Speculative players are worth keeping an eye on, even if you're not inclined to part with your hard-earning cash until their potential growth becomes reality.

These 3 speculative small caps are on brokers' minds right now, so that's always a good place to start when seeking out some watch and waits for your list.

Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN)

Uranium production and exploration company with projects throughout Australia, Canada and Africa, Paladin Energy Ltd, has been listed as a buy opportunity by Hartleys.

The broker believes the stock's long road to recovery is nearing an end, initiating coverage of the company with a speculative buy rating and a 12-month target price of 22c per share.

According to Hartleys, uranium prices need to recover to at least US$50/lb over the next two to four years to allow supply to meet even conservative assumptions on demand, and Paladin offers investors "the most liquid play on uranium on the ASX".

Paladin entered into administration late last year after issues with a long-term supply agreement with Electricite de France.

But the company announced earlier this year it had a production restart planned for its Langer Heinrich project and had emerged from its administration period.

Paladin's other key asset is its Kayelekera mine with a portfolio of exploration assets at various stages of appraisal.

Paladin has managed to reduce debt from US$739 million to US$120 million and has appointed a new board and CEO during its restructuring period and Hartleys believes it's "one of the more leveraged" companies as the uranium prices recover.

One to watch.

EQT Holdings Ltd (ASX: EQT)

Wilsons has placed a buy rating on financial services company EQT Holdings Ltd with the broker of the belief the company's base business "is set to consistently deliver double-digit earnings growth near term".

According to Wilsons, EQT is set to benefit from an increasingly supportive regulatory backdrop and has a strong management team.

Wilsons has a 12-month price target of $26.16 on EQT which opened today up 1.3% to $22.80.

EQT is a conservative player and the broker thinks EQT's focus is both "considered and sustainable" with merger and acquisition bolt-ons likely in the short to medium term.

EQT posted strong interim and full year results for 2018 and its main risks remain to be client losses and weak equity markets, while regulatory changes in the industry will likely act as growth catalysts going forward.

McPherson's Ltd (ASX: MCP)

Consumer products company McPherson's Ltd markets and distributes a range of health, beauty and household consumables.

CCZ Equities Research has a buy recommendation on the stock at present but has downgraded its price target from $1.88 to $1.59.

McPherson's share price was up 3.7% at the time of writing to $1.38.

According to CCZ, McPherson's is expecting around 5% growth rate in its core brands for the first quarter of 2019, but recent outlook statements from the discretionary retail sector have dampened the broker's revenue growth outlook forecast for the peak December period.

As a result, the broker has reduced FY19 revenue expectations by $10 million to $209 million.

However, McPherson's growth model, particularly in China, is likely to continue fairly strongly throughout FY19 – driven by its Dr LeWin's, Karen Murrell and A'kin brands.

Investors should keep an eye on AGM commentary on November 21 and the future possibility of merger and acquisition activity in the short to medium term.

The post 3 speculative small cap shares brokers like – and you might too appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Steadfast Group Ltd (ASX: SDF) share price has fallen 8.6% to $2.80 at the start of the trading week – slipping from a near 52-week high of $3.07 to close off November 9.

The insurance stock spent late October and early November gaining ground after the release of its AGM address and FY19 guidance, but much of these gains have been erased today in early trade.

It's unclear what the sharp dip in Steadfast's share price is related to, but other insurance providers are also falling into the red today, albeit it not as dramatically as Steadfast.

Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) shares are down 0.5% to $14.05 at the time of writing, with Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) shares down 0.5% to $7.18 while QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) holds steady at $11.49.

All insurance providers have faced a difficult time in the past six months as Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) reports into insurance rates have put pressure on margins.

But back in October, Steadfast forecast better than expected first-quarter FY19 organic growth driven by single-digit price rises by insurers, with a strong pipeline of acquisitions.

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The Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD) share price has zoomed up 10% to $8.15 to kick off the trading week as it handed down its FY18 results.

How come?

According to the results, Elders underlying NPAT is up 9%, or $5.3 million, on FY17 to $63.7 million with underlying EBITDA jumping 5% to $74.6 million and a fully-franked final dividend of 9c per share declared.

