PWR Holdings Ltd (ASX: PWH) has seen its share price sink more than 7% so far in 2017 to trade at around $2.29 currently, with some shareholders seemingly not happy with the performance of the automotive company this year. That may be an opportunity at these prices.

What investors may not realise is that PWR Holdings is forecasting a better second-half, with revenues and profit driven by calendar-year motorsports seasons. The company also says that it continues to make inroads into motorsports markets to generate organic growth, and its reputation in motorsports means PWR Holdings has opportunities in niche original equipment manufacturer (OEM) programs.

PWR Holdings designs and manufactures customised cooling systems for motor vehicles. Its products are in heavy demand from several high-profile motorsports organisations including Formula 1, NASCAR and Australia's V8 Supercars series.

We'd like to see the company diversify its customer range into more motorsports bodies and OEM programs which should increase revenues and make it less vulnerable if it lost one or more of the elite motorsports series.

According to some sources, shares are trading at a P/E ratio of more than 24x which may appear expensive. That ignores the expected increase in earnings, not to mention the potential for higher dividends over time.

The post Why PWR Holdings Ltd could see its share price rise from here appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) has seen its share price sink more than 3% to $5.19 at the end of trading after earlier hitting a high of $5.42.

The reason for the fall is that the Federal Court has found in favour of an indigenous group (Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation) that was claiming exclusive native title rights over land that includes Fortescue's huge Solomon iron ore mine. That could lead to Fortescue having to pay millions if not hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation.

With estimates that the Solomon hub could produce up to $280 billion in revenues over its life, it could be an expensive decision for Fortescue Metals.

Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation is reported to have filed the first claim in 2003, making it one of the longest-running native title cases in Australian history. The Corporation has been fighting with Fortescue over royalties and land access since 2007 according to The Australian.

However, the matter is unlikely to be settled anytime soon, with Fortescue likely to appeal the ruling, meaning more court time. That could hang over the share price until the matter is resolved.

The post Fortescue Metals Group Limited share price sinks on native title decision appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Much of the hype in the media has been about fintech stocks, but not all finance companies with good future prospects have to be technology companies as well. Here are five finance companies that could boost the returns in your portfolio, simply because they are growing actively. Take a closer look before the rest of the market discovers them.

Emerchants Ltd (ASX: EML) has a market cap of $394m and is the biggest of the companies here. Emerchants provides electronic payments solutions for prepaid card products and services, issuing and processing debit cards as well as others like store gift cards. Growth in sales is expected to soar as corporate bookmakers' customers make more use of winnings cards. The company has also expanded into the UK and just this week into the US with its virtual payments platform.

Consolidated Operations Group Ltd (ASX: COG) has a market cap of $157m but is virtually unheard of. Formerly known as Armidale Investment Corporation, Cons Operations is the holding company for several diversified companies offering business finance for several different purposes including asset and equipment finance, insurance and mortgage solutions and leasing and commercial asset rental. Several recent acquisitions should add materially to revenue growth, with earnings per share expected to follow.

Pioneer Credit Ltd (ASX: PNC), with a market cap of $152m, is a debt collector, specialising in unsecured retail debt portfolios. Pioneer also offers customers loans so they can consolidate debts and refinance existing loans. The company recently announced that it expected to see a net profit for the 2018 financial year (FY2018) to rise by more than 49% over the FY2017 profit. At the current share price of $2.54, shares are trading at an undemanding P/E of 15x for FY2017.

Axsesstoday Ltd (ASX: AXL) has a market cap of $72m. The company provides financing to businesses for new or used commercial equipment such as display fridges, pizza ovens, forklifts and other yellow goods. The list even extends to computers, printers and copiers as well as workstations and furniture. In some respects, Axsesstoday resembles Silver Chef Limited (ASX: SIV) and probably competes with Silver Chef in some industries. The company has reported strong market share growth translating into earnings, with a 157% growth in net profit after tax for FY2017 compared to FY2016, and flagged a 67% increase in net profit in FY2018.

