There's been plenty of insider buying going on among ASX shares lately, and many of the targets are trading at, or around, 52-week lows.

That suggests those in the know believe their company is trading at attractive prices. So much so, that they'll throw their hard-earned cash into the stocks.

Indeed, one S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) company has seen six directors buy its shares over the last fortnight.

Let's take a look at the 52-week lows apparently tempting ASX directors to buy into ASX shares lately.

5 ASX insiders buying shares at near 52-week lows

We can't talk about recent insider buying without mentioning Reliance Worldwide Corporation Ltd (ASX: RWC). The ASX 200 industrial share hit a new 52-week low of $2.96 on Tuesday.

Most of the company's board has been bolstering their holding in the company lately, with six of its directors forking out an approximate total of $385,000 for 123,250 shares. That saw them paying an average of around $3.12 per share.

The largest parcel was snapped up by chair Stuart Crosby, who bought 31,250 shares for $99,389.65 on 28 October.

Directors Sharon McCrohan, Darlene Knight, Christine Bartlett, Brad Soller, and Russell Chenu have also made recent purchases.

Meanwhile, Bega Cheese Ltd (ASX: BGA) deputy chair Peter Margin has taken a slice of the ASX 200 dairy favourite's shares. Margin bought 10,786 shares for $35,162.36 in late October, paying around $3.17 apiece.

The Bega share price hit a 52-week low of $3.12 on 21 October. It has since recovered 3.5% to trade at $3.23 today.

Shares in All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) biotechnology company Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX: SPL) are also both the subject of recent insider buying and trading near 52-week lows today. The stock hit its lowest point since 2015 earlier this week, falling to 49 cents.

Two of the company's leaders, chair Rob Thomas and CEO and director Dr Jackie Fairley, snapped up 50,000 shares, worth a combined $52,000, in the company in late October.

Thomas got the better deal, buying each share for 52 cents while Fairley paid 52.8 cents apiece.

The share price of All Ords construction materials and services company Wagners Holding Company Ltd (ASX: WGN) also hit a multi-year low earlier this week when it slumped to 73 cents.

But the company's chair and co-founder Denis Wagner seems to think the recent downturn has presented a buying opportunity. He bought 61,669 shares in the company in late October, paying nearly $50,000, or around 80 cents apiece.

The final ASX insider buying target trading at around 52-week lows is gold miner Red 5 Limited (ASX: RED). The stock hit a 52-week low of 15 cents in late October. It has since recovered to trade at 17.5 cents.

The company's managing director Mark Williams and director Ian MacPherson both recently bolstered their stake in the company. They did so through a share purchase plan, which offered shares for 16 cents apiece.

The post 5 ASX shares trading near 52-week lows that insiders have been buying appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Wagners Holdings Company Ltd (ASX: WGN) share price is in quicksand today, falling 26% on the back of a 24% drop in net profit.

The ASX-listed construction materials supplier released its FY22 results this morning. The Wagners share price opened at $1.07 per share but has fallen 26.29% to its intraday low of 78.5 cents at the time of writing.

What did Wagners report for FY22?

Whilst the Wagners share price is swimming in a bloodbath, let's check out the key financial results for FY22.

• Revenue increased by 5% to $336.8 million relative to FY21
• Net profit after tax (NPAT) went backwards by 24% to $7.6 million
• Net tangible assets per share increased from 59 cents to 63 cents

Both the construction materials & services (CMS) and composite fibre technology (CFT) segments grew revenue by $5.7 million and $10.4 million respectively.

CMS is the biggest revenue segment, recording $294.2 million in FY22. However, it recorded a slightly lower margin due to the timing of large projects.

CFT products are innovative and environmentally sustainable building materials and recorded revenue of $41.9 million. Cost pressures and start-up costs in the US also put downward pressure on margins in this segment.

The company said shipping and fuel costs increased significantly in the second half of FY22. The rise in costs of raw materials also played a key role in the fall in margins as well.

These were the biggest detractors to Wagners' bottom line.

This essentially explains why operating cash flow fell from $53.1 million to $3.9 million. Payments to suppliers for raw materials and wages soaked a lot of the revenue.

Wagners also ramped up investment in plant and equipment, deploying $24 million in FY22 compared to $15.5 million in FY21.

What else happened in FY22?

The most notable event in FY22 was when the Wagners share price rocketed 16% amid the company landing a $140 million contract for the Sydney Metro-Western Sydney Airport Project.

This was a 20-month contract supplying 67,000 precast concrete tunnel segments.

The Cross River Rail tunnel project was completed in the 1H of FY22, which partially offset the increased sales.

Management remains focused on the future

The CFT and EFC segments remain the future pillars of growth as management strives to enter new markets and invest in automation.

Further capital will be used to invest in R&D to identify new markets and products.

Wagners expects strong cement volumes throughout FY23 due to the high level of activity in the southeast Queensland construction sector. As a result, management will continue to expand its concrete plant network.

