Inflation and interest rate hikes have inflicted a lot of damage in the last few months. Central banks are trying to do what they can to calm down demand and slow price increases.

Some companies have been hit hard by the difficult economic situation, while others are barely over the impacts of COVID-19.

So while share prices are down, it can be very interesting when a director decides to buy shares.

Directors may decide to sell shares for a number of different reasons, but the reason to invest in the market is usually because of just one factor – the director thinks the business is good value.

Here's why this S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) share could be an underrated buy.

Buy signal for this ASX 200 share?

Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) has been through plenty of volatility since the start of COVID-19.

It was announced that director Ilana Atlas recently bought 50,000 Scentre shares on the market at an average price of $2.935 per security. That translates into a total investment of around $147,000, bringing the director's total ownership to 130,856 Scentre shares.

This investment comes after Scentre, the owner of Westfield shopping centres in Australia and New Zealand, unveiled its FY22 results a couple of weeks ago.

It revealed that its funds from operations (FFO) – essentially the net rental profit – increased by 20.6% to $1.04 billion. The FFO was 20.06 in per-security terms. It also announced that its distribution would be 15.75 cents per security, up 10.5%. Both the FFO and distribution were more than guided.

In 2022, it saw 480 million customer visits, up by 67 million compared to 2021. When it announced its result, Scentre revealed that in 2023 to date it had seen 70 million customer visits, an increase of more than 10 million compared to the same period in 2022.

The business noted that its portfolio occupancy increased to 98.9% at 31 December 2022, up from 98.7% at the end of 2021.

Looking ahead

The ASX 200 share gave guidance for the year ahead, revealing that it's expecting FFO for 2023 to be in the range of 20.75 cents to 21.25 cents per security, an increase of between 3.4% to 5.9% for the year.

The distribution is expected to be at least 16.50 cents per security, which would represent an increase of 4.8% for the year. At the current Scentre share price of $3.02, that distribution guidance represents a yield of 5.2%.

The post Guess which ASX 200 director just bought 50,000 of their company's shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares are down a collective 0.3% today amid companies continuing to release their results during the first earnings season of 2023.

Here we take a peek at the results from an ASX retail share, an ASX financial share, and a real estate investment trust (REIT).

Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV)

Shares in this ASX 200 jewellery retailer are up 0.6% to $24.20 in early afternoon trading. Lovisa reported continuing strong sales and profit growth, with 86 new stores (net) opened during the period. The Lovisa store network now totals 715.

Here are the highlights of Lovisa's 1H FY23 report:

• Revenue up 44.8% to $315.5 million compared to the prior corresponding period (pcp) of 1H FY22
• Comparable store sales up 12.5% pcp
• Gross margin of 80.3% with gross profit up 48.4% pcp to $253.2 million
• Net profit after tax (NPAT) up 31.9% pcp to $47.7 million
• Operating cash flow of $115.8 million, up 49.4% pcp
• Net cash of $24 million

The ASX 200 retail share will pay a fully franked dividend of 38 cents per share on 20 April.

AUB Group Ltd (ASX: AUB)

Shares in ASX 200 insurance broker AUB Group are up 0.85% to $26.61 in early afternoon trading. The insurer said ongoing network optimisation, disciplined acquisitions, and enhanced broker propositions led to revenue growth and margin expansion in its Australian broking division. The 1H FY23 results include three months of contribution from Tysers, with its "revenue and profit … above expectations".

Here are the highlights of AUB's half-year report:

• Underlying NPAT of $46.7 million, up from $30.6 million pcp
• Underlying earnings per share (EPS) of 48.18 cents, up from 40.3 cents pcp
• NPAT of $400,000, down from $29.7 million, largely due to acquisition expenses
• FY23 underlying NPAT guidance upgraded to a range of $112.9 million to $121.4 million

The ASX 200 financial share will pay a fully franked dividend of 17 cents per share on 4 April.

Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)

This ASX 200 property share is up 2.6% to $2.90 in early afternoon trading. Scentre Group presented its full-year results for 2022 today.

Here are the highlights for the year ending 31 December:

• Revenue up 7.8% pcp to $2,458 million
• Profit after tax up 18.1% to $970.2 million
• Operating cash flow per share up 29.3% to 22.78 cents per share
• Operating profit per share attributable to Scentre Group members up 20.8% to 19.71 cents

The A-REIT announced last week that it will pay a partially franked distribution of 8.25 cents per share on 28 February.

The post 3 ASX 200 shares defying the market following earnings announcements appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

ASX 200 investors who want to receive that dividend payout, take note.

So, without further ado…

3 ASX 200 shares trading ex-dividend before the end of this week

First up we have Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG).

The ASX 200 insurance company reported its half-year results on Monday, which included a six cents per share (cps) interim dividend, 30% franked. IAG currently trades on a trailing yield of 2.3%.

IAG trades ex that dividend tomorrow, 16 February, so time is running short for this one! The dividend will be paid on 23 March.

Next up, we have Scentre Group (ASX: SCG). Scentre currently trades on a trailing yield of 5.0%.

The ASX 200 retail giant declared an 8.3 cent per share interim dividend, unfranked.

Scentre Group also trades ex-dividend on Thursday with a payment date of 28 February.

Which brings us to Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC). Lendlease currently trades on a trailing yield of 1.9%.

The ASX 200 property and infrastructure group reported its half-year earnings on Monday.

Despite reporting a statutory loss after tax of $141 million, the board declared a 4.9 cents per share, unfranked interim dividend, which was down from 5 cents per share in the prior corresponding half-year.

Investors have a bit more time to snag this payout, with Lendlease trading ex-dividend on Friday, 17 February. The payment date is 8 March.

The post 3 ASX 200 shares trading ex-dividend before the end of this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Australian home values are falling at their fastest rate since the global financial crisis, so will ASX property shares go down with them?