Elders CEO attributed the strong results to the company's Eight Point Plan with its retail business posting a $14.5 million margin improvement – driven by acquisition growth in horticulture and organic growth in Southern Australia.

The strategy did see costs rise from $13.8 million to $280.4 million, but this included acquisition costs for Kerr and Co Livestock and TitanAg.

Who else is on the gains?

Elders is joined by Lynas Corporation Ltd (ASX: LYC) around the top of the S&P/ASX 200 gains list today with Lynas' share price up 5% to $2.30, but Healthscope Ltd (ASX: HSO) takes out the top gong – up 11.3% to $2.31 after announcing a takeover proposal from Brookfield Capital Partners.

The post The Elders Ltd (ASX:ELD) share price is up 10% on FY18 results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd. (ASX: DMP) share price has fallen 10.5% to $49.82 at the time of writing off the back of the fast food retailer's AGM announcements yesterday.

So why the drop?

Despite the share price decline, AGM reports seemed positive overall.

Domino's has flagged product and technology innovation as capable of lifting sales in all markets, with a rollout in play in Japan – a market which has delivered 5% same-store sales growth for the financial year to date.

The Domino's share price has been under pressure lately but still has a 5.8% one-year return, although its dividend yield of 1.94% is no doubt lower than investors would like it to be.

But management remains "confident of significant growth" within the business and its footprint in Europe is growing with the integration of the Hallo Pizza business and 134 stores committed to converting.

Who else has hit the skids?

Other S&P/ASX 200 stocks joining Domino's on the falls list today include APA Group (ASX: APA) down 9.8% to $8.57 and James Hardie Industries plc (ASX: JHX) down 14.7% to $16.99.

At the other end of the scale, the Elipx Group Ltd (ASX: ECX) share price has lifted a whopping 18.7% to $2.73 at the time of writing.

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The Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price began a series of declines in mid-August but appears to be starting to recover.

Qantas announced today it was again in the position to qualify for inclusion in the MSCI Index as foreign persons potentially held 40.8% of its issued share capital.

State of play

The Qantas share price is at $5.67 at the time of writing, edging closer to its share price point at this time last year of $6.03.

The Qantas share price saw some solid gains in August, hitting a 52-week high on August 21 – closing off the days trade at $6.83 – but declines ever since have had shareholders nervous.

The declines began after the release of the Qantas annual report, where Qantas flagged a fuel bill increase of $860 million for FY19 which could really knock the airline's margins.

While Qantas can hope for lower oil prices to reduce fuel cost pressures, price competition among airlines is always waiting in the wings to pack a punch.

In the peripheral

Other shares climbing back from share price dips include Lynas Corporation Ltd (ASX: LYC) with the Lynas share price up 3.7% to $2.19 today and the AMP Limited (ASX: AMP) share price is also showing signs of recovery, at $2.62 from an October 52-week low of $2.31.

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The Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS) share price is at a 52-week high at the time of writing – up 5.2% to $4.64.

So what?

Bravura's share price has risen 157% in the last 12 months – a pattern of growth its shareholders are crossing their fingers it can continue on the trajectory of.

Bravura provides software solutions for wealth management, life insurance, and funds administration – all growing niches that continue to gain ground as the big four banks dump such platforms from their offerings.

Bravura is coming up with the goods in terms of fundamentals too, with solid FY18 results revealing NPAT rise of 27% and a revenue increase of 15%.

What's next?

This mid-cap stock is still considered speculative by most, but it joins a legion of fast-growing tech stocks that are causing excitement among investors, such as Altium Limited (ASX: ALU), which has seen its own share price jump 83% in the last year.

The Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price and the Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) share price are both worth a watch right now too, with Xero up 2.4% today to $44.01 and Afterpay rising a whopping 13.9% to $14.83.

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The REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) share price is up 10% to $79.50 at the time of writing after the digital advertising business released its FY19 first quarter financials earlier this morning.

According to the report, revenue is up 17% to $221.9 million for the quarter with EBITDA rising 23% to $130.9 million.

The strong revenue growth can be attributed to REA's Australian Residential business amid tough market conditions and despite a 3% decrease in listings nationally and listing declines of 8% across Sydney specifically.