The aforementioned Sydney Metro-Western Sydney Airport project will commence in October 2022. Management remains positive about the precast segment outlook with projects like Inland Rail and the 2032 Olympic Games presenting big opportunities.

Wagners share price snapshot

In the last year, the Wagners share price has more than halved, falling by 57% and has dropped 32% in the last month.

In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) only fell 7% in the last year and managed to rise by 3% in the last month.

The current market capitalisation for Wagners is around $152 million.

Its price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple is around 10 times. On this basis, the Wagners share price might seem cheap but the FY22 results show how exposed the business is to external factors. I think this is important to consider when evaluating the Wagners share price.

The post Wagners share price plummets 26% as FY22 net profit declines appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

It's proving a good day so far for ASX All ordinaries share Wagners Holding Co Ltd (ASX: WGN), with its share price surging in early afternoon trade.

At the time of writing, the Australian construction materials provider's shares are swapping hands at $1.38, up 15.97%.

What did the ASX All Ordinaries share announce?

Investors are fighting to get a hold of Wagners shares after the company announced it has secured a significant contract.

In its statement, the ASX All Ordinaries share advised it has won a material contract for the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport Project.

This will see the supply of more than 67,000 precast concrete tunnel segments, manufactured from the company's facility in Wacol, Brisbane.

Production of the segments will commence in late 2022 with the final segments scheduled for completion in early 2024.

The project is being delivered by the CPB Contractors Ghella (CPBG) joint venture, and involves the construction of 9.8 kilometres of twin metro rail tunnels.

Following the project's completion, this will provide a public transport service to the new Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport.

Subject to timing parameters, Wagners is expected to reap around $140 million over the 20-month period of the contract.

Speaking on the news fuelling this ASX All Ordinaries share today, Wagners CEO Cameron Coleman commented:

The Sydney Metro-WSA-SBT is a significant project providing important transport infrastructure for the people of Sydney.

Wagners are extremely proud to work with the CPBG joint venture on this critical scope of works for the project which will also deliver significant job opportunities. The segments will be manufactured locally at our Wacol precast facility, before being transported to Sydney for installation into the project.

Wagners have been involved in the construction of the last three significant tunnel projects in Queensland, and is looking forward to being able to utilise this expertise in the manufacture and delivery of these segments for the Sydney Metro-WSA-SBT project.

About the Wagners share price

Despite its strong gains today, the Wagners share price has tumbled 42% over the past 12 months.

When looking at the year to date, its shares are down 15%.

Based on today's price, this ASX All Ordinaries share has a market capitalisation of $212.01 million and a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 16.7.

The post Guess which ASX All Ordinaries share is soaring 16% on a new $140 million contract win appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

There has been plenty of volatility in recent weeks as investors react to the Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as concerns that fast inflation could spark rapid interest rate increases.

If multiple brokers all rate a business as a buy then it could indicate to investors that there is an opportunity to buy. Of course, it's possible that all of those analysts are wrong at the same time as well.

With that in mind, these two ASX shares are rated as a buy:

Wagners Holding Company Ltd (ASX: WGN)

Over the last 10 months, the Wagners share price has fallen more than 40%. But brokers now think that it is an opportunity. It's rated as a buy by at least three brokers including Credit Suisse.

The broker's price target is $1.90. That's almost 40% higher than where it is today.

If you haven't heard of Wagners before, it's a major producer of construction materials and services for Australian and international markets.

The recent FY22 half-year result saw revenue rise by approximately 10%, thanks to growth from cement, concrete, steel and composite fibre technologies (CFT).

Operating earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) increased from $11.6 million to $12.6 million. The company continues to experience costs as it seeks to expand in the USA. Concrete margins are also seeing pressure, leading to a "disappointing" contribution from fixed concrete plans.

In the second half of FY22, it plans to start manufacturing CFT at its Texas facility and begin manufacturing 'earth friendly concrete' in outer London, which is currently under construction.

Credit Suisse thinks that the second half could see stronger performance. It's keeping an eye on the margins though.

BWX Limited (ASX: BWX)

BWX is a natural beauty business with plenty of brands including Sukin and Go-To Skincare. The ASX share also owns e-commerce platforms like Nourished Life and Flora & Fauna.

The BWX share price has fallen 45% since the start of the year.

Brokers see this sell-off as a buying opportunity, with at least three buy ratings. UBS has a buy rating on the business with a price target of $5.50. That implies a possible upside of more than 130% over the next 12 months. It was trading close to that level at the end of June 2021.

The broker noted that both revenue and spending were lower than expected in the first half of FY22, leading to the business generating a bit more profit than expected. But the lower-than-expected sales were a disappointment, with like for like growth of 5%.

BWX said that its underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 26.2% to $14.3 million and underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) grew by 22.1% to $4.7 million. But it made a statutory net loss of $2.3 million with a $3.5 million expense related to the cost of an equity-linked strategic partnership with Chemist Warehouse. There were also $3 million of one-off acquisition costs.