According to CoreLogic data, home prices fell 5.3% in 2022. Back in 2008, they dropped 6.4%. (These numbers combine all types of residential properties — houses, townhouses, and apartments).

The price declines in 2022 were greatest in Sydney (down 12.1%) and Melbourne (down 8.1%).

But what happened to ASX property shares?

If home values drop, will ASX property shares fall too?

Let's take a look at what happened to ASX property shares or real estate investment trust (REITs) in 2022.

Real estate is one of the 11 sectors of the ASX. Over 2022, the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) fell 24%. This compares to a 5.5% drop in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

As seen here, individual results among the REITs varied substantially.

This is the top 10 ASX property shares by market capitalisation:

Why did ASX property shares fall in 2022?

The important thing for investors to note is that the bulk of REITs are either not associated with the residential housing market, or have only limited exposure.

Most of them hold portfolios comprising retail property, offices, and industrial property such as warehouses and shopping centres. There are exceptions, of course, like apartment developer Mirvac Group.

However, in a climate of rising interest rates, ASX REITs with substantial debt or leveraging will be affected. Why this occurs is obvious — interest costs are rising, while property values are falling.

The REIT companies that build property have also been subject to the rising costs of inputs like timber due to inflation and ongoing global supply chain disruptions.

ASX property shares can also be affected by falling land values in a market downturn. This reduces the value of the assets on their books.

But remember, most of these REITs are not holding property with the aim to sell it and distribute capital gains to shareholders. REITs are traditionally much more of a yield play than a growth play.

And therein lies an opportunity with REIT shares for investors today.

REITs are reliable dividend payers

ASX property shares tend to involve commercial property, and average tenancies are much longer term than residential leases. Traditionally, rental returns are steadier, hence distributions are relatively stable.

REIT yields are presently higher because share prices fell so much in 2022.

One of the highest dividend payers among ASX property shares is the Centuria Office REIT (ASX: COF). Its share price dropped 35% last year and it is $1.60 today. That gives it a trailing dividend yield of 9.5%.

There are also ASX property shares that aim to deliver more share price growth than yield. Goodman Group is a great example.

Over the past five years, the Goodman share price has risen by 150%. That includes the 25% decline in 2022. So, that's an average annual share price gain of 30% per year. A residential property could never match that. Goodman is forecasting an 11% growth in earnings per share (EPS) for FY23.

Should I buy property or shares?

Whether ASX shares or property is a better investment is an age-old debate among investors that will rage on forever. Ideally, a bit of both is the way to go because it provides investment diversification.

But if you had to choose one, ASX shares might be more appealing for several reasons.

The scale of initial investment is probably the biggest drawcard of shares. ASX shares investing allows you to start with lower funds, so you can use savings instead of borrowings to get started. They're certainly less hassle, and there are no holding costs (outside of the interest on any margin loan you get to invest).

But the capital gain you'll get from ASX property shares is likely to be smaller. Over the past five years, the A-REIT index has risen by only 7%.

So, investors who choose shares over bricks-and-mortar property might pick a few ASX growth shares for capital gains and some ASX dividend shares (perhaps including property shares) for reliable income.

The post House prices are tanking. Will ASX property shares go down with them? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Analysts are tipping three S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares to lift to a higher value than their current share prices.

Resmed Inc (ASX: RMD), Vicinity Centres (ASX: VCX), and Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) shares have all just been upgraded by brokers.

Let's take a look at these three ASX 200 shares in more detail.

Resmed

This ASX 200 healthcare share develops and supplies medical devices to treat sleep and respiratory conditions. The company's revenue lifted 5% in the first quarter of 2023 to $950.3 million.

Citi analysts have placed a buy rating on the Resmed share price with a $37 price target, the Australian reported. This implies an upside of 13% on the current share price.

Resmed shares are up 0.43% at the time of writing today and fetching $32.83. The ASX 200 has also lifted into the green today, up 0.25%.

The Resmed share price has fallen around 1% over the past 12 months.

Vicinity Centres

Vicinity invests and develops property, including shopping malls. In FY22, the ASX 200 share acquired a 50% interest in the Harbour Town premium outlets on the Gold Coast. Vicinity's profit lifted by $1.2 billion in FY22 compared to FY21.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley have raised Vicinity to equal weight with a $2.26 price target, according to the publication. Vicinity shares are rising 0.74% today to $2.055. Morgan Stanley's price target on Vicinity implies an upside of 10% on the current share price.

The Vicinity share price has soared almost 21% in a year.

Scentre Group

Scentre owns premium shopping malls in Australia and New Zealand. The company's sales growth lifted by $3.5 billion in the 9 months to September 2022, compared to the corresponding time frame in 2021.

Scentre Group shares are 0.66% higher today and currently trading at $3.03. Morgan Stanley has lifted its rating on Scentre share price to overweight with a $3.55 price target. This implies an upside of 17% on today's share price.

Scentre shares have slipped 0.5% in the last year.

The post 3 ASX 200 shares tipped to rise higher: experts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

It's a phenomenon regularly seen that the worst-performing ASX sectors in one year turn it around to have a belter the next year.

After all, if some ASX shares have been pummelled, the heavy discounting gives it more upside when the market inevitably rotates its love back to them.

With this pivot in mind, Shaw and Partners senior investment advisor Adam Dawes stuck his neck out this week to name two sectors that are set to boom in 2023.

And what's more, he dared to name four stocks in those industries that he would buy now:

Watch healthcare and technology stocks over the next 12 months

While he still felt "slightly contrarian" making this claim, Dawes felt like now is the time to revisit some unloved industries.

"You've got to start to potentially start dipping your toe back into the consumer discretionary space and certainly the tech space," he told Switzer TV Investing.

Technology completely fell out of favour in 2022 due to rising interest rates that are adverse to high-growth businesses.

And the central banks' attempts to bring down inflation by slamming consumer wallets have put the fear of God into investors about retailers that are not selling staples.