Easton Investments Ltd (ASX: EAS), with a market cap of $37m, is the baby of the bunch. The company provides traditional accounting and asset & wealth management services. The first half of FY2017 wasn't one to write home about but was impacted by a one off extraordinary item. The good news is that the company continues to grow its funds under advice, as well as the number of SMSFs that are under the company's administration. Additionally, the majority of Easton's businesses generate higher earnings in the second-half of the year so that we can put the first half behind us.

The post 5 overlooked finance shares to add to your watchlist appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has gone nowhere in the past three months, actually falling 0.9%.

These three speculative technology companies have seen their share prices more than double. Here's our view.

Big Un Ltd (ASX: BIG) has seen its share price rise more than 200% in the past three months, and is up more than 1,272% in the previous 12 months as we noted last week. I won't repeat the details here, but a summary is that Big Un is generating astonishing growth in revenues, average revenue per user and subscribers.

The company makes promotional videos for many businesses allowing them to promote themselves online via video content. That appears to be a rising ad market – much like outdoor advertising, so it's easy to see why Big Un's share price is soaring.

The Buddy Platform Ltd (ASX: BUD) share price has gained 159% in three months to trade at 14 cents. The company offers a number of products that give businesses the ability to track and monitor resource spending such as electricity, water and solar power generation. It can gather information from various Internet of Things devices and bring them all together on one platform, which should make it easier for companies to monitor resources.

As more businesses and governments turn to smarter resources to improve efficiency, Buddy should see more sales, but investors should be aware that this is still a highly speculative, unprofitable stock.

Topbetta Holdings Ltd (ASX: TBH) has seen its share price rise 140% since April 2017. The company has its own wagering and betting platform as well as a fantasy wagering system that allows sports fans to compete online against each other via online tournaments. It's a huge, growing industry and Topbetta continues to increase turnover and revenues each quarter at astonishing rates. The June quarter saw revenue jump 114% compared to the March quarter, no wonder the share price is soaring.

Topbetta has flagged gaining licence approval in the UK and US as two of its priorities in the next 12 months, aiming for $150 million in turnover. For investors not adverse to investing in gambling companies, Topbetta might be worth a flutter.

Foolish takeaway

While these businesses might be suitable for a small speculative part of your portfolio, investors should note that the share prices of unprofitable companies can be highly volatile – Buddy Platform Ltd lost 46% of its value between its IPO price and August 2016.

The post Why these 3 tech companies have more than doubled in just three months appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) share price has just hit another 52-week high of $2.02, having risen more than 50% so far in 2017.

The online retailer sells numerous products from electronics, computers, appliances, baby, kids and family items, household goods and health & beauty products as well as offering prepaid mobile phone plans in a partnership with Vodafone – 50% owned by Hutchison Telecommunications (AUS) Ltd (ASX: HTA).

How long Kogan's share price can remain this high is anyone's guess though. Many of its products are also sold by Amazon, and the imminent arrival of the giant US retailer into Australia selling similar products could see Kogan lose millions of dollars in sales. The difference too is that many of Amazon's products are brand-names, which consumers might prefer to Kogan's white-label products rebranded under its home brands. Other retailers like JB Hi-FI Limited (ASX: JBH) could also be forced to slash their margins, creating even more competition for Kogan.

At the current share price, Kogan appears expensive, especially given the Amazon threat. Foolish investors might want to steer clear for now, with better opportunities out there…

The post The Kogan.com Ltd share price just hit another 52-week high appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Considering how much construction and engineering companies have seen their share prices soar over the past few months, anyone looking closely might wonder if a new mining boom is underway.

Commodities prices, including iron ore and oil have risen, but so have expectations that prices for many more commodities like coal, gold and copper will stay higher for longer.