The ASX share said that it's expecting "strong" underlying revenue and EBITDA growth in the second half of FY22. Sales momentum seen in the FY22 second quarter is continuing into the third quarter.

UBS thinks it's trading at 13x FY23's estimated earnings.

The post Brokers rate these 2 top ASX shares as buys in March 2022 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Some ASX shares are not highly rated by brokers. But there are also others that have been rated as buys by multiple brokers.

It's possible that these stocks with multiple buy ratings are opportunities. But it is also possible that all of those brokers are wrong at the same time.

Here are two ASX shares that brokers really like:

Wagners Holding Company Ltd (ASX: WGN)

Wagners is currently rated as a buy by at least three brokers.

This business is a diversified Australian construction materials and services provider. It says it's an innovative producer of new generation building materials. It makes cement, concrete, aggregates, new generation composite products and aims to provide products that reduces environmental impacts. It also provides transport services, precast concrete and reinforced concrete.

One of the brokers that likes Wagners is Credit Suisse, which has a $2.50 price target on the business. Credit Suisse believes that the mining sector earnings are helping, as well as improving profit margins.

The ASX share's FY21 result was better than the broker was expecting, leading it to increase its profit predictions for this year and next year.

Wagers said that its outlook for the second half of the year is good due to a few different reasons.

There's the ongoing contributions from its major contracts in precast concrete and quarries. Next, there is continued strong performance of its bulk haulage business. There's also increased activity in the domestic pedestrian infrastructure and bridge division of composite fibre technologies (CFT). The company is working on establishing a USA manufacturing facility for CFT after delays caused by COVID-19. Finally, it's seeking external investment in its low carbon concrete technology.

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

Goodman is currently rated as a buy by at least six brokers.

One of the brokers that likes Goodman is Morgan Stanley, which has a price target of $23 on Goodman.

The broker likes the development potential of Goodman, with its large amounts of development land in Sydney.

Last month the industrial property business released its third quarter update. It said the three months to 31 March 2021 reflected a strong operating performance, underpinned by customer led demand for assets in its chosen markets.

The ASX share explained that changing consumption trends across the physical and digital spaces are fundamentally impacting demand. In response, Goodman is developing new spaces, particularly through multi-storey and higher intensity buildings within its urban locations.

In that quarterly update, Goodman said that it had $52.9 billion of total assets under management (AUM). It achieved 3.3% like for like net property income (NPI) growth in its managed partnerships. There was a 98% occupancy rate across the partnerships.

Goodman also said that it has $9.6 billion of development work in progress (WIP).

At the time, it reaffirmed its FY21 operating profit forecast of $1.2 billion, representing earnings per security (EPS) growth of 12%.

According to Morgan Stanley, the Goodman share price is valued at 28x FY22's estimated earnings.

The post 2 ASX shares rated as strong buys by brokers appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Wagners Holding Company Ltd (ASX: WGN) share price jumped 8% yesterday after reporting its FY21 half-year result.

Wagners is a diversified Australian construction materials and services provider. It produces cement, concrete, aggregates and composite products. It offers a 'Earth friendly concrete' product and it also provides transport services, precast concrete and reinforcing steel.

What did Wagners report in the FY21 half-year result?

The building products business reported that total revenue increased by 26.9% to $155.8 million. Wagners said that revenue increased due to improved transport, quarry, concrete and cement sales.

There was a 15% increase in crossarm sales offset by lower activity in pedestrian infrastructure, mainly due to COVID-19 delays.

Gross profit went up by 30.9% to $88.1 million. Most types of expenses increased for Wagners in line with increased business activity.

The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of Wagners more than doubled, rising by 116% to $18.6 million. EBIT soared 415% to $10.3 million.

The EBIT margin improved by 4.1 percentage points to 10.6% in the construction materials and services division, whilst new generation building materials saw a 3.7 percentage points increase in the EBIT margin to 8.8%.

There was an improvement of net profit after tax (NPAT) of $6.2 million, leading to a bottom line profit of $6.1 million.

Wagners reported that it generated $32.4 million of pro forma cash flow from operations, up $43.2 million from the prior corresponding period.

Net debt improved by $21.9 million to $61.1 million, which was helped by the improved operational cashflow from better business performance.

Growth plans

It has invested in automation in Australia and increased capacity for its crossarm production facilities to achieve higher productivity and lower cost of production of the new generation building materials. There has been no growth in the USA with the impact of COVID-19, but the pultrusion machine has arrived in USA and it's also pursuing opportunities with manufacturing from Australia.

Wagners boasted that there has been around 20,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions saved by using Wagners low carbon concreate technology Earth friendly concrete (EFC). it said there is increased demand in UK and Europe. The global regulatory focus on CO2 emissions provides a perfect platform for EFC, according to management.

The company said that there was a significant increase of sales of cement in the first half of FY21, with the market outlook looking promising. Wagners is also expecting increased demand in FY21 for concrete with the commencement of infrastructure projects.

