Have you got room for a blue chip or two in your portfolio? If you are, then take a look at the blockbuster blue chip shares listed below.
Here's why they are highly rated:
REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)
The first ASX blue chip to look at is REA Group. It is of course the market leader in real estate listings in the Australian market.
At the last count, the company's local websites were commanding over triple the visits of its nearest rival. This certainly is a big positive given the current housing market boom, which is driving growth in listing volumes again.
Combined with price increases and new revenue streams, this bodes well for the company's performance in the second half of FY 2021 and the next financial year.
One leading broker that believes the company's shares are in the buy zone is Morgan Stanley. Its analysts currently have an overweight rating and $175.00 price target on its shares.
Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)
Another blue chip ASX share to consider is Westpac. It recently released its half year results and revealed a 256% increase in cash earnings to $3,537 million.
This was driven by a significant improvement in trading conditions after the worst of the pandemic passed. And positively, with the banking sector's outlook continuing to improve, the medium term looks very positive for the bank and its shareholders.
Morgan Stanley is very positive on the company. It believes it has the balance sheet strength to return significant funds to shareholders in the near future. The broker suspects that Westpac will announce a $3.5 billion share buyback with its FY 2022 half year results.
It has an overweight rating and $29.20 price target on its shares. The broker is also expecting Westpac to pay fully franked dividends per share of $1.18 and $1.25 over the next two years. Based on the latest Westpac share price, this will mean yields of 4.5% and 4.75%.