Dawes feels like they've both been punished enough and those sectors could make a roaring comeback in 2023.

"In the new year, once interest rates potentially stabilise — we might even see some interest rates starting to fall — that will give that consumer discretionary space a bit of a boost."

4 best ASX shares to buy in health and tech

Dawes named three ASX shares in discretionary retail and one technology stock to lead the comeback:

• Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV)
• Universal Store Holdings Ltd (ASX: UNI)
• Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)
• Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)

Shares for budget jewellery retailer Lovisa have already bucked the trend, gaining 80% since mid-June. Youth fashion merchant Universal Store has also seen its stock price rocket more than 62% upwards over the same period.

Operator of Westfield shopping malls, Scentre Group, is a good buy for those who are seeking a more generalist play.

"If you want to go broader, something like Scentre Group, because then you get all the stores at once putting in money."

In the tech sector, Xero investors have watched in horror as their shares have lost more than 55% year to date.

The market reacted negatively to the latest update that showed overseas growth was not up to expected levels and that a new chief executive would be starting in the new year.

But for Dawes, this just presents a buying opportunity with a long-term horizon.

"Xero is a classic example of where we really want to be getting some positions in — probably early in the new year versus later on."

The post 4 ASX shares to buy in the sectors set to explode in 2023: expert appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

For more than a decade, investors became rich from ASX growth shares — but all that changed almost overnight late last year.

As the very infectious Omicron variant of COVID-19 struck the world in November, share markets turned against growth, and haven't really looked back since.

In such an environment, The Motley Fool has certainly noticed a big change in attention towards dividend shares.

The logic among investors seems to be that if capital growth is so anaemic, you might as well grab some income to make up for it.

However, the team at Wilsons had a stark warning for dividend hunters.

"However, high yield stocks have proven to underperform the market on a long-term view," its recent memo to clients read.

"We therefore believe a dividend strategy cannot solely rely on high yielding stocks to be successful."

The checklist for quality ASX dividend shares

For Wilsons analysts, it's imperative to search for businesses that grow dividends over time. That might mean sacrificing some yield now.

"We think selecting a dividend strategy by its initial yield is a poor choice because the growth of the dividend over time ultimately determines the income payouts in future years."

Also, a high current dividend yield tells nothing about the business performance or its outlook.

"Therefore, we think it is also paramount to consider companies based on their competitive positioning and industry backdrop, their earnings quality, and their long-term growth outlook."

Considering this, the team screened the S&P/ASX 100 [XTO] (ASX: XTO) for businesses that met the following criteria:

• Financial year 2025 dividend yield greater than 2%
• Positive or flat three-year forecast dividend per share compound annual growth rate
• Balance between growth and yield
• Predictable earnings supported by "relatively defensive demand" through economic cycles
• Decent moat or industry outlook
• No iron ore miners, which Wilsons believes to be in structural decline 

Using this screen, the team came up with 22 ASX shares that are providing 2023 financial year yields above 3%:

• Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)
• Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ)
• Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)
• APA Group (ASX: APA)
• Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG)
• National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)
• Ampol Ltd (ASX: ALD)
• Transurban Group (ASX: TCL)
• Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)
• Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS)
• Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN)
• Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)
• Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL)
• Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG)
• Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP)
• Charter Hall Group (ASX: CHC)
• Carsales.Com Ltd (ASX: CAR)
• Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE)
• ALS Ltd (ASX: ALQ)
• Steadfast Group Ltd (ASX: SDF)
• Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW)
• Seek Limited (ASX: SEK)

"Overall, we think it is worth taking a holistic view of total return when considering a dividend strategy," read the memo. 

"Investors should adopt a total return approach when selecting stocks for their portfolios by thinking long-term and understanding that earnings growth will support long-term dividend income."

The post 22 high-yield ASX dividend shares Wilsons is targeting appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) share price is scampering upwards today as investors absorb the company's latest half-year results.

In early trade, shares in the Westfield shopping centre operator are swapping hands for $2.875 apiece — a tidy gain of 3.42%. For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is spluttering lower, dropping 0.57% this morning.

Let's check the details of the company's report.

Scentre share price embraces earnings rebound

• Revenue up 8.8% from the prior corresponding period to $1,176.3 million
• Customer visits year-to-date up 5.1% to 277 million
• Portfolio occupancy up 30 basis points to 98.8%
• Operating profit up 17.5% to $540.5 million
• Net operating income up 6% to $883.6 million
• Distribution of 7.5 cents per share, up 7.1%

What else happened during the half?

Pleasingly, the half involved several notable operational achievements for Scentre Group.

Firstly, the property manager demonstrated some level of inflation resistance. Inflation is now above 6% compared to a year ago. However, Scentre managed to increase its average rent across the portfolio by $5 per square metre, now sitting at $827 per square metre.

Furthermore, average speciality rents increased 5.6% during the reporting period. Management highlighted that its standard lease structure for specialty leases has built-in inflation protection.

Another positive for the Scentre share price was the improvement in gross rent cash collections. This is the lifeblood of Scentre. In the first half of 2022, collections increased 18% to $1,250 million.

What did management say?

In light of the outstanding performance, Scentre Group CEO-elect Elliott Rusanow stated:

Our approach to capital management during the period has seen the Group execute new and extended bank facilities of $2.6 billion, including syndicated bank facilities of $1.4 billion. As a result, the Group has available liquidity of $4.8 billion, sufficient to cover all debt maturities until the fourth quarter of 2025.

Adding:

Our business is in a strong position to deliver long-term growth by being essential to people, their communities and the businesses that interact with them.

What's next?

Looking forward, management kept its forecasts short and sweet. For the full year, the Scentre Group team is expecting a 14.2% increase in funds from operations to 19 cents per share security.

Likewise, income investors should be pleased to know management is expecting growth in its full-year distribution. Scentre's distribution is expected to grow by 5.3% to 15 cents per security for FY22.