The post HY21: Wagners (ASX:WGN) share price soars, cements plan for growth appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) share price has risen by 46.7% since the turn of the market on 22 May. It remains down year to date but could be heading higher with sales likely to benefit from the government's 'HomeBuilder' stimulus package. Boral shares are selling at a current price to earnings ratio (P/E) of 25.59, 3 points higher than their 10-year average. 

The construction materials manufacturer has seen poor performance in recent times and the sudden jump in the Boral share price has caught many investors unaware.

What's driving the Boral share price?

With more than a 45% leap in only a couple of weeks, the Boral share price is appreciating faster than many of its S&P/ASX 200 Index (INDEXASX: XJO) peers. There are a number of factors at play here. 

Firstly, the company won a legal battle against Wagners Holding Company Ltd (ASX: WGN) in Queensland last week. Boral is Wagners' largest cement customer and was accused of trying to force down cement contract prices. As a result of the ruling, Boral will continue to purchase cement from Wagners until 2031 at lower rates, reflecting competition in the marketplace.

This followed a snap investment by Kerry Stokes' company Seven Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SVW), purchasing 10% of the company. Seven Group capitalised on a shake up in the MSCI index last week, buying the Boral shares as investors off loaded them prior to the company being moved out of the index. 

I believe Seven Group is likely to push for a seat on the Boral board. It may also increase its shareholding in a bid to bolster its influence. 

What are the issues for Boral?

Boral posted a reduction in interim profit of 39% in February amidst a weak outlook for Australian sales. The Boral share price has also had a generally lacklustre performance over the past couple of years. The company is, however, currently undertaking a strategic review with Macquarie Capital and Flagstaff Partners. It is also searching for a replacement for current CEO Mike Kane.

Furthermore, talk of asset sales are swirling around the company. Some industry analysts are suggesting the US-based stone business would be easiest to divest, with Boral's light building products being substantially harder to move. In September 2019, however, investment banker John Wylie approached Boral's chairman suggesting a company break-up. Boral chose to reject this recommendation.  

Foolish takeaway

I believe the Seven Group position in Boral, combined with a strategic review underway, bodes well for the Boral share price. With positive market sentiment likely to continue in the short term, and action afoot to correct lagging performance, I believe we will continue to see rises in the Boral share price.

The post Can the Boral share price continue to rise? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Once again, a large number of broker notes hit the wires last week. Some of these notes were positive and some were bearish.

Three sell ratings that caught my eye are summarised below. Here's why top brokers think investors ought to sell these shares next week:

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

According to a note out of Citi, its analysts have downgraded this iron ore producer's shares to a sell rating with an increased price target of $11.10. Citi has responded to a lift in iron ore prices by upgrading its earnings and dividends estimates for Fortescue. And while it notes that its 88 cents per share dividend estimate for FY 2021 implies a generous yield, it expects a meaningful decline in iron ore prices to lead to a sharp dividend cut in FY 2022. In light of this, it believes the company's valuation is getting stretched now. The Fortescue share price ended the week at $13.58.

TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE)

Analysts at UBS have downgraded this enterprise software company's shares to a sell rating but lifted the price target on them to $8.20. According to the note, TechnologyOne's half year update fell a touch short of its expectations last week. As a result, the broker suspects it might be hard for the company to deliver on its full year expectations now. All in all, it doesn't believe the company's shares deserve to trade on such a high earnings multiple. TechnologyOne's shares finished the week at $9.91.

Wagners Holding Company Ltd (ASX: WGN)

A note out of the Macquarie equities desk reveals that its analysts have retained their underperform rating and slashed the price target on this building materials company's shares to 80 cents. The broker notes that the Supreme Court of Queensland has delivered its judgement on its pricing dispute with Boral Limited (ASX: BLD). While the orders will remain confidential for a couple of weeks, Macquarie doesn't appear optimistic. In addition to this, Macquarie has concerns over Wagners' outlook and thus remains bearish. The Wagners share price was trading at 82 cents at the close of play on Friday.

The post Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell next week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 index has recovered some of its morning losses but is still trading notably lower.  The benchmark index is down 1.1% to 6,901.8 points at the time of writing.

Four shares that have fallen more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping lower:

The MNF Group Ltd (ASX: MNF) share price has dropped almost 9% to $4.29 following its first half results release. During the half, MNF delivered a 14% increase in revenue to $112 million and a 52% lift in EBITDA to $16.9 million. Whilst this was strong, management's guidance for the full year appears to have spooked investors. It has downgraded its net profit after tax guidance from between $13.5 million and $15.5 million to the range of $10 million to $12 million.

The Mosaic Brands Ltd (ASX: MOZ) share price has fallen 13.5% to $1.55. Investors have been selling the fashion retailer's shares after the release of a disappointing half year result this morning. Due largely to the negative impact of the bushfire tragedy on 20% of its stores, Mosaic reported 10.9% decline in half year revenue to $413.8 million. And while the bushfire impact appears to be easing, the company now faces potential disruption to its China supply chain caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

The Wagners Holding Company Ltd (ASX: WGN) share price has crashed 17.5% lower to $1.47. This follows the release of the building products supplier's half year results. Although Wagners posted just a slight decline in revenue, its EBIT fell by over 84% to $2.5 million during the half. Management blamed this profit decline on higher operating costs. Looking ahead, the company has downgraded its full year EBIT guidance to a range of $12.5 million to $17.5 million.

The Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price is down 6% to $11.65. Global travel stocks were sold off overnight after the market began factoring in the increase in coronavirus cases in Italy and South Korea. There are concerns that travel bookings will be subdued for a longer than expected period if coronavirus cases outside of China continue to increase.

The post Why MNF, Mosaic, Wagners, & Webjet shares are dropping lower today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Wagners Holding Company Ltd (ASX: WGN) share price crashed 30% this morning as half-year profits dived and the full-year outlook was downgraded. The construction materials company reported a net loss for H1FY20 on thinner margins and increased costs. 

Wagners' 1H20 results

Wagners reported total revenue of $122.3 million, down from $123.8 million in 1H19. HY20 sales declined compared to HY19 due to lower volumes in cement attributable to the Boral dispute, with offtake recommenced in late October 2019. While there was no major project revenue, concrete plants, quarries and transport revenue increased, albeit at a lower margin. 

Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) fell to $2.5 million from $16.1 million in the prior corresponding period (pcp). Wagners attributed this to higher operating costs, with repairs and maintenance costs rising to $12.3 million from $8.9 million due to increased utilisation of transport and quarry assets. Subcontractor and services costs also rose, up to $6.3 million from $3.7 million, with increased costs incurred to meet short term contracts in transport and quarry businesses. 

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) halved compared to the pcp, down to $11.3 million from $22.4 million. Pricing pressure in the South East Queensland cement and concrete markets significantly impacted margins. Earnings were also impacted by increased costs associated with litigation and the establishment of the concrete plant roll out. 

A net loss of $1.2 million was reported for the period, down from $6.9 million of profits in 1H19. 

Cash flow and working capital

Cash flow from operations has been impacted by lower EBITDA and a negative working capital movement. The working capital position was negatively impacted by higher debtors as the result of the award of new contracts and sale of concrete plants, which have since been received.

Capital expenditure (capex) was reduced during the half with major spends in concrete plant expansion and stay-in-business capex for quarries and transport. 

Net debt at the end of the half was $70.4 million, down from $90.3 million at 31 December 2018. Debt was reduced thanks to Wagners' $40 million rights issue, although this was partially offset by capital spend during the year. Wagners reports significant headroom on term debt and equipment finance facilities. 

Outlook 

Wagners has decreased its full-year EBIT outlook to a range of $12.5 million to $17.5 million. Reduced earnings expectations are due to continued challenges in the South East Queensland construction materials business and uncertainty of the timing of commencement of major projects.

No allowance has been made for the outcome of litigation Wagner is currently involved in. 

The post Wagners share price plummets 30% as profits disappear appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

It has been a mixed day of trade for the S&P/ASX 200 index on Tuesday. In afternoon trade the benchmark index is trading ever so slightly higher at 6,851.9 points.

Four shares that have climbed more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are storming higher:

The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price has climbed 4% to $24.54. Appen's shares have been strong performers this week despite there being no news out of the content relevance provider. However, some investors may believe that recent share price weakness is a buying opportunity. Especially given its recent guidance upgrade.

The Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) share price is up over 4.5% to $23.44. On Monday the healthcare technology company provided an RSNA update. CEO Sam Hupert reiterated that the company is trading comfortably ahead of its target year to date. Pleasingly, the chief executive said "there is nothing to indicate that this trend won't be sustained."

The SRG Global Ltd (ASX: SRG) share price is up 4% to 41.5 cents despite there being no news out of it. But as I wrote here yesterday, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) has been buying the shares of the engineering-led specialist construction, maintenance and mining services company recently. The banking giant has lifted its interest in SRG Global from 7.43% to 8.48% through the purchase of over 5 million shares earlier this month.

The Wagners Holding Company Ltd (ASX: WGN) share price has risen a sizeable 7% to $2.45. This strong gains appears to be in response to a major contract win that was announced on Monday. The contract is for the supply of precast concrete tunnel segments for the Brisbane Cross River Rail project's Tunnel and Stations Works package. Tunnelling works are planned to commence in FY 2021. Management estimates the contract to be worth $40 million.

The post Why Appen, Pro Medicus, SRG Global, & Wagners are storming higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Here's a short recap of the Australian market:

• S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) higher 1.63% to 6.849.70
• ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) higher 1.57% to 6,952.30
• AUD/USD at US 69 cents
• Gold at US$1,475.14 an ounce
• Brent Oil at US$64.60 a barrel

One of the best-performing ASX 200 shares today was the Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR) share price which climbed 8.2%.

Brexit has boosted the share price of Virgin Money UK Plc (ASX: VUK) by a further 8.1% today.