Here is a selection of mining services-related companies and their share prices moves in the past three months.

Source: S&P Glboal Markets Intelligence, Google Finance.

Ok, I've cherry-picked that list, with several engineering and construction companies seeing their share prices sink over the past three months, including AJ Lucas Group Limited (ASX: AJL) and Cardno Limited (ASX: CDD).

However, when large services companies like Monadelphous and ALS Ltd are seeing price gains of 20% and above, it might indicate that the sector could be coming back to life following a crash in capital expenditure over the past few years.

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The Prime Media Group Limited (ASX: PRT) share price has just hit a 52-week high of 40 cents, and is now up more than 22% over the past month.

As a regional television broadcaster affiliated with Seven West Media Ltd (ASX: SWM), Prime carries the Channel 7 programming into regional areas on the East Coast of Australia, as well as the Ten Network Holdings Limited (ASX: TEN) into regional Western Australia.

With expectations that existing media rules will be relaxed fairly soon, Prime Media is a prime (excuse the pun) takeover target by one of the metropolitan networks like Seven and Ten.

That's the most likely reason why the share price has soared so much. Additionally, media companies are expected to see their licence fees slashed, which is obviously a positive for their earnings.

Peer Southern Cross Media Group Ltd (ASX: SXL) hasn't enjoyed the same sort of rise as Prime Media, up just 8.9% over the past month, although the company has substantial commercial radio assets as well as regional television broadcasting.

At the current price of 40 cents, Prime boasts a trailing, fully franked dividend yield of more than 9.5%, which may also make it very attractive to investors.

The post Why the Prime Media Group Limited share price is at a 52-week high appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) has seen its share price rise more than 9% since June 21, when it traded around $58 and is now changing hands at above $65.

The giant miner, which generates most of its revenues and earnings from iron ore is heavily dependent on commodity prices as you might expect. While iron ore is by far its most valuable commodity, Rio also counts aluminium, bauxite, coal and copper as income earners. Ultra-low production costs mean the miner also features high earnings margins with iron ore earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) at 63% and Bauxite at 50% EBITDA margin. Copper and aluminium had EBITDA margins of 46% and 26% in the 2016 financial year.

Overnight, iron ore prices jumped for the second consecutive day, reaching US$64.05 a tonne according to Metal Bulletin. Unfortunately, no one knows where iron ore prices are heading, although several analysts are forecasting prices of around US$50 a tonne by the end of 2017.

Increasing supply from Brazil and Gina Rinehart's Roy Hill mine could put downward pressure on the spot iron ore price.

Rio has also committed to cutting its debt levels and is selling off its Coal & Allied business, which is expected to sell for around US$2.45 billion, plus US$240 million via royalty payments over five years. Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL) is expected to be the successful bidder, having obtained NSW government approvals for the transaction.

The company had $9.6 billion of debt in mid-May and further cost-cutting, increasing productivity and efficiency should see that fall further.

Foolish takeaway

If China continues to demand raw materials as it has in the past, commodity prices should hold up, and Rio will benefit and so should the company's shareholders. Higher dividends may also flow through over time. But as a resources company, Rio depends on where commodity prices go, and I don't have a magic crystal ball to tell me if that is higher or lower.

As such, I'll be avoiding Rio, like most other resources companies – with better opportunities elsewhere like the company below.

The post Is the Rio Tinto Limited share price headed higher? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has dropped 9.3% since July 11, 2007, when it was at 6,325.13 points according to Standard & Poor's. It's currently at 5,739.10. The ASX 200 total return index over the same period is up 41% with dividends reinvested.

However, many stocks in the index have delivered monster returns over the same 10-year period. Here's a look at the top ten, according to data from S&P Capital IQ.

Source: S&P Global Markets Intelligence

The results illustrate how important dividends can be to an investor's overall returns.

The other lesson from the data is about the power of compounding that long-term performance brings. Investors would also notice that none of the Top 20 stocks by market cap are in the list – which shows how hard it is for larger companies to outperform the market significantly.