With market conditions not expected to improve in the short term, listing figures could remain weak, but REA's CEO says the company is "confident in its strategy" for the remainder of FY19.

A softer housing market has knocked Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX: DHG) with a sharp share price decline since October.

Furniture retailer Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK) is also struggling with overall market conditions, but its shares are up 2.1% at the time of writing to $5.22.

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International student placement services company IDP Education Ltd's (ASX: IEL) share price is up 73% on its price point at this time last year – sitting at $9.73 at the time of writing from $5.62 on November 8 last year.

IDP has a stronghold on the international student placement and English language testing services niche – a growing sector – and its FY19 results are expected to be strong.

IDP reported its revenue rose by 24% to $487 million for FY18 with EBITDA growth of 30%.

While IDP's share price is currently at a premium, investors continue to rally behind the stock, and Morgan Stanley placed a buy rating on the share back in August with a price target of $11.00.

Elsewhere in the education sector, the Navitas Limited (ASX: NVT) share price is still looking healthy despite posting an FY18 loss of $55.3 million due to a one-off charge of rationalising its business portfolio.

The G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM) share price has all but bottomed out this year – sitting at $2.14 at the time of writing from $4.47 at this time last year.

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When seeking portfolio diversification, some investors like to put some funds behind more speculative picks.

Keep in mind, speculative stocks require a high-risk tolerance, and brokers themselves are quite reluctant to put too many bets on companies that still have a lot to prove.

But these 3 speculative companies have been named by brokers as either buys or holds, here's why.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

Canaccord Genuity has maintained its hold recommendation on $399 million market cap provider of network services, Megaport Ltd, with a price target of $3.80 on the stock.

Megaport's share price is up 5.3% to $3.56 at the time of writing.

According to the broker, Megaport's increased investment and focus on sales was evident in its first-quarter update for 2019 with the business clocking its largest quarterly increase in customers and monthly recurring revenue.

Its first quarter cash flow burn of $9.9 million was also lower than the $12.5 million and $11 million logged in the previous two quarters with operating costs stabilising and cash at $46.2 million.

These are some pretty strong fundamentals for an emerging company so you can understand why the broker's interest was piqued here and it's not too hard to believe Megaport will reach its forecast share price.

Lycopodium Limited (ASX: LYL)

Hartley's has a buy rating on $179 million market cap engineering and project management consultancy, Lycopodium Limited.

The broker has a 12-month price target of $5.80 on the stock – Lycopodium's share price was steady at $4.51 today.

According to Hartley's, Lycopodium's ability to achieve annual profit every year since listing in 2013 is commendable, and I'd have to agree, but obviously, its profitability is leveraged to the resources cycle, although Lycopodium has a number of potential contract wins in its pipeline.

Lycopodium's Mondium joint venture with Monadelphous Group Limited (ASX: MND) is an upside, in the broker's view, and a low-risk one at that.

The company's cash flow generation seems to be in good health, so Lycopodium's balance sheet is solid.

This is certainly one to watch.

Heron Resources Ltd (ASX: HRR)

Heron Resources is an exploration and mineral development company with interests in nickel, gold and base metals and a $151 million market cap.

This week State One Stockbroking has slapped a buy on the small cap with a target price of $1.40 – tipping the company as the ASX's next "zinc producer about to fly".

The basis of this rating by the broker is due to a forecast Heron will be one of only four zinc-focused producers listed on the ASX by the first quarter of 2019.

The broker believes, although the prices for zinc have primarily softened in recent months, the commodity has comfortably outperformed its base metal peer group over the past 5 years – and less competition in the market will give all players a boost to keep up with demand.

The broker's high-risk speculative buy rating assumed zero project slippage, but if margins materialise as forecast during 2019, State One sees scope for its 33% risk-discount to unwind.

Don't forget such a valuation is sensitive to underlying base metal prices if you're looking into this one.

Heron's share price was up 0.8% to 63c per share at the time of writing, so State One is suggesting a significant upside will be made soon.

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The Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY) share price has risen 4.7% to $2.74c per share at the time of writing as the global lithium company continues on its share price recovery after bottoming out in late October.