The share price of Perenti Global Ltd (ASX: PRN) dropped by 18.7% after giving a guidance update to the market.

The Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) share price was one of today's top performers after last week's acquisition.

A takeover offer sent the share price of National Veterinary Care Ltd (ASX: NVL) higher by 52.5%.

The share price of Smartgroup Corporation Ltd (ASX: SIQ) dropped 14.7% after giving a negative about regarding its sales of insurance products.

The Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price was unmoved today after going into a trading halt.

Finally, the share price of Wagners Holding Company Ltd (ASX: WGN) despite securing a contract for the Brisbane Cross River Rail project.

Here are some of today's top stories:    

• How the ASX aims to become mini NASDAQ with a new tech index
• Afterpay rival Openpay tumbles 15% after listing on the ASX
• Will the Afterpay share price reach $40 in 2020?
• Should you buy this unloved ASX dividend stock for the 7% yield?

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

The Wagners Holding Company Ltd (ASX: WGN) share price is climbing higher in early trade after securing its latest contract this morning. 

What did Wagners announce today?

Wagners secured a contract for the production and haulage of quarry materials for Carmichael mine and rail projects. The contract is with Adani Mining Pty Ltd as part of its operations in the Galilee Basin.

The Wagners share price has been climbing higher in early trade following the positive news for shareholders.

The project value for the group is expected to be over $35 million over two stages. Mobilisation to site will commerce immediately. This initial stage will require the production and haulage of 735,000 tonnes of quarry materials in the next 15 months.

Wagners expects to second stage of the works to commence in late 2020 or early 2021.

How has the Wagner share price performed this year?

The Aussie small-cap stock has had a tough year in 2019 as investors have watched the Wagner share price slump lower.

Wagners shares closed yesterday at $2.09 per share, which is a long way shy of its $3.33 52-week high set back in February.

The company does offer a 2.65% dividend yield but that looks to be more price-driven than earnings-driven. That means the yield could appear to be better value than it really is due to price declines rather than dividend increases.

Is there still good value in the Materials sector?

Despite the Wagner share price troubles in 2019, there are other shares that could provide good yield in the ASX Materials sector.

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) shares have been climbing higher this year and yet still offer a 5% dividend yield.

It's been a similar story with Brickworks Ltd (ASX: BKW), which has seen strong capital growth in 2019. Brickworks shares are also yielding a tidy 3.09% at the moment despite trading near their 52-week high of $19.33 per share.

The post Why the Wagners share price is climbing higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

The Cann Group Ltd (ASX: CAN) share price has crashed 22.5% lower to 57 cents. Late last week the cannabis company revealed that it would be staging the commissioning of its Mildura facility in response to weaker demand. Investors appear concerned that Cann Group may never generate the level of revenue it forecast previously.

The Collection House Limited (ASX: CLH) share price is down 6% to $1.14. Investors have been selling the receivable management company's shares after it announced the sudden departure of its managing director and chief executive officer, Anthony Rivas. Collection House revealed that it has promoted CFO Doug McAlpine to the top job with immediate effect.

The Nufarm Limited (ASX: NUF) share price is crashing lower on Monday and is down 18% to $5.07. Investors have been selling its shares due to a costly accounting error. When reconciling accounts with German customers for the 2019 calendar year, Nufarm identified additional sales rebate claims from customers. This is expected to result in a $9 million impact to its first half EBITDA. In addition to this, it warned that trading conditions have been difficult in FY 2020.

The Wagners Holding Company Ltd (ASX: WGN) share price is down 7% to $2.04. This morning the building supplies company provided an update on its dispute with Boral Limited (ASX: BLD). According to the release, Wagners was expecting a resolution of its dispute with Boral in court this week. However, the trial has been adjourned until February.

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In afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 index has followed the lead of U.S. markets and is on course to make it two consecutive days of gains. At the time of writing the benchmark index is up 0.7% to 6,511.6 points.

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

The Monadelphous Group Limited (ASX: MND) share price has tumbled 4% to $17.26 after the release of a softer than expected result from the engineering company. Monadelphous reported revenue of $1.6 billion and underlying net profit after tax of $57.4 million in FY 2019. This was a 9.8% and 19.5% decline, respectively, on FY 2018's result.

The Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR) share price has fallen 5.5% to $3.50. Saracen and the rest of the gold miners have sunk lower today after a pullback in the gold price overnight. The spot gold price fell over 1% after risk appetite improved and demand for risk-off assets eased. At the time of writing the S&P/ASX All Ords Gold index is down a sizeable 2.6%.

The Virtus Health Ltd (ASX: VRT) share price has dropped almost 6% to $4.63 after the fertility treatment company posted a 2.3% decline in EBITDA to $63.5 million and a 7.6% drop in NPAT to $35.4 million in FY 2019. Management blamed a negative change in its revenue mix for the earnings decline.