Had you held Sandfire Resources for just 12 months from July 11, 2007, to July 2008, you would've seen the share price fall 30%, while the market dropped more than 20%.

Foolish takeaway

The path to successful investing involves buying into high quality companies, holding for long periods and reinvesting on a regular basis back into the market.

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Investment bank Moelis Australia Ltd (ASX: MOE) has seen its share price hit a 52-week high of $3.95 today, a 68% jump so far since listing in April 2017 at an IPO price of $2.35 per share.

According to the company's prospectus, Moelis has grown from a small boutique financial advisory business to a financial services group active in two core segments: Corporate Advisory & Equities and Asset Management. It also has a strategic alliance with the US-listed investment bank, Moelis & Company, and Moelis & Co has retained a 40% holding in Moelis Australia.

Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) is obviously much larger and has more business operations, but Moelis could grow into Australia's second-largest investment bank behind Macquarie.

While still in its infancy, Moelis generated $62 million of revenue in the 2016 financial year (FY16) and pro forma earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of $18.8 million.

In the calendar year 2016 (CY16), Moelis generated $13.9 million in net profit and is forecasting $16.8 million in CY17.

At the IPO issue price, shares were trading at an adjusted P/E of 14.6x, with an annualised dividend yield of between 2.2% and 3.6%. That may not appear attractive, especially considering the 68% increase in the share price since the IPO, but Moelis should be considered a long-term investment i.e. at least three to five years. Of the ~$60 million raised in the IPO, roughly $44 million will be used by Moelis to grow the company, according to the prospectus.

Foolish takeaway

While the current price might be high, Moelis might be one financial stock to watch closely – particularly when it reports its half-year in August 2017.

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In the past few days, a number of managed funds have increased their stake in online education provider 3P Learning Ltd (ASX: 3PL).

Several of Wilson Asset Management's listed investment companies are named as substantial shareholders in 3P Learning including WAM Microcap Limited (ASX: WMI), WAM Research Limited (ASX: WAX) and WAM Capital Limited (ASX: WAM).

WAM Microcap increased its holding by adding nearly 2 million shares to its portfolio in late June and early July.

Australian Ethical Investment Limited (ASX: AEF) also increased its shareholding from just over 7% to 8.99% on June 30, 2017.

Directors have also been buying, including chairman Sam Weiss in April.

3P Learning provides educational software, including its best known and most successful product Mathletics, to 5.9 million online subscribers and more than 20,000 schools around the world including in the US and Europe.

Currently trading on a prospective P/E of ~19x and yet to pay a dividend, 3PL doesn't look all that attractive. However, if the company can continue growing subscribers, refining its operating model which should help keep expenses down, and rationalise its product portfolio, this could be one tech company to watch.

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So-called pot stocks have been popular on the ASX since the start of 2017, with a number seeing their share prices rocket up.

Stemcell United Ltd (ASX: SCU) saw its share price climb nearly 3,000% in one day in March after announcing that it had appointed the industry-acclaimed "King of Cannabis" Nevil Schoenmakers as a strategic adviser.

A portfolio of the following 14 ASX companies involved in the marijuana sector has rallied 278% since the start of this year.

The largest, TPI Enterprises Limited (ASX: TPE) has a market cap of $137 million according to Commsec. Medlab Clinical Ltd (ASX: MDC) has a market cap of $84 million says Google Finance, followed by MMJ Phytotech Ltd (ASX: MMJ) with $71 million and then Auscann Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: AC8) which is valued at $57.5 million.

MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: MXC) is valued at $48.3 million, closely followed by Cann Group Ltd (ASX: CAN) at $47 million. Creso Pharma Ltd (ASX: CPH) is valued at $33 million and Zelda Therapeutics Ltd (ASX: ZLD) on $31 million.

