There are a lot of ASX dividend shares to choose from on the Australian share market.
To narrow things down for income investors, I have picked out two that Morgans has put on its best ideas list this month.
Let's see what the broker is saying about these shares:
Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)
Analysts at Morgans think this supermarket giant would be a top ASX dividend share to buy right now. The broker currently has an add rating and an $18.95 price target on its shares.
It believes that recent share price weakness has been overdone and created a buying opportunity for investors. The broker explains:
In our view, the ongoing scrutiny on the supermarkets has affected short term sentiment in the sector, which we believe creates a good buying opportunity in COL. While Liquor sales remain soft, we expect the core Supermarkets division (~92% of earnings) to continue to be supported by further improvement in product availability, reduction in total loss, greater in-home consumption due to cost-of-living pressures, and population growth.
In respect to dividends, it is expecting Coles to be in a position to pay fully franked dividends of 66 cents per share in FY 2024 and 69 cents per share in FY 2025. Based on the current Coles share price of $16.21, this implies dividend yields of approximately 4.1% and 4.25%, respectively.
Dexus Industria REIT (ASX: DXI)
Another ASX dividend share that has been named as a buy by Morgans is Dexus Industria. It is a real estate investment trust with a focus on industrial warehouses. The broker has an add rating and $3.18 price target on its shares.
Morgans believes the company is well-positioned to benefit from solid demand for industrial property and its development pipeline. It commented:
The portfolio is valued at $1.6bn across +90 properties with 89% of the portfolio weighted towards industrial assets (WACR 5.38%). The portfolio's WALE is around 6 years and occupancy 97.5%. Across the portfolio 50% of leases are linked to CPI with the balance on fixed increases between 3-3.5%. While we expect cap rates to expand further in the near term, DXI's industrial portfolio remains robust with the outlook positive for rental growth. The development pipeline also provides near and medium-term upside potential and post asset sales there is balance sheet capacity to execute.
As for income, the broker is forecasting dividends per share of 16.4 cents in FY 2024 and then 16.6 cents in FY 2025. Based on the current Dexus Industria share price of $2.98, this will mean dividend yields of 5.5% and 5.6%, respectively.