The Wagners Holding Company Ltd (ASX: WGN) share price is down 5.5% to $1.45 following the release of the building supplies company's full year results after the market close on Monday. Wagners posted a disappointing 35% decline in EBIT due to delays in large mobile concrete and precast infrastructure projects, increased costs associated with the establishment of its concrete business, and disruption in the south east Queensland cement market. The latter appears to have continued in FY 2020 and could weigh on its performance this year.

The post Why Monadelphous, Saracen Mineral, Virtus Health, & Wagners dropped lower today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

It was another busy day or results releases on Monday with the likes of Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) and NIB Holdings Limited (ASX: NHF) taking centre stages.

With so many releases, a number of results inevitably slipped under the radar. Three which you might have missed are summarised below:

Gage Roads Brewing Co Limited (ASX: GRB)

This brewing company reported a 20% increase in revenue to $39.7 million and a 25% lift in EBITDA to $5.5 million in FY 2019. This was driven by strong growth across all channels resulting in total proprietary brands sales for the year being up 60% to 8 million litres. Furthermore, with its own-brand portion of the total sales mix growing from 39% in FY 2018 to 61% in FY 2019, the company saw its gross margin widen by 3 percentage points to 64%. Looking ahead, management expects further growth in annual volumes of its brands, "delivering improved margins and sustained earnings growth through the shift in sales mix towards higher margin products."

Rhipe Ltd (ASX: RHP)

This cloud channel company's shares tumbled lower on Monday despite delivering strong growth in FY 2019. Rhipe posted a 28% increase in sales to $253 million and doubled its profit after tax to $6.2 million. This strong performance was driven by strong momentum in public cloud via the Microsoft Cloud Solutions Provider program. This led to the company's partners now consuming more than 450,000 Office365 paid seats, up approximately 80% year on year, and more than 600,000 Office365 seats in total including zero fee academic seats. In FY 2020 the company expects operating profit growth of 25%. I suspect that the market was expecting even stronger guidance.

Wagners Holding Company Ltd (ASX: WGN)

This building supplies company's shares will be on watch on Tuesday following the after-hours release of a disappointing full year result. Wagners posted a sizeable 35% decline in earnings before interest and tax to $25.6 million. This was caused by delays in large mobile concrete and precast infrastructure projects, increased costs associated with the establishment of its concrete business, and disruption in the south east Queensland cement market. Management warned that the latter has continued in FY 2020. This could weigh on its shares in the near term.

The post 3 ASX full year results you might have missed on Monday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

It often pays to see what short-sellers are up to as the level of bearish bets can often have a significant short-term bearing on the performance of ASX stocks.

While investors often pay attention to the most shorted stocks on the S&P/ASX 200 (Index:^AXJO) (ASX:XJO) index, they often neglect to look at stocks where short-sellers are beating a hasty retreat.

Short-selling is the game of selling a borrowed stock in the hope of buying it back at a lower price later to profit from the difference. Short-sellers tend to be more sophisticated compared to the everyday investor – although they don't always get their bearish calls right.

In that respect, I suspect looking at companies that have recorded a big decline in the number of shares out on loan to short-sellers (called short-interest) could prove to be a more accurate sign of when a stock will recover.

Biggest drop in short-interest

The stock that recorded the biggest drop in short-interest this month is building materials and services group Wagners Holding Company Ltd (ASX: WGN).

The amount of WGN shares shorted fell 169 basis points to 1.62% as at July 15 (ASIC data is always one week behind).

Shareholders will be hoping that the loss of interest of short-sellers will mark a turning point for the stock, which was trading at over $4 a year ago and is currently fetching $1.85.

Short-sellers losing their appetite

Short-sellers are also rushing for the exits in Retail Food Group Limited (ASX: RFG). Short-interest in the embattled food franchisor, which owns brands like Gloria Jean's Coffees, Brumby's Bakeries and Donut King, fell 81 basis points since the start of July to just 0.43% as of last Monday.

Chatter about of possible white knight riding to the rescue for the scandal-ridden group has undoubtedly contributed to the short-selling exodus.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Soliton Capital is considering injecting $100 million or more to help Retail Food Group repay debt due in the third quarter of this year.

I would be reluctant to join the bulls in buying the stock but those with a higher tolerance for risk may be willing to make a punt.

Steeling for a recovery

The third notable stock gaining ground against short-sellers is the BlueScope Steel Limited (ASX: BSL) share price.

Short-interest in the steel products maker fell 65 basis points this month to 0.41% as an improving outlook for US steel prices have prompted bearish traders to take profit and close positions.

While the Bluescope share price is still down by more than 30% over the past year, it has enjoyed a significant bounce in the last month or so.

I think the stock looks cheap and I believe it will continue to outperform over the short to medium-term.

The post ASX stocks that could outperform as short-sellers capitulate appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Australian share market has been in fine form in 2019, with the All Ordinaries index one of the best performing indices in the world with a gain of ~18%.

However, not all shares on the index have been able to follow it higher this year.

Three that have been hammered are listed below. Is this a buying opportunity?