Then we have the minnows, including Stemcell United, Botanix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: BOT), Hydroponics Company Ltd (ASX: THC), Queensland Bauxite Ltd (ASX: QBL), Esense-Lab (ASX: ESE) and BOD Australia Ltd (ASX: BDA).

However, there are big differences in what each of the companies do along the marijuana supply chain.

Here's a brief summary of some of the major players in the sector.

TPI Enterprises mostly produces narcotic raw material (NRM) from poppies but is moving into producing medicinal cannabis. In the 2016 financial year (FY16), TPI produced a loss before tax of $14 million, despite sales of $7.6 million. Those sales are mostly from NRM, not medicinal cannabis.

Medlab Clinical is a speculative biotechnology company that is starting human trials of different cannabis-based therapies. There's no certainty that the trials will be successful, but Medlab is focused on other medicines as well as nutraceuticals. So far, that hasn't lead to profits, with the biotech reporting a $1.8 million loss for the six months to the end of December 2016.

MMJ Phytotech is more a holding company, with a ~60% interest in Canadian corporation Harvest One Cannabis Inc (market cap of ~C$49 million) and its wholly-owned Israeli subsidiary, research and development company Phytotech Therapeutics Ltd. Harvest One is diversified too, with a horticultural arm named United Greeneries and medical business Satipharm AG. Phytotech Therapeutics is conducting medical trials with medicinal cannabis-based therapies. MMJ Phytotech had no revenues in the last six months, producing a first-half loss of $4.5 million.

Auscann aims to become a producer of medicinal cannabis in Australia, but has already completed its first harvest (of more than 300kgs) in Chile in April 2017. The company currently imports cannabis medicines into Australia, which will be used until its own product becomes available. Auscann even supplies Zelda Therapeutics for clinical trials. So far Auscann hasn't generated any revenues, and we'll have to wait for their June quarter report to find out if any progress has been made.

MGC Pharmaceuticals produces and distributes medicinal cannabis from a number of sites in Europe, and has a 51% interest in MGC Derma, a cosmetics and dermatological products company. MGC is also conducting clinical trials on a number of cannabis formulations for treatment of diseases such as epilepsy. In the March 2017 quarter, MGC saw $51,000 in sales from customers, which should ramp up over the next quarters.

Cann Group is a grower and licenced producer of marijuana as well as holding two cannabis research permits. First plants are expected to be harvested in early August 2017, so the company has yet to see much in the way of sales revenue. Canada's second-largest listed medicinal marijuana company Aurora Cannabis Inc holds a 19.9% stake in Cann Group.

Creso Pharma has two divisions, with Creso Switzerland focused on development and commercialisation of medicinal cannabis both for humans and animals. The second division, Hemp Industries focuses on cultivating and producing hemp-based health products. Creso should see substantial sales flowing in the next few months with the imminent release of a number of products.

Zelda Therapeutics is focused on developing medicinal cannabis therapies and running clinical trials for insomnia, eczema and autism, as well as several pre-clinical cancer studies.

I won't cover the smaller companies here – that's for another post.

Foolish takeaway

It's hard to tell which of these medicinal cannabis companies will be the successful ones at such an early stage in their life. Investors might want to view most (if not all) of these stocks as highly speculative and should, therefore, have limited exposure to them as a sector. Most investors portfolios should be chock-a-block full of stocks like the ones highlighted below.

The post ASX-listed pot stocks reviewed appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Fairfax Media Limited (ASX: FXJ) today announced that takeover talks for the company have ended, which could see the share price sink on the ASX today. Shares resume trading at 11:00am.

Two proposals – one from funds affiliated with Hellman & Friedman LLC, and the second a consortium including private equity firm TPG Capital never went beyond making a binding offer for Fairfax.

Fairfax says that after granting both parties due diligence, it has now ceased discussions. Despite the bids, Fairfax is still pursuing its plan of separating Domain through a demerger, where Fairfax would still own 60-70% of Domain. Fairfax shareholders are expected to receive shares in Domain once the separation had been implemented.