The rally could have something to do with Morgan Stanley upgrading the share to an overweight rating and increasing its price target to $2.90 this week.

Galaxy's September quarter results revealed solid production from its Mt Cattlin operations with Galaxy's cash reserves looking healthy following the sale of its Sal de Vida tenements.

Elsewhere in the sector, the Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE) share price is also on the rise today, up 1% to $4.36 while another lithium peer, Pilbara Minerals Ltd's (ASX: PLS) share price is down slightly to 84c per share.

Some more speculative stocks to watch with lithium interests include Argosy Minerals Limited (ASX: AGY) and Altura Mining Ltd (ASX: AJM) which went into a voluntary trading halt today pending an announcement.

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The Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) share price is up 11.52% to $1.98 at the time of writing – a welcome incline for a stock that has been on the decline steadily since January 2018.

What happened?

Syrah Resources is an emerging industrial mining and technology company responsible for the Balama graphite project in Mozambique with targets to supply graphite to technology markets.

Syrah today announced it had signed a binding sales agreement with Taida – a Shandong-based company focused on the production of battery anode materials.

The agreement commences immediately and Syrah will supply 20kt of graphite from its Balama project until August 2019.

Now what?

The agreement will likely improve Syrah's growth prospects quite noticeably and investors who are interested in the emergence of graphite will likely be impressed by Balama's future prospects.

If graphite is the "new black gold" investors might also keep small cap Talga Resources Ltd (ASX: TLG) on watch although it's a pretty speculative pick.

More "reliable" commodity picks would, of course, be BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) or Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO).

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There are slim pickings on the 52-week high list right now with overall market volatility meaning few sectors have companies printing 12-month share price highs.

But these 3 shares are sitting at their best for the year.

Here's some insight into why.

Mount Gibson Iron Limited (ASX: MGX)

The Mount Gibson Iron Limited share price hit a 52-week high on Melbourne Cup day yesterday, closing at 60c per share, only to slide down marginally in early morning trade today.

The iron ore miner's share price has been on the incline since last month following an investor update outlining the progress of its Koolan Island and Mid-West Region projects in particular.

Total iron ore sales for Mount Gibson rose 19% in the September quarter – in line with guidance – while cash costs came in below guidance.

There's been good news across the board for the iron ore sector of late, with a technical bull market being declared late last month as the benchmark price soared.

But while small cap Mount Gibson's share price has risen in light of the news, the companies at the bigger end of town in iron ore haven't necessarily felt any of the same good vibes.

BHP Billiton Limited's (ASX: BHP) share price has dropped 1% to $33.19 at the time of writing after several months of ups and downs, with Rio Tinto Limited's (ASX: RIO) share price also in the red by 0.5% to $80.77 today, despite a short-lived rally recently.

Scottish Pacific Group Ltd (ASX: SCO)

Financial services provider Scottish Pacific Group shares are sitting up at $4.35 at the time of writing, a good one and a half times its $2.84 price point at this time last year and a 52-week high for the stock.

Things have been looking healthy for Scottish Pacific since it announced it had entered a scheme implementation agreement with Affinity Equity Partners in late September.

Under the arrangement, Affinity will acquire 100% of its share capital.

Affinity is an Asian private equity firm and the takeover is valued at $630 million.

Scottish Pacific handed down strong FY18 results with NPAT up 17.4% to $29.4 million and revenue rising 8% to $108.6 million.

Propertylink Group (ASX: PLG)

With a $708 million market cap, internally-managed real estate group Propertylink Group is asserting itself as somewhat of a quiet achiever.

Which is likely why it's become a takeover target, with private equity investment house ESR moving to gobble it up by way of an off-market takeover offer.

Propertylink has more than $1.8 billion in assets under management with office properties, logistics, and business park assets in its portfolio.

But major shareholder Centuria Capital Ltd (ASX: CNI) has requisitioned an extraordinary general meeting for November 15 with the intent to oust the current Propertylink board.

Despite the drama, the Propertylink share price is up 0.4% to $1.18 at the time of writing off the back of a solid year of inclines while investors wait to see what the outcome of the meeting is.

