. The Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) share price fell 4.7% today.

Another of the biggest falls today belonged to the Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) share price which dropped 5.4%.

The share price of Fonterra Shareholders' Fund (ASX: FSF) rose 0.3% after announcing it had achieved a $1 billion debt reduction.

The 1300 Smiles Limited (ASX: ONT) share price fell 0.3% as it reported it was looking into a potential large acquisition.

The share price of Kelly Partners Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: KPG) rose around 10% after making an acquisition announcement.

Finally, the share price of Bingo Industries Ltd (ASX: BIN) fell 4% after announcing it has agreed to sell Banksmeadow facility to CPE Capital for $50 million.

Here are some of today's top stories:    

• How many of these financial bucket list items can you tick off?
• 5 stocks to buy under $5
• Should you help out a friend with money?
• 3 reasons why I think Altium is the best ASX growth share to buy

The post ALL ORDINARIES finishes lower Wednesday: 8 ASX shares you missed appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

ASX futures pointing lower.

Unfortunately, on Tuesday the Australian share market is expected to open the day deep in the red. According to the latest SPI futures, the S&P/ASX 200 is poised to open 0.8% or 47 points lower. This follows a disappointing night of trade on Wall Street which saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average fall 1.5%, the S&P 500 decline 0.6%, and the Nasdaq slide 1.6% lower.

Oil prices lower.

Oil prices have started the week on a disappointing note. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price has fallen 1.4% to US$66.65 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has dropped 1% to US$76.88 a barrel. This could put pressure on Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) shares today.

All eyes on Corporate Travel Management.

There is a small chance that Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) shares could emerge from their trading halt today ahead of schedule. The corporate travel specialist requested the halt on Monday in order to respond to allegations made by a short seller. VGI Partner's 176-page research report identified 20 red flags relating to the company's financial reporting and disclosures.

Annual general meetings.

It is set to be another busy day of annual general meetings on Tuesday. Regional bank Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN), VoIP service provider MNF Group Ltd (ASX: MNF), and telecommunications company Vocus Group Ltd (ASX: VOC) are all scheduled to hold their respective meetings today.

Dividends being paid.

Long-suffering shareholders of aged care operator Japara Healthcare Ltd (ASX: JHC) and chartered accounting company Kelly Partners Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: KPG) will finally have a reason to smile on Tuesday when their latest dividends are paid. Eligible Japara shareholders will receive a partially franked 3.75 cents per share dividend and Kelly Partners shareholders are due to receive a fully franked 1.1 cents per share dividend.

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX on Tuesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.