That still appears to be a good plan, given the difference in businesses and should allow the market to establish a direct valuation for Domain. Given competitor REA Group Ltd (ASX: REA) has a market cap of $8.75 billion, one would think that Domain could be worth at least half that. The whole of Fairfax has a market cap of $2.5 billion currently.

Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood says that progress should see the demerger completed by the end of 2017.

Investors considering a bet on Fairfax and Domain could consider stepping in if the share price crumbles today. One factor to take into consideration is the outlook for the non-Domain businesses – i.e. the remains of Fairfax, the metro, New Zealand and regional publishing and radio stakes.

Fairfax also has 50% of streaming video on demand (SVOD) service STAN, in partnership with Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC). Subscriber numbers appear to be growing, despite competition from large SVOD service provider Netflix.

Foolish takeaway

A falling Fairfax Media share price could be the perfect opportunity for Foolish investors to jump in to grab a stake in the Domain business. There are other alternatives though for those investors not so keen on Fairfax – like the ones below.

The post Why the Fairfax Media Limited share price could plunge appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Former Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) board member John Edwards may have been echoing the thoughts of a few property investors when he suggested earlier this week that the RBA could increase interest rates eight times in the next two years.

At an incremental rate of 0.25% or 25 basis points, that would add 2% to the current cash rate of 1.5%, taking it to 3.5%. Many banks including Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) are offering variable mortgage rates of around 4% currently, and would be expected to increase their rates by at least the RBA increase.

In other words, mortgage borrowers would be looking at interest rates on their finance of at least 6%, possibly higher. No wonder some high profile property investors are looking at reducing their exposure to the property sector. Nathan Birch, a prominent Sydney investor recently announced that he was selling 10% of his property portfolio (up to 20 properties out of 200+) worth a reported $55 million.

He says this will reduce his debt level to $18 million, leaving him with a $50 million portfolio and 'a big chunk of cash'. He might need that to cover his repayments if interest rates do rise as predicted by Mr Edwards.

Mr Birch also said that he was encouraging his clients to follow suit. "I'm feeling it, the developers are feeling it, the people that haven't felt it yet are all those properties that are yet to settle, the big Meriton units. I don't think the property market's going to collapse, what I see is a slowdown."

Joe Barr, CEO of developer John Holland says that there is a massive oversupply of apartments in parts of Australia, and the market has to come off the boil. That's already occurring with the number of loss-making apartment resales in Sydney and Melbourne rising, according to CoreLogic's Pain and Gain report for the March quarter.

People seem to forget that house prices can fall as well as rise, with the Sydney median house price falling more than 10% in six months in 2011 as we've noted previously, and sinking 13.9% in 2008/2009.

Foolish takeaway

The big concern is that if property investors all rush for the exits at the same time, then property prices may fall much more than most are expecting. Look out below.

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Aveo Group (ASX: AOG) has been in the news for the wrong reasons in the past few days. A joint investigation between Fairfax Media journalists and the ABC's Four Corners program has revealed unfair and potentially unethical policies.

We covered the issues earlier this week in more detail here, but Aveo's shares were sold off, with shareholders not impressed.

One of the major issues raised is the exit fee Aveo collects when residents die or leave the village. In some cases, Aveo can make as much as 40% of the property's value according to reports. For the same reason, investors might want to avoid Estia Health Ltd (ASX: EHE), Japara Healthcare Ltd (ASX: JHC) and Regis Healthcare Ltd (ASX: REG)

This controversy could shine a spotlight on the sector, but investors keen to take advantage of the theme of an ageing population could still invest in the aged care/retirement segment through the following companies.