Scentre Group share price snapshot

Today's gain is a welcomed sight given the performance of the Scentre share price this year. On a year-to-date basis, shares in the group have tumbled more than 8%. This represents an underperformance of even the broad Aussie benchmark index.

The group now offers a dividend yield of 5.3%. This compares to an industry average yield of 4.4%.

The post Scentre share price glows green as operating profits soar 18% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) mining and tech shares weighed on the market on Monday. The ASX 200 index was 1.14% lower at 6,602.20 points when the market closed.

Its suffering came on the back of a mixed session on Wall Street. The S&P 500 slipped close to 0.1% on Friday while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.15%. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ Composite rose 0.12%.

The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) plunged more than 2% on Monday, potentially on the back of falling base metals. Iron ore futures lifted 0.4% on Friday to trade at US$113.76 – 1.3% lower than it ended the previous week.

Today wasn't much better on the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ). The sector also plunged more than 2% on Monday, driven lower by the EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) share price's 24% tumble. The company notified the market of its CEO's unexpected departure this morning.  

The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) posted a slight gain today, potentially on the back of higher oil and coal prices.

At the end of Monday's trade, two of the ASX 200's 11 sectors were in the green.

But not all shares suffered today. Read on to find out which ASX shares bested the rest to post Monday's biggest gains.

Top 10 ASX shares countdown

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the top performer among ASX's 200 biggest companies by market capitalisation is coal producer New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC).

The company's share price lifted around 5% today, likely due to rising coal prices. Read more about New Hope Corporation here.

The Meridian Energy Ltd (ASX: MEZ) share price was the second best performer, gaining around 4%. Catch up on what's been happening with Meridian Energy here.

Today's top 10 biggest gains were made by these ASX shares:

Data as at 3:59 pm AEST.

Our top 10 ASX shares today countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to ensure you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the market has closed during weekdays to see which stocks make the countdown.

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

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is sinking lower over this Wednesday's trading session thus far today, giving investors a mid-week slump. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has dropped by 0.35% to just around the 6,600 points mark.

But let's not allow that to get us down. So instead of dwelling on the market's falls, let's check out the ASX 200 shares that are currently topping the share market's trading volume charts today, according to investing.com.

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Wednesday

Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)

ASX 200 real estate investment trust (REIT) Scentre Group is first up this Wednesday. A sizeable 12.52 million Scentre shares have changed hands as it currently stands. We haven't had any news out of Scentre either.

But the Westfield operator seems to be having the opposite problem to our next share. In defiance of the broader market, Scentre shares have lifted by a pleasing 3.05% to $2.70 a unit at the time of writing. It's likely this lift that is behind Scentre's elevated trading volume.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Our next ASX 200 share today is lithium producer Pilbara Minerals. This ASX lithium stock has had a notable 12.64 million shares swap owners on the share market this Wednesday thus far. There's been no news out of the company today.

However, that has not stopped the Pilbara share price from taking a nasty tumble. The company is currently down by a nasty 4.2% at $2.16 a share. It's this fall that is probably responsible for the volumes we are seeing.

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

Our third, final, and most traded ASX 200 share today is diversified mining company South32. South32 has had a hefty 22.96 million of its shares bought and sold on the share market. This has almost certainly been caused by the collapse in the South32 share price that we've seen this Wednesday.

South32 shares are presently down by a nasty 7.66% at $3.56 each. As my Fool colleague James covered this morning, this seems to be the result of a pullback in global commodity prices we've seen over the past 24 hours or so.

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

The Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) share price is shaking off the wider market sell-off to gain 0.4% at the lunch hour.

Scentre shares closed yesterday at $2.77 and are currently trading for $2.78. This comes as the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 1%.

The Australian real estate investment trust (REIT) released its first-quarter update for the three months ending 31 March today.

What happened during the quarter?

Scentre compared many of its quarterly performance statistics to 2019 — before the global pandemic ushered in lengthy store closures for the retail group.

The Scentre share price could be getting a boost today from its report, which shows customer visitation numbers are back to 88% of the 2019 figures and 112% of the 2021 numbers.

The company's total majors and specialty sales were 7.1% higher in the first quarter of 2022 compared to Q1 2019.

Scentre also reported strong occupancy across its portfolio, with 98.7% leased as of 31 March. The company said that some 80% of its specialty leases are inflation-linked with average annual rent increases of CPI plus 2%. Specialty rent represents approximately 90% of its net operating income.

Stepping a month beyond the Q1 update, Scentre reported its gross rent collections for the first four months of 2022 (through to 30 April) came in at $800 million.

In Q1, the REIT also completed 536 leasing deals. Those deals included signing on 237 new merchants, with 50 new brands introduced into Scentre's portfolio.

During the first quarter, the Scentre share price fell 6.5%.

What did Scentre management say?

Commenting on the first-quarter results, Scentre CEO Peter Allen said:

I am very pleased with the Group's operating performance for the first quarter. We have continued to drive more visitation and saw a significant increase in sales for our business partners, above pre-pandemic levels…

During the quarter, we opened the $55 million rooftop entertainment, leisure and dining precinct at Westfield Mt Druitt. During the first month of trading, customer visitation and dwell time has significantly increased, with an overall increase of 56% compared to the same period last year.

Addressing Scentre's preparations for higher interest rates in the years ahead, Scentre's CFO and CEO-Elect Elliott Rusanow added:

The Group has restructured its interest rate hedging profile to increase hedging in 2023 and 2024. Interest rate hedging at January 2023 has been increased from 50% to approximately 65%, with a weighted average rate of 1.87%. At January 2024 interest rate hedging has increased from 40% to approximately 50% with a weighted average rate of 1.79%.

What's next for Scentre Group?

Looking ahead, Allen said he was confident about the future of the business.

"The underlying structure of our revenue with inflation linked leases, provides long-term growth for our securityholders," he said. "In light of the improving conditions and strong performance of our business, earnings are expected to grow in excess of 5.3% in 2022."

