In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a mixed time. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is trading slightly lower at 7,581.6 points.
Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are tumbling lower:
AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL)
The AGL share price is down 5% to $7.20 following the release of its full year results. For the 12 months ended 30 June, the energy company reported a 10% decline in revenue to $10.9 billion and a 33.5% reduction in underlying profits to $537 million. This led to AGL cutting its dividend by 23.5% to 75 cents per share.
Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)
The Appen share price has fallen almost 5% to $11.76. This morning the artificial intelligence data services company announced the exit of its chairman. Current chairman, Chris Vonwiller, will be retiring from the role on 28 October. Mr Vonwiller has held the title of chair for a period of 12 years and was also CEO from 1999 to 2010.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)
The CBA share price has dropped 2.5% to $105.50. This appears to have been driven by a couple of bearish broker notes. Citi has downgraded CBA's shares to a sell rating and cut the price target on them to $94.50. Whereas Credit Suisse has downgraded its shares to an underperform rating with a $95.00 price target. Both brokers have reduced their near term earnings estimates to reflect higher costs.
Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO)
The Rio Tinto share price has tumbled 7% to $120.32. This decline is almost entirely attributable to the mining giant's shares trading ex-dividend this morning. Rio Tinto is paying its shareholders fully franked dividends totalling 760.06 cents per share. This comprises an interim dividend of 509.42 cents per share and a special dividend of 250.64 cents per share.
