As we wave goodbye to summer and cap off another earnings season, we asked our Foolish contributors to compile a list of some of the ASX shares experts are saying to buy in March. Here is what the team came up with.
Tristan Harrison: Adore Beauty Group Ltd (ASX: ABY)
The Adore Beauty share price has fallen by around 47% since the start of 2022.
However, the company continues to grow. Its FY22 half-year result showed record revenue, with growth of 18% to $113.1 million. Active customers also rose 13% to 876,000. Meanwhile, annual revenue per active customer leapt 5% to $224. Returning customers also grew by 56%.
Adore Beauty's profit margin increased by 0.6 percentage points to 33.1%, showing increased profitability. And, the online retailer is investing for growth. Its 'owned marketing channels' are also helping with marketing costs.
UBS rates Adore Beauty as a buy and expects double-digit revenue growth over the medium term. The broker has a price target of $4.70 on Adore shares, more than 120% above yesterday's share price of $2.12 at the market close.
Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison does not own shares of Adore Beauty Group Ltd.
Sebastian Bowen: Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)
Wesfarmers is one of the oldest ASX 200 blue-chip shares on the market. It is the company behind iconic retailers Bunnings, OfficeWorks, and Kmart. It also owns and has investments in a slew of other diversified businesses.
Historically, Wesfarmers is an ASX share that doesn't seem to go through price corrections too often. Yet that is what we've seen in recent months. Since August last year, this conglomerate has lost close to 30% of its value.
This, in turn, has pushed the company's fully franked dividend yield to more than 3.5% on recent pricing. As such, Wesfarmers shares might well be worth a look at in March.
Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen does not own shares of Wesfarmers Ltd.
Mitchell Lawler: Steadfast Group Ltd (ASX: SDF)
Steadfast is Australia's largest general insurance broker and underwriting agency network. In simple terms, that means it acts as the broker – not the insurer — selling insurance onto predominantly small-to-medium-sized enterprises.
This $4.59 billion company has had a slow start to the year, with Steadfast shares losing around 12%. However, the company provided solid numbers for the first half of FY22. These included underlying revenue increasing by 19% and net profit after tax (NPAT) surging by around 43% to $104.9 million.
In further positive news, Steadfast's full-year guidance was bumped up to between $163 million and $170 million.
Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler does not own shares of Steadfast Group Ltd.
Bernd Struben: Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN)
Baby Bunting is an iconic nursery retailer with 64 stores across Australia. The company plans to open more outlets over the coming months, forecasting it will eventually have more than 100 in Australia.
The company's expansion into New Zealand has been delayed by the pandemic, with the first Kiwi store now expected to open in 2023.
Atop the potential from its ongoing store rollout, Baby Bunting's diverse product offerings arguably present a decent-sized moat for would-be competitors. The company recently reported strong half-year results, with revenues and profits both up.
Baby Bunting also pays a 2.9% dividend yield, fully franked.
Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben does not own shares of Baby Bunting Group Ltd.
Aaron Teboneras: Bubs Australia Ltd (ASX: BUB)
According to Citi, the Bubs share price represents a significant buying opportunity at its current level.
The infant formula company released its 2022 financial year half-year results last Wednesday. Investors were clearly impressed, sending the Bubs share price almost 5% higher on the day.
In the release, Bubs management noted it continues to be the fastest-growing infant formula manufacturer across key retail chains. These include Chemist Warehouse, Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL), and Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW).
Following the record financial performance, Citi analysts raised their 12-month price target for Bubs shares by 7.4% to 73 cents.
Based on the Bubs share price of 42.5 cents at Monday's close, this represents a potential upside of almost 70%.
Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras does not own shares of Bubs Australia Ltd.
Zach Bristow: G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM)
The ASX has copped a hammering in 2022 – not G8 Education shares though.
Shares in G8 have thrust from a low of $1.04 in late January to close on Monday at $1.29 apiece, a gain of 24%. This also puts the G8 Education share price up by 14% for the year so far.
The company owns and operates childcare centres in Australia and Singapore. For the first half of FY22, operating revenue was up by 11% to $866 million, and net profit after tax (NPAT) was $46 million – up from a loss of $189 million last year.
EverBlu Capital is bullish on G8 Education shares and reckons valuations are attractive right now. The broker values G8 at $2.33 per share, suggesting a potential upside of around 80% at the time of writing.
Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow does not own shares of G8 Education Ltd.
Brendon Lau: APM Human Services International Ltd (ASX: APM)
There appears to be significant upside to the APM share price following the company's strong first-half result and upgraded profit guidance, according to Goldman Sachs. Investors appeared to agree, sending the company's shares 11% higher when its results were released last Friday.
APM's guidance upgrade was driven by the company's recent acquisitions but Goldman believes the upgrade might be too conservative. The broker is recommending APM shares as a buy with a 12-month price target of $4 per share. Based on the APM share price of $2.90 at Monday's close, this represents a possible upside of almost 38%.
Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau does not own shares in APM Human Services International Ltd.
James Mickleboro: Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV)
The Lovisa share price was a very strong performer in February, climbing by almost 15%. But it may not be too late to invest in this fashion jewellery retailer in March.
That's the view of the team at Morgans, which has put an add rating and $24.00 price target on the company's shares. Based on the Lovisa share price of $19.94 at Monday's close, this represents further potential upside of almost 20%.
Morgans was very impressed with Lovisa's performance during the first half and is confident this positive form will continue in the future. In fact, under the leadership of Lovisa's new CEO, Victor Herrero, the broker sees scope for Lovisa to become "a global force" and "one of the biggest success stories in Australian retail."
Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro does not own shares of Lovisa Holdings Ltd.