Scentre said it expects to distribute at least 15 cents per security in 2022, an increase of at least 5.3% year-on-year.

Scentre share price snapshot

The Scentre share price is up 3.5% over the past 12 months. That compares to a 0.5% full-year loss posted by the ASX 200.

The post Scentre share price defies ASX 200 sell-off to lift on strong earnings outlook appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Many ASX property shares have come under pressure in recent weeks, as concerns over rising interest rates have weighed on investor sentiment.

Unease amid macroeconomic events has led to a sell-off in the sector, with some real estate shares seeing notable losses. While the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has slipped 4.2% lower in the past week, the real estate sector is 9.2% worse off.

In light of the situation, we are taking a look at three ASX property shares that are currently debt-heavy. As such, these companies could suffer further falls in the event of additional interest rate hikes.

Debt strapped property shares on the ASX

Before we dive into these companies, it is important to note that high debt levels don't necessarily mean financial trouble is inevitable. At present, all three have interest payments 'well covered' by their earnings before interest and tax (EBIT).

Although, with debt-to-equity ratios above 50%, these ASX property shares are certainly in a more precarious position than they would be if debts were below 40%.

Centuria Office REIT (ASX: COF)

We begin with the least indebted ASX property share on our list, both in percentage and absolute terms. Centuria Office REIT is a real estate investment trust (REIT) operating under the guidance of Centuria Capital Group (ASX: CNI).

As of 31 December 2021, the office real estate-focused REIT recorded $810.22 million worth of debt on its balance sheet. This figure corresponds with a 54.5% debt-to-equity ratio, which is considered high. Even after cash is factored in, the net debt level is around 48%.

Despite this, analysts at Morgans are expecting a distribution of 17 cents per unit in FY23.

Cromwell Property Group (ASX: CMW)

The next ASX property share on our list is the 'cheapest' based on price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios. Global real estate fund manager Cromwell Property Group operates across Europe, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand with a total of $12.1 billion in assets under management.

At the end of last year, Cromwell reportedly held $2.166 billion worth of debt on its balance sheet. This translates to an 80.3% debt-to-equity ratio, which reduces to 76.3% net of cash. Though, it is worth mentioning the group maintained a 22% profit margin during the depths of the pandemic.

Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)

Lastly, the final installment in our debt-burdened ASX property shares is Scentre Group. This real estate company is known for its portfolio consisting of 42 Westfield centres mostly scattered throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Scentre Group is the most debt-loaded out of our three shares, carrying a total of $15.918 billion worth of debt. Doing the sums, this works out to be a debt-to-equity ratio of 83% and 78% net of cash.

Fortunately for shareholders, the group has swung back into profitability after a difficult period in 2020. However, investors are understandably cautious about how higher interest rates might make operations more expensive for ASX-listed property shares like Scentre Group looking forward.

The post Feel the squeeze: 3 ASX property shares with a whole lot of debt appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Two of the big reasons why ASX shares have been so volatile this year are persistent inflation and rising interest rates.

Many experts say the most direct way to get around such headwinds is to invest in businesses that can set their own prices.

This can happen if the company provides a product or service so unique that there is not much competition, or its market share is so dominant that customers are unlikely to depart even if prices went up.

Such pricing power can offset higher supplier costs or interest rates, thereby preserving margins and earnings.

"As the inflation dynamic becomes more significant, the ability of companies to pass through input cost increases to their customers is one of the most significant themes for investors to understand," said Martin Currie Australia chief investment officer Reece Birtles.

"Companies that have done well in this respect either have in-built inflation protections for their revenue streams and supply chains, or inflation leverage in their profit margins."

Birtles then named three examples of ASX shares that fit this bill:

Product makers are naming their own prices, while service providers flounder

The first thing to note is that the type of business with pricing power seems to have changed in recent months.

"Until recently, service providers – typically growth-stye stocks – were more likely to be able to increase prices," said Birtles.

"But now it is goods companies that appear to have a better ability to quickly pass through their input cost increases in a transparent manner."

The shortage of labour in the post-COVID era is causing a bottleneck for service providers.

"Service companies are seeing higher costs in IT, compliance and wages, but with less price elasticity, meaning they cannot push prices up and still maintain sales."

During last reporting season, Birtles' team met executives of more than 100 companies to analyse how they're coping with inflation.

The 3 ASX shares that stood out for him are:

• Amcor CDI (ASX: AMC)
• Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)
• APA Group (ASX: APA)

Packaging maker Amcor has dealt with higher costs by increasing prices, but this has not affected sales.

"Due to the essential nature of the goods they sell, Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) and other supermarket businesses are doing a solid job of holding their gross profit margins by passing through the rising cost of goods."

Amcor shares are down 2.7% for the year so far.

Scentre operates the ubiquitous Westfield shopping malls in Australia.

"Accelerating inflation has been a positive for Scentre Group's regional and super-regional shopping centres," said Birtles.

"They have high tenant occupancy and rental contracts with CPI-adjusted lease renewal mechanisms."

The Scentre share price is down more than 10% so far in 2022.

APA Group is an owner of gas infrastructure — a great position to be in during times of rising energy prices.

Utility and infrastructure companies often have contracts with clients that have inflation-linked price rises already baked in. 

"Gas pipeline company APA Group's operating expenses are a modest part of revenues, while revenue contracts are typically long-term take or pay with CPI-linkage mechanisms. 

"As inflation increases, the dollar value of cash flow will increase."

The APA stock price has gained more than 15% this year.

The post 3 ASX companies that can raise prices whenever they want appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Ask A Fund Manager

The Motley Fool chats with fund managers so that you can get an insight into how the professionals think. In this edition, Atlas Funds Management chief investment officer Hugh Dive explains why the ASX shares that are his two biggest holdings are so fantastic.

Investment style

The Motley Fool: How would you describe your fund to a potential client?