The Costa Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: CGC) share price has been amongst the worst performers on the index this year with a decline of 45%. The horticulture company's shares have fallen heavily due to a series of guidance downgrades due to tough trading conditions and pricing pressures. Whilst I'm not convinced that the worst is over for Costa just yet, I do think this risk has been priced into its shares. This could make it worth considering a long-term and patient investment in the company's shares.

The Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) share price has lost almost 43% of its value since the turn of the year. Investors have been selling the graphite producer's shares due to concerns over weakening prices of the battery-making ingredient and higher than expected operating costs. In addition to this, a recent capital raising undertaken at a material discount has also weighed on its shares. And with graphite prices unlikely to improve in the near term because of falling demand in China, I suspect that Syrah's shares may not have bottomed yet.

The Wagners Holding Company Ltd (ASX: WGN) share price has sunk a sizeable 41.5% since the start of the year. Investors have been heading to the exits after the building products company revealed a cement supply pricing dispute with Boral Limited (ASX: BLD). Boral has sourced cement from a different supplier at a cheaper price and Wagners is required to match it or suspend its supply contract. Wagners has disputed Boral's pricing notice and risks losing a very large customer if its Statement of Claim fails. In light of this, I would stay clear of its shares until the matter is resolved.

The post Costa Group and these ASX shares have been hammered in 2019: Time to buy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Three shares that dropped to 52-week lows yesterday are listed below. Here's why they made this unwanted milestone:

The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price dropped to a 52-week low of $37.82 on Tuesday. The travel agent's shares have come under significant selling pressure this year due largely to the underperformance of its Australia Leisure business. Its poor performance recently led to management downgrading its full year profit guidance. Flight Centre now expects FY 2019 profit before tax to be between $335 million and $360 million, compared to prior guidance of between $390 million and $420 million. The mid-point of this range represents a 10% decline on the prior corresponding period.

The THC Global Group Ltd (ASX: THC) share price tumbled to a 52-week low of 41 cents yesterday. Investors may be disappointed with the lack of progress the diversified cannabis company has been making in respect to revenue generation. In its first quarter of FY 2019, the company posted cash receipts of $843,000, but net cash outflows from operating activities of $1.8 million. I would suggest investors stay well clear of its shares until it is cash flow positive.

The Wagners Holding Company Ltd (ASX: WGN) share price dropped to a 52-week low of $1.80 on Tuesday. Investors have been heading to the exits in their droves after the building products company revealed a cement supply pricing dispute with Boral Limited (ASX: BLD). Boral has sourced cement from a different supplier at a materially cheaper price and Wagners is required to match it or suspend its supply contract. Wagners has disputed Boral's pricing notice and filed a Statement of Claim in the Supreme Court of Queensland against it. As the loss of the contract could have a big impact on its future profits, I can't say I'm surprised to see many investors selling their shares.

The post Why Flight Centre and these ASX shares just dropped to 52 week lows appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The top 200 stock benchmark finished just a tat above breakeven on Friday with the Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR) share price and Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) share price leading the charge.

But the cheer isn't felt by all stocks and three in particular have become the latest to fall under a "sell" rating by brokers.

Perpetual on the "naughty list"

The first is the Perpetual Limited (ASX: PPT) share price, which tumbled 3.1% to $40.97 in the closing minutes of trade after Bell Potter downgraded the stock to "sell" from "hold" after the fund manager posted its March quarterly update.

"PPT experienced its worst quarterly net-flows in Perpetual Investments since calendar 2011 at -$1.9 billion. We have estimates for continued outflows at around -$300m a quarter for the foreseeable future," said Bell Potter.

"We believe the risk to our revised Sell recommendation is that PPT utilises its acquisition currency and relatively high PE to build scale in its business via a bolt-on acquisition. This is something the CEO flagged as a possible outcome at the recent February 1H19 result release."

Bell Potter has a 12-month price target of $35.17 on the stock.

Down a hole

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley has reiterated its "underweight" recommendation on the Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NSR) share price after the gold miner issued its latest quarterly production report.

The broker said that the quarterly update was weak on both the production and costs fronts with the miner's problematic Pogo mine continuing to give grief.

Northern Star produced 186,000 ounces of gold, which was below Morgan Stanley's forecast of 226,000 ounces.

"YTD [year-to-date] run rate of 783koz, well below guidance 850-900koz, MSe 853koz. The big miss was at Pogo with 33koz produced (MSe 69koz, DecQ 50koz)," said the broker, which as a $6.60 price target on the stock.

Sinking like cement

Another stock that's in the bad books is the Wagners Holding Company Ltd (ASX: WGN) share price. Wilsons continues to rate the stock a "sell" after the building materials company issued a profit warning as it fights a legal battle with Boral Limited (ASX: BLD).

"Wagners downgraded its FY19e EBIT guidance range 27.4% ($10.0m) to $25-28m, following its inability to resolve the Cement Supply Agreement with Boral, its largest cement customer," said the broker.

The post Brokers slapped these 3 ASX stocks with a sell recommendation appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.