If you want to build a balanced portfolio, having a few blue chip ASX shares in there could be a smart move.
Blue chip shares tend to be companies that are well-known, long-established, and have strong financial positions.
With that in mind, listed below are two ASX blue chip shares that come highly rated:
Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)
The first blue chip to look at is Goodman Group. It is an integrated commercial and industrial property group which has generated consistently strong returns for investors over the last decade.
This has been driven by the diversity of its portfolio and its exposure to quick growing markets such as ecommerce. Pleasingly, the latter market has resulted in strong demand from blue chip customers such as Amazon, DHL, and Walmart. And given the way the pandemic is accelerating the shift to online shopping, these properties look set to be in strong demand for a long time to come.
One broker that is very positive on Goodman Group is Morgan Stanley. It has been pleased with its development work in recent months, its sky high occupancy rates, and the yields it is commanding. As a result, it has an overweight rating and $20.90 price target on its shares. This compares to the latest Goodman share price of $17.56.
Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC)
Another ASX blue chip share to consider is Ramsay Health Care. Trading conditions were tough for the private hospital operator in 2020 because of the pandemic, but things are certainly improving now.
In fact, a note out of Goldman Sachs this week reveals that it believes Ramsay is trading largely as normal in Australia now. It commented: "Contrary to many other hospital groups globally, most of RHC's core market has been operating largely unencumbered since July, and entirely without volume limitations since end-November."
This is a big positive given that almost two-thirds of its earnings are generated in the local market.
In light of this, a significant backlog of surgeries, and its belief that Ramsay is well-placed for solid earnings growth over the coming years, Goldman Sachs upgraded its shares to a conviction buy rating.
The broker has a price target of $70.00 on its shares. This compares to the latest Ramsay share price of $63.31.