Hugh Dive: I'm Hugh Dive from Atlas Funds Management, here to talk to you about the Atlas High Income Property Fund. This is an income-related property fund. We're owning a bunch of real assets and are executing a covered-call strategy over the assets that we hold. So this allows us to collect dividends. 

We've chosen real assets, namely listed infrastructure and listed property, in that their distributions aren't particularly volatile, and so they're much easier to write calls over. Unlike, for example, the banks or miners, where the distributions can be very volatile. [Real estate ASX shares] don't move around that much. That's a great thing for us. 

Secondly, we're selling a covered call strategy over this, allowing us to harvest extra income for our investors. Systematically, we'd see that investors overestimate the blue sky, and that results in close to 80% of our calls that we sell expiring worthless, and that's a good source of income for our investors. This allows us to pay investors 7%, or 1.75%, every quarter. 

The fund has been running since early 2017. It's listed on the ASX under code AFM01. 

It's a growing one that's doing quite well at the moment, in that real assets are viewed as quite popular, and the covered-call strategy is working well.

Biggest convictions

MF: What are your two biggest holdings?

HD: The two biggest holdings are Shopping Cntrs Austrls Prprty Gp Re Ltd (ASX: SCP) and Arena REIT No 1 (ASX: ARF). 

SCA Property Group is a group that owns 91 shopping centres, and these are not the glitzy Westfield centres you see in the centre of the city, but generally a Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) or Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) with a Dan Murphy's or a BWS right next to it. So, very consumer staples sort of retailing. 

[It had] done very well during [COVID-19]. People still had to eat. People still enjoy drinking alcohol. 

The 91 shopping centres are worth around $4.4 billion, and the part we like about it is they're very long lease terms. The average lease term is close to 10 years, and it's all linked to inflation. So, this would be a beneficiary of further inflation, particularly food inflation, in that the landlords of shopping centres, like SCA, have base rent plus a turnover rent component, so they get a bit of extra when more money's going through. So, food inflation is a very good thing for this company.

The second-biggest holding we have in the portfolio is a company called Arena REIT. That is a company that owns 256 childcare and healthcare centres across Australia. Again, a very long lease term. We like long lease terms. The lease term there is even greater, at 20 years — all linked to inflation. 

We saw during March 2020, Arena REIT fell very heavily, thinking that people weren't going to go to childcare centres. Then the government stepped in. Despite the fact it was down close to 40% in March, [there was] absolutely no change to their earnings. All tracking along. It's all linked to inflation. 

One of the great parts about Arena REIT is their lease structure's quite different to most property trusts in that they're triple lease backed. That means the person renting the centre has to pay maintenance costs, any ongoing taxes, and any improvement costs into it. So it means there's a very clean pass-through, whereas the likes of Dexus Property Group (ASX: DXS) or Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) actually have to pay to upgrade their assets. 

So very stable, very high visibility on earnings, and very long-running earnings. They're two companies that are our two biggest holdings, and we're very, very happy with how they've been going. 

MF: Is the fact that Arena's agreement with its tenants a little bit different, is that a consequence of the childcare industry, is it? 

HD: Correct. There's often quirks in the different sectors. For example, one of the quirks in the office property trust area is tenants get offered incentives, and that incentive moves around from 10% [to] 30% of the lease, and that's generally structured in terms of fit-outs or even just straight out cashback. So, you pay a headline rate of $1000 a square metre, but you really might only be paying $700. 

MF: I see the Arena share price has done really well. It's now well above its pre-COVID high? 

HD: Yeah. It was quite a wild time during COVID for a lot of these property trusts, where the market viewed that anything to do with a real asset or real estate was suddenly worthless and it was all going to go down. 

But what's shown over the last couple of years is that that is not to be true. 

There was a view that toll roads were going to be stranded assets. No one's ever going to use a toll road. Certainly, no one's going to an office again. Shopping centres were going to be cavernous, empty houses filled with pigeons, and childcare centres and medical centres weren't going to get used. 

And it's all proved to be false. 

One of the benefits of experience and having done this a long while is that these extreme situations rarely play out, and you have to attach a low probability to fundamental changes in human behaviour. 

When I look at disasters for real estate, in 480 BC, the Persian king Xerxes sacked the agora in Athens, and that impacted Athenian retail sales, as shoppers were put to the sword and the city was burnt. But a mere 10 years later, it was all rebuilt, and Athenian retail sales continued to increase. And indeed, I was actually at this several-thousand-year-old shopping centre about a year or two ago and bought some items there. 

Human beings will bounce back. It didn't turn out to be that human beings would permanently sit in their caves and never come out again because that's just against human nature. We like to dine out. We like to buy things. And in offices, we like to congregate together in order to increase productivity. 

MF: Even caves are real assets, so someone's got to rent those. 

HD: Ha ha ha, yeah.

The post Humans don't change: Expert names 2 ASX shares that exploit our urges appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Some of the biggest moves among ASX shares that you likely followed would include the Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) merger with Oil Search, completed in December.

Or buy now, pay later (BNPL) star Afterpay's acquisition by global fintech giant Block Inc (ASX: SQ2), approved by shareholders in December.

And how can we forget Sydney Aviation Alliance's $23.6 billion private takeover bid for Sydney Airport? An acquisition that was completed following court approval in February.

But according to broker Wilsons, 2022 could see even more takeover action among ASX shares.

Records are made to be broken

Wilsons notes that in 2021 10% of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) market cap was involved in M&A.

But despite a slow start to M&A in 2022, the broker believes it will still be a strong year for additional takeovers.

Among the reasons we could see another record year for M&A among ASX shares, Wilsons cites pent-up demand for transactions due to COVID delays, topped up by large pools of capital yet to be deployed.

The broker also points to the fact that earnings yields are much higher than corporate borrowing costs, "providing the financial ammunition for M&A transactions".

