Not much to report overseas from overnight, as Wall St was closed for the President’s Day public holiday.
What to watch today:
- Jumping straight into today’s news, the ASX200 is set to jump 0.2% at the open to extend on yesterday’s gains.
- Today’s major story is the results of mining giant BHP (ASX:BHP), which reported a 25% jump in underlying EBITDA to US$15.5 billion, a net operating cash flow of US$9.4 billion, which is up 13%, and a dividend of 73 US cents per share, which is up from 50 US cents this time last year.
- Additionally, funds manager Challenger Ltd (ASX:CGF) reported their results, with statutory net profit up $72 million to $339 million, and a fully franked dividend of 15.5 cents per share, which is up 7%. They also announced an on-market share buyback of $150 million.
- Keep an eye on other notable companies who are due to release today, including Seek (ASX:SEK), Judo Capital (ASX:JDO) and Reliance Worldwide (ASX:RWC).
- So far this reporting season, 53 companies have reported their results, with 18 beating expectations, 21 in line with expectations, and 14 misses.
- After their results yesterday, Bell Potter’s research team have maintained their Hold rating on the a2 Milk Company (ASX:A2M), however reduced their 12 month target price from $9.70 to $9.55 per share, based on their key guidance figures heading into the next year.
- They also maintain a hold rating on shipbuilder and defence contractor Austal (ASX:ASB), with a 12 month price target of $6.60 per share, which is down from their previous price target of $8 per share. This comes after its EBIT guidance was downgraded 18.5%, due to the discovery of accidental double counting of US$17.1 million of incentives during the preparation of its latest accounts.
- Finally in commodities, Gold is trading down just over 1% at US$4990 per ounce, while silver has dropped 1.8% to $76.50 US$ per ounce. Crude Oil is up 1.4%, to US$63.80 per barrel.