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The A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price is down 3.6% to $9.43 at the time of writing after a day of declines yesterday.

Considered a sought-after growth stock, any dip in the A2 Milk share price has punters scrambling for buy-ins and if its latest trading update is anything to go by its core businesses of fresh milk and Chinese infant formula are growing strongly.

Volatility in the A2 Milk share price is likely down to concerns about increased competition in China, but overall the company has pretty solid fundamentals and there doesn't look to be too many headwinds on the horizon.

Baby formula peer Bellamy's Australia Ltd's (ASX: BAL) share price has also been stuck in reverse of late.

The Bellamy's share price is down 3.7% to $7.78 at the time of writing after spending the second half of the 2018 calendar year in decline.

A lesser-known contender in the sector is Wattle Health Australia Ltd (ASX: WHA) but its share price is also struggling.

The Wattle Health share price has dropped 1.8% today to $1.05 after a period of decline since April.

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Crashing or plummeting are not words you want to associate with anything airline related, but that's exactly what's happened to the Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price today.

Webjet's share price is down 7.4% to $11.95 at the time of writing with a notice on the registry today that it had successfully completed an institutional entitlement offer and raised $92 million failing to impress investors.

The institutional component had strong support from institutional shareholders, with a 97% take-up rate.

Webjet was placed into a trading halt on November 5 while it launched its capital raising to fund its Destinations of the World (DOTW) acquisition.

The total transaction value of the DOTW acquisition is US$529 million.

The travel sector is reeling from the Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) short seller debacle, but for all intents and purposes Webjet looks like a future growth stock star and is certainly a threat to Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT).

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If you used your Melbourne Cup winnings back in 2008 to purchase some blue chip Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) shares you'd have expected some decent gains if you'd held onto them until Melbourne Cup 2018, right?

Think again.

In fact, you've been going nowhere pretty fast, unfortunately.

Way back on November 4, 2008, the Woolworths share price was about $29 – so if you had bet 40 to 1 on Bart Cummings and his winning racehorse Viewed, you'd have had a tidy sum to invest that day.

Fast forward 10 years later to yesterday, and the Woolworths share price closed at $29. That's a pretty sad fact for many investors who undoubtedly expected far more from such a company – which makes its millions feeding and watering average Australians in the "reliable" consumer staples industry.

So, what went wrong, Woolworths?

The investment bible tells us past performance is no guarantee of future returns, but still, if you invested in Woolworths shares now for the medium to long term you'd certainly expect some capital growth by 2028, right?

You'd want to cover the effect of inflation at least?

But the mythical 2008 backer of Viewed who chose to invest their winnings in Woolworths got no such thing.

The MarketIndex broker consensus for Woolworths is hold – but now I look at the last 10 years of "performance" from these guys – I'm not so sure anymore.

Woolworths has recently been winning the sales race against Coles from the Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) stable, but there's no guarantee that trend will continue – consumers are fickle.

Wesfarmers has recently jettisoned its Coles business with the comments Coles consumed around 60% of its capital spend but delivered just 34% of earnings.

Wesfarmers is focused on looking for some higher growth prospects, and if we take Woolworths as an example, that's probably a good idea.

And while Coles has been, and likely always will be, a direct threat for Woolworths, things could get even more complex in the grocery space after Morgan Stanley threw its weight behind Metcash Limited (ASX: MTS) to beat Woolies at its own game, at least in the short term.

Let's not even mention how Aldi and the soon to come Lidl are impacting the overall market.

Morgan Stanley is expecting Metcash to have a bumper December of outperformance, meanwhile, Woolworths is sitting exactly where it was a decade ago, so it seems.

And the proof is in the recent numbers with Woolworths' recent quarterly update revealing its sales growth in its supermarket division was at a two-year low.

As a potential silver lining, comparable sales at its Big W department stores has jumped 2.2% for the quarter which is a welcome boost for a business that has historically struggled.

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The Bellamy's Australia Ltd (ASX: BAL) share price is up 5.6% to $8.20 at the time of writing with no clues in the registry as to why the stock is staging a mini recovery.

The 1-year capital loss on Bellamy's shares is down 34.65% at present, after the Tasmanian-owned baby formula stalwart's shares began to hit the skids back in March.