According to Wilsons:

Our work highlights that close to 20% of S&P/ASX 100 companies could potentially look financially attractive to an acquirer. Our list of vulnerable names to M&A all generate enough earnings and cash flow that they would effectively be 'self-funding' for an acquirer.

Which ASX shares are primed for takeover?

Wilsons applied 3 screening methods to winnow down the ASX shares that look primed for takeover.

Namely:

• Earnings yield (the inverse of the price to earnings (P/E) ratio)
• Free-Cash-Flow (FCF) yield
• Relative share price underperformance

The broker added its own quantitative screen to eliminate ASX shares like BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), which it believes is too big to be an M&A target.

After running the numbers, Wilsons came up with 5 ASX shares that ticked all 3 screens.

First up, personal protective equipment and safety device provider, Ansell Limited (ASX: ANN).

On Ansell, Wilsons noted:

Significant share price underperformance on a large profit warning suggests structural factors may need to be addressed. Global exposure could fit in with large conglomerate consumables company or PE backed bid.

Also ticking all 3 screens is integrated services provider Downer EDI Limited (ASX: DOW).

Wilsons commented on Downer:

Valuation misconception, business now more focused following divestments. Structural trends of urbanisation and outsourcing of both private/public services.

The next ASX share primed for a 2022 takeover is global packaging company Amcor CDI (ASX: AMC).

According to Wilsons, Amcor is, "Well run and with an under geared balance sheet vs US peers, with strong FCF yield. Global scale likely to present a barrier."

Fourth on the list (in no particular order) is toll road operator and developer, Atlas Arteria Group (ASX: ALX).

For Atlas, Wilsons said, "Long dated toll road concessions could be vulnerable to private infrastructure asset managers."

And the fifth ASX share that looks primed for a 2022 takeover is Scentre Group (ASX: SCG), which owns and operates Westfield properties across Australia and New Zealand.

On Scentre Group, Wilsons commented, "COVID-19 impacted earnings – acquirer would have to believe in the future of shopping malls post-pandemic."

So which ASX shares will invite the first takeover interest?

Stay tuned!

The post 5 ASX shares that could be primed for takeovers in 2022: Wilsons appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are falling:

Australian Ethical Investment Limited (ASX: AEF)

The Australian Ethical share price is down 5% to $7.67. Investors appear disappointed with the fund manager's half year results. Although the company delivered a 35% increase in revenue to $35.2 million, its net profit only grew 5% to $5.4 million. This led to Australian Ethical declaring a flat interim dividend at 3 cents per share.

Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP)

The Domino's share price has tumbled 13.5% to $86.67. Investors have been selling the pizza chain operator's shares after its half year earnings fell short of expectations. Domino's reported an 11.1% increase in network sales but a 5.3% decline in underlying net profit after tax to $91.3 million. This earnings miss was driven largely by its underperformance in Asia.

Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)

The Scentre share price is down almost 5% to $3.00. This morning the shopping centre operator released its full year results and revealed a big improvement in its performance. This allowed Scentre to declare a 14.25 cents per share distribution, which is double what it paid a year earlier. However, taking the shine off the result was that its FFO per share came in below consensus estimates.

St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM)

The St Barbara share price is down 3% to $1.40. Investors have been selling this gold miner's shares following the release of its half year results. For the six months ended 31 December, St Barbara reported a 63% decline in underlying profit to $15.1 million. This was driven by weak production during the half.

The post Why Australian Ethical, Domino's, Scentre, and St Barbara shares are falling appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

So let's dive a little deeper and check out the shares that are currently topping the ASX 200's volume charts, according to investing.com.

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume so far on Wednesday

Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)

ASX 200 Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Scentre Group is our first share to check out today. The owner of the Westfield brand in Australia has seen a sizeable 16.08 million of its shares change hands so far. This follows the company's half-year earnings results that were released this morning.

As my Fool colleague Zach covered earlier, this saw Scentre report a 10.9% increase in operating profits and a 103.6% rise in dividend distributions. However, investors don't seem to be impressed, and have sent Scentre units down a meaningful 4.75% so far today at $3.01 a unit. It's these factors that are likely behind this elevated volume we see. 

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

Telstra is our next share to check out today. This ASX 200 telco has had a notable 17.43 million shares swap owners thus far this Wednesday. 

Unlike Scentre, there has been no major news or announcements out of Telstra today. However, the company is up a beefy 2.3% so far today at $4.02 a share. Also, Telstra has resumed buying its own shares back on the open market. These two catalysts might be responsible for this high trading volume.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Lithium producer Pilbara Minerals is our last share today, but certainly not least in terms of trading volume. Pilbara has had 34.1 million shares trade on the markets thus far this Wednesday, topping out the ASX 200. Like Scentre, Pilbara also dropped its half-year earnings report earlier today. As we discussed this morning, the company reported a 49% increase in shipments, along with a whopping 394% surge in sales revenue. 

Investors reacted in a rather strange fashion, sending Pilbara shares down to $2.58 soon after open, but then sending them way back up to the current $2.89 a share, 3.58% higher. Go figure. It's these earnings and share price volatility that is almost certainly behind this trading volume we are seeing. 

The post These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts this Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Shares in Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) are on the move today after the company released its financial results for the full-year ended 31 December 2021.

At the time of writing, the Scentre Group share price is trading in the red at $3.015 apiece.

Scentre Group share price tanks amid earnings growth

Key takeouts from the company's earnings results today include:

• Operating profit of $845.8 million (16.32 cents per security, up 10.9%)
• Funds From Operations (FFO) for the year was $862.5 million (16.64 cents per security, up 12.7%)
• Statutory result for the full year, inclusive of unrealised non-cash items was $887.9 million, up from ($3,731.8) million
• Net operating cash flows (after interest, overheads and tax) were $913.6 million, an increase of 24.8% per security on 2020
• Distribution of $738.7 million for the year equates to 14.25 cents per security, a growth of 103.6% on 2020.

What else happened this period for Scentre Group?