Gateway Lifestyle Group (ASX: GTY)

The company has a market cap of just under $600 million, and is paying a dividend yield of around 4.6% at the current price of $2.00. Gateway is a provider of affordable community living housing for seniors through land lease communities and manufactured home estates. This essentially involves the resident owning their own home with the operator keeping ownership of the land and receiving a rental income stream in return. Any capital gains on selling up are for the resident to keep – there are no exit fees.

Lifestyle Communities Limited (ASX: LIC)

Lifestyle has a market cap of $424 million and is currently paying a minimal dividend yield of 0.7%. But that will likely improve over time as the company requires less capital to reinvest back into the business. Lifestyle does charge an exit fee in the form of a deferred management fee (DMF), similar of Aveo. However, the company says the DMF is 20% of the resale price of the home – not quite as controversial as the 40% Aveo can garner in some instances.

Eureka Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: EGH)

Eureka is the baby of the three, with a market cap of just $81.5 million and 35 villages under management as of March 2017. Eureka is still growing, both organically as well as through acquisitions. As you might expect, the company also doesn't pay a dividend, recycling profits back into future growth. With shares almost halving since early February, now might be the perfect time to take a closer look at Eureka Group.

Foolish takeaway

The above three senior's accommodation providers might be worthy of a closer look for Foolish investors.

The post Could these 3 smaller aged-care operators be a buy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The ImpediMed Limited (ASX: IPD) share price rose as high as 73 cents in morning trading and is currently up more than 10% at 68 cents.

The medical equipment manufacturer announced earlier today that its SOZO bioimpedance spectroscopy connected platform had achieved the CE Mark. The SOZO platform monitors fluid status in patients living with heart failure, assessment of lymphoedema, hydration monitoring and body composition.

The result means that ImpediMed can now make SOZO commercially available to physicians and patients throughout Europe as well as Australia.

Getting key regulatory approvals is a major milestone for healthcare companies, including those that manufacture equipment and supplies for the sector like ImpediMed.

Investors in the company will no doubt be somewhat relieved, as ImpediMed's share price has tumbled more than 31% over the past 12 months, despite today's gains. After hitting a high of $1.82 in August 2016, ImpediMed's share price tumbled as low as 53.5 cents in May 2017.

Foolish takeaway

It's still early days for ImpediMed, but gaining CE Mark is a step in the right direction. Investors and shareholders following along might want to keep an eye out for announcements of commercial contracts – which would be the next logical step in SOZO's path.

The post The ImpediMed Limited share price has jumped: Here's why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) share price plunged more than 7% today to $12.25 after the insurance company warned it had experience higher than expected claims activity in the first five months of 2017 in Emerging Markets.

QBE Insurance says this is due to a combination of increased frequency of medium sized risk claims in Asia, weather-related claims in Latin America and adverse experience in legacy portfolios in Latin America.

QBE says this will result in an expected interim and 2017 financial year (FY2017) combined operating ratio of between 94.5%-96%.

Offsetting the rising costs, the company says its interim investment return is above expectations so far and as a result, its interim insurance profit margin is expected to be between 8.5% and 9.5%.

QBE is an insurer specialising in general insurance, such as car and vehicle insurance, house and contents insurance and travel insurance. The company competes in Australia and New Zealand with the likes of Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN), AMP Limited (ASX: AMP) and Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG).

Foolish takeaway

Despite the falling share price, the factors affecting QBE may only be temporary. If so, it may be a good time for investors to pick up some more shares in the insurer. At the price of $12.25, QBE should pay a dividend yield of 4.6% in FY2017 according to consensus analyst forecasts. But a better dividend idea could be the following…

The post Why the QBE Insurance Group Ltd share price is sinking appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS) share price has jumped more than 19% in the past month to trade at $1.59, but has hardly budged from its November 2016 IPO price of $1.45.

A month ago, the share price was trading even below the IPO price. As we wrote at the time, it didn't appear to be an expensive IPO price trading on a P/E of 14.8x and a decent forecast dividend yield of between 4.1% and 5.4% based on payout range of 60% to 80% of earnings.