A surge upwards in the Bellamy's share price is a welcome change for shareholders who must have been getting concerned the good old days would never return, alas its likely not time to pop the champagne just yet.

US and China trade war-related issues have put a dampener on the previously strong sector, but Bellamy's has a debt-free solid balance sheet to lean upon despite these industry headwinds.

While today's rally might not mean the share price is on a definite incline from hereon, investors should keep an eye on Bellamy's movements, alongside other stocks with Chinese interests, namely, A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) and Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE).

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S&P/ASX 200 commodity darling BHP Billiton Limited's (ASX: BHP) share price is on close watch after news broke today the oil and gas giant would face another law suit over Brazil's Samarco dam catastrophe.

According to the Belfast Telegraph, a class action has been filed in Liverpool in the UK by the SPG Law firm with more than 240,000 claimants.

BHP's share price seems untouched by such news so far today – up 0.8% to $33.40 – in line with its November surge off the back of the announcement for BHP's US$10.4 billion buy back and special dividend program.

BHP's shares suffered a slump in share price following its mid-October AGM and Citi placed a buy rating on the share earlier this week, albeit before news of the class action broke.

It's unclear what the Samarco legal debacle will mean for the BHP share price, but investors should keep an eye on things.

Sector peer Rio Tinto Limited's(ASX: RIO) share price is up 1.7% to $80.98 today with Woodside Petroleum Limited's (ASX: WPL) share price also up 2.1% to $34.10.

The post BHP Billiton Limited (ASX:BHP) share price on watch after Samarco class action appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX: IPL) share price is up 4.3% to $4.19 at the time of writing – one of today's S&P/ASX 200's top gainers.

So, what's behind the surge?

The explosives manufacturer is said to be on the verge of reporting a positive earnings surprise when it hands down its FY18 results on November 13.

The rally could be related to investor anticipation of this report, but either way, Incitec has printed a 52-week high today, no doubt keeping shareholders happy.

At an investor presentation in September Incitec reported it was positioned for increased returns off the back of unlocking opportunities in explosives, fertilisers and industrial chemicals.

Chemicals cousin Orica Ltd's (ASX: ORI) share price is also on the up, albeit more modestly, with a 0.6% rise to $17.94, while Incitec's competitor in the fertiliser space, Nufarm Limited's (ASX: NUF) share price rose 3% today to $5.88.

The post Why the Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX:IPL) share price is rising appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price is down 0.9% to $185.78 at the time of writing after a succession of declines since September – but the S&P/ASX 200 declines are not where CSL finds itself most at home.

The one-year return on CSL shares is still 29.78%, but investors acclimatised to its consistent inclines could be excused for being slightly nervous about the CSL share price over the last two months.

For most healthcare-focused investors, CSL is the ultimate holding, with the biopharmaceutical giant considered one of the highest-quality businesses on the ASX and long-term growth in its plasma and influenza business units almost guaranteed.

The recent slow down in price is likely a response to bearishness in the overall market of late, and CSL still manages to outpace sector peer Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH) in terms of value and growth, with the Cochlear share price down today at $172.07.

ResMed Inc (ASX: RMD) is another option to consider in healthcare and its also in a share price slump right now.

The post The CSL Limited (ASX:CSL) share price is falling appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Shareholders must have cheered to see the Pact Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: PGH) share price rise 3.7% to $3.58 today after a period of declines since early August.

The manufacturer of packaging products shares slumped after the release of its FY18 results which revealed a statutory NPAT drop of 18% from FY17.

The Pact Group share price has dropped 37% over the last 12 months, but part of its profit dip can be attributed to expenses totalling around $23 million – due primarily to a higher earn-out for its Pascoe's acquisition, transaction costs for its Asian acquisition and restructuring costs.

Pact Group has forecast EBITDA growth to between $270 million and $280 million for FY19 and if raw materials costs are more manageable, should be able to improve on its margins.

Packaging is an interesting niche, with Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA) and Amcor Limited (ASX: AMC) also worth a look in the space.

The post The Pact Group Holdings Ltd (ASX:PGH) share price is having its best day in months appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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