Scentre Group say's that its investment in Westfield Mt Druitt is "progressing well". Today's release notes that the $55 million rooftop entertainment, leisure and dining precinct is fully leased and on track to open next month. Scentre Group has a $28 million share in the venture.

The group has also commenced a $33 million investment at Westfield Penrith. It says the project will result in "a large-format entertainment offer and upgrades and additions to the centre's vertical transport systems".

Operating profits also came in at over $845 million for the year, a gain of 11%, whereas FFO recognised a 13% spike from the previous year to $826 million.

Although with this result, net operating cash flows were nearly 25% per security higher on the year and represented $913.6 million from the 12 months to 31 December 2021.

Impressively, the company distributed a total of $787.7 million or 4.25 cents per security, which represented a growth of 103.6% on the previous year.

Management commentary

Speaking on the announcement, Scentre Group CEO Peter Allen said:

I am very pleased with the Group's performance. Our team delivered better results in 2021 than 2020, even with more COVID-19 restrictions. This demonstrates our proactive approach to generating long term value for our securityholders. We have positioned the Group for growth for many years to come. We are focused on the customer, leveraging the strengths of our leading platform and pursuing our ambition to grow by becoming essential to people, communities and the businesses that interact with them.

What's next for Scentre Group?

The company says it is focused on "driving customer visitation, engagement and occupancy in order to deliver earnings growth in 2022 and future years".

As such, it expects to distribute at least 15 cents per security in 2022, which would signify approximately 5% growth.

"Earnings are expected to grow at a higher rate in 2022" the company says, and it also notes that it remains on track to achieve at least 50% of its net zero target by 2025.

Scentre Group share price snapshot

In the last 12 months, the Scentre Group share price has gained 5% but is down just over 45 this year to date. It has curled back up in the past month of trading and is also in the green during the past 5 days.

The post Dividend up 103%, but Scentre Group (ASX:SCG) share price down. What gives? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

But how has this translated into the performance of ASX REITs? Let's take a look.

So to kick things off, let's check out the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ). It's currently sitting at 1,596.9 points at the time of writing. That's a good 66% or so above where it bottomed in the 2020 market crash, but still a little over 7% off of its pre-COVID high watermark that we saw in February 2020. Like many ASX shares, REITs have also taken a tumble more recently. Between new year's eve 2021 and today, the index is down around 9.1%.

But let's now dive deeper into some individual ASX REITs.

An ASX REIT share temperature check for 2022 thus far

To start with, let's check out the ASX's largest REIT, Goodman Group (ASX: GMG). Goodman is a commercial and industrial REIT known for its warehouses and logistics facilities. Goodman units have managed to shake off the pandemic rather well. It was only back at the end of 2021 that this company was hitting all-time highs. Even at today's pricing, Goodman is a healthy 43% or so above its pre-COVID highs. In saying that, it remains down 12.3% year to date in 2022.

But other ASX REITs haven't been so lucky. Shopping centre operator Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) is one that has struggled. It's at $2.95 today so far, which is close to a quarter lower than its pre-COVID highs of around $4. Even so, it's still up a reasonable, if not too dazzling, 5.7% over the past 12 months. But in 2022 so far, Scentre units have lost just over 9.2%.

National Storage REIT (ASX: NSR), which is a REIT that operates self-storage centres across the country, has done a little better. It's down 8.75% over 2022 so far at the time of writing. However, it's up a far healthier 30.6% over the past 12 months, and remains above its pre-COVID highs.

To wrap things up, let's take a look at another REIT, Stockland Corporation Ltd (ASX: SGP). Stockland is a diversified REIT covering shopping centres, housing, retirement villages and industrial property. But unfortunately, this company hasn't been a great performer of late. It's down 9.1% in 2022 so far, as well as by 16.3% over the past year. It's also a good 25% or so away from its own pre-COVID highs.

So all in all, it seems 2022 has been quite a harsh master to ASX REIT shares thus far. But then again, it's only February, so who knows what the rest of 2022 will bring for the ASX REIT sector.

The post How are ASX Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) performing in 2022? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) just can't seem to figure out what it wants with this Friday's trading session. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has gained 0.09% and is sitting at 7,084 points after seesawing between positive and negative territory all day thus far.

But rather than trying to figure all of that out, let's instead take a look at the ASX 200 shares that are topping the market's trading volume charts right now, according to investing.com.

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Friday

Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)

ASX 200 real estate investment trust (REIT) Scentre Group is our first cab off the rank today. The Westfield owner has seen a hefty 13.1 million of its units trade on the ASX thus far. There hasn't been too much in the way of news or announcements out of Scentre so far today.

However, we have seen significant volatility in the Scentre unit price. The company is presently down 0.17% at $2.94 a unit, but has been as high as $2.99 and as low as $2.93 over the trading day. It's probably this bouncing around that is responsible for so many shares trading on the markets.

Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN)

Next up, we have ASX 200 uranium miner Paladin Energy. Paladin has had a substantial 26.3 million shares swap owners as it currently stands. Again, we have no major developments out of Paladin so far today, although the company did release an investor presentation yesterday morning.

However, the Paladin share price has also been showing some volatility this Friday. The company is currently enduring a 0.42% loss at 69 cents per share. But this company has been both down 1% and up more than 3% in the span of today's session. Once more, it's this whipsawing that is likely to be the smoking gun behind this elevated trading volume.

Sydney Airport (ASX: SYD)

Last, but certainly not least, in terms of trading volumes we have Sydney Airport. This ASX 200 infrastructure stalwart has had a whopping 30.35 million shares bought and sold on the markets today. The Sydney Airport share price hasn't done too much this Friday. It's currently cruising at a flat $8.72.

However, we got the news yesterday that shareholders have voted overwhelmingly in favour of Sydney Airport's buyout by the Sydney Aviation Alliance. It's now very likely that the company will be delisted from the ASX next week. So this volume could be the result of investors looking to cash out ahead of time.

The post These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.