In February, Bravura unveiled half-year results to end of December 2016 that exceeded expectations in the IPO. Operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at $18.2 million, beating the prospectus forecast of $17.7 million.

Revenue for the company's key product, Sonata, has been growing strongly and is expected to continue growing with forecasts of $92 million for the full 2017 financial year (FY2017). That is around 50% higher than FY2016's $66.8 million revenue for Sonata.

The software company caters to the wealth management and funds administration industries and says it has more than 75 blue chip clients with $2.3 trillion of assets under advice (AUA) across 12 countries. Competitors in those sectors include Hub24 Ltd (ASX: HUB), Praemium Ltd (ASX: PPS), GBST Holdings Limited (ASX: GBT), Onevue Holdings Ltd (ASX: OVH), Class Ltd (ASX: CL1) and Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX: LNK).

Foolish takeaway

The tailwinds in the wealth management industry, particularly in Australia, bode well for companies like Bravura Solutions. The current price could be an opportunity for Foolish investors.

The post Is the Bravura Solutions Ltd share price a bargain today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price currently sits around $5.37 per share, its highest level in more than nine years.

The airline's share price has bounced from a low of $2.58 around 12 months ago for a number of reasons. The shares are up 79% since June 2016.

Lower oil prices, rising passenger numbers, cost-cutting and improved profitability, stable and rational competition from the likes of Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (ASX: VAH) and rising airfares have all helped the shares hit record prices recently.

Broker Citi recently reiterated its buy rating on the airline, increasing their price target to a whopping $7.09. Citi believes that the airline's share price is undergoing a rerating that is long overdue.

It's not the only airline seeing improved performance though. Regional Express Holdings Ltd (ASX: REX) and Air New Zealand (ASX: AIZ) both have upgraded their guidance for their full year 2017 (FY2017) results.

Qantas expects to report an underlying profit before tax for FY2017 of more than $1.35 billion, which continues the turnaround under CEO Alan Joyce over the past few years.

Foolish takeaway

The results suggest that airlines may have shed their poor reputation for losing shareholders funds, but investors still need to be wary given the external factors that can influence the performance of airlines.

The post Is Qantas Airways Limited a buy at this share price? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The shares of Ten Network Holdings Limited (ASX: TEN) could cease trading forever today if the company decides to enter voluntary administration.

The commercial television broadcaster problem is that a $200 million loan facility is due to be repaid in December, but Ten doesn't have the cash. The company would need to get another loan from somewhere else, but wherever it turns, potential lenders are turning it away.

We've highlighted the issues in Australia's free-to-air sector for many years (including here and here), which essentially boil down to the fact that our sector is too small to support three commercial broadcasters. Seven West Media Ltd (ASX: SWM) and Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC) dominate the advertising revenue market with shares of around 40%, leaving very little for Ten.

The one hope that Ten could hold out for is that a white knight comes to its rescue. It's possible that News Corp (ASX: NWS) could look to take Ten over, but the diversified media company needs the media reach rule to be abolished. The rule states that one company can't reach more than 75% of the Australian population. There's also the "two out of three" rule which prohibits a person or company from controlling two out of three media platforms – in the form of radio, television and newspaper.

News Corp already owns 7.7%, Bruce Gordon owns 15%, while pay-TV operator Foxtel owns 13.9%. News Corp owns half of Foxtel too.

The problem News Corp faces is that the Senate is blocking the government from changing those rules.

Newspaper reports suggest that Ten is looking at other measures to keep itself alive, including renegotiating onerous content contracts with US studios CBS and 21st Century Fox which cost Ten more than $150 million a year.

Foolish takeaway

There have been plenty of warnings in the media and from us over the past five years about Ten and investing in the company. It was clear that the broadcaster wasn't investment grade, and there were plenty of other opportunities out there.

The post Ten Network Holdings Limited could sink into administration today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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