In fact, as reported by Realestate.com.au in January 2026, Australians spent $53.8 billion on home improvements in FY25, the highest spend since 2022.

So how can investors get in on this trend? Here are the three stocks poised to ride the renovation wave.

Beacon Lighting Group Ltd (ASX: BLX)

Lighting is an important part of any property overhaul and plays a pivotal role in three of the most popular renovation categories – energy efficiency upgrades, kitchens, and bathrooms. And while local lighting and ceiling fan retailer Beacon Lighting has seen some share price volatility of late, it is well placed to capitalise on its trusted brand and broad product range.

Its share price has fallen around 30% in the last year, likely driven by weakening sentiment across the consumer discretionary retail sector. However, at the tail end of 2025, it hit the radar of some analysts, with Bell Potter putting a buy rating on it in December.

And at current prices, I tend to agree. Its FY25 results show solid growth, including record sales of $328.9 million and a gross margin of 69.1%. Also, Beacon Lighting recently highlighted that it remains on track to reach its target of 50% trade sales by FY28 – a strategy that essentially gives it two bites at the home renovations cherry.  

It has shown a disciplined approach thus far, with a healthy cash buffer and a relatively conservative balance sheet. In my opinion, it's a buy for long-term investors in the current climate.

Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW)

Furniture provides the finishing touch of every renovation, and Temple & Webster is in the box seat to deliver. The online retailer offers access to more than 200,000 items from thousands of suppliers through a scalable drop-shipping model. This agile model allows it to serve a wide market, offering everything from simple flat-pack solutions and on-trend, low-cost décor to premium, artisan, hand-finished furniture.

Its share price is down roughly 25% over the last 12 months. Despite posting strong FY25 results, it saw volatility in November following an update that missed consensus growth expectations. That said, the company says it remains on track to deliver on its mid-term goal of $1 billion in annual revenue.

Despite failing to meet expectations in the short term, I think it's worth considering at current prices. Its solid performance in market headwinds, strong brand, flexible model, and depth of product offering all create a solid runway for long-term growth.  

GWA Group Ltd (ASX: GWA)

As the owner of some of Australia's most recognised kitchen and bathroom brands, including Caroma, Methven, Dorf, and Clark, GWA is a pivotal player in the home improvement landscape.

While GWA is also affected by changes in consumer discretionary spending, its share price has fared better than many peers'. Over the last 12 months, it has seen a 4% rise in its share price and is tipped to continue delivering strong dividends to investors.

It reported solid results in FY25, despite a declining market. And its buybacks late last year indicate the company has confidence in its ability to continue delivering and believes its shares to be undervalued.  

GWA's ongoing success may be buoyed by continued consumer demand for water-efficient products. It is a frontrunner in the space with intelligent bathroom systems that deliver smarter water management solutions to consumers.

At current prices, GWA may still hold reasonable value for investors. It offers some of the go-to brands for consumers looking for quality and water efficiency. And it has shown it can perform and deliver healthy dividends, even in challenging market conditions.

The post 3 ASX stocks poised to ride Australia's renovation wave appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

And considering the current dividend yield of 6.27%, which is based on the company's most recent dividend and the prevailing share price, it's evident that they're currently doing a decent job of just that.

Analysts encouraged

The team at Macquarie has recently run the ruler over the books at GWA, which makes bathroom and kitchen fittings sold under brands such as Caroma, Dorf, and Clark, and likes what it sees.

One of the things they are predicting is that the company will continue to pay a healthy dividend, forecasting a dividend yield of 6.2% again this year, before rising to 6.8% for the following two years.

Looking at the company's results more broadly, in the most recent financial year, the company delivered a steady result, while not shooting the lights out.

GWA's group revenue increased by 1.2% to $418.5 million, while normalised net profit after tax increased 1.9% to $46.5 million.

Chair Bernadette Inglis told the AGM on Friday that the company remains in a strong financial position, with net debt at June 30 of $85.1 million, "which remains below the company's targeted range''.

She went on to say:

Given this strong financial position and our continued cash flow generation, we commenced an on-market share buyback of up to $30 million from 2 September 2025. Importantly, we expect to maintain a strong balance sheet following completion of the buyback and we will continue to consider capital management initiatives within the context of our growth strategy and capital management framework.

Managing director Urs Meyerhans said in an update on trading to date in this financial year, that it was "in line with our expectations with markets remaining volatile''.

Group revenue for the first quarter was 2.3% higher than the previous corresponding quarter, with all markets faring better, he said.

Attractive valuation

The Macquarie team said the first quarter trading results were broadly in line with expectations, and GWA was "executing well in a complex market, where trends are improving slowly''.

Macquarie has assigned an outperform rating to the stock and a 12-month price target of $3, compared with the closing price of $2.51 on Friday, noting that the valuation at the current price is attractive.

And factoring in the healthy dividend payment, shareholders could expect a total return of 26.1% over the next year.

GWA Group was valued at $655.1 million at the close of trade on Friday.

The post Macquarie tips 26% upside for this ASX All Ords stock, which pays a whopping dividend appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

For context, the ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is also in the red as of lunchtime trading, down 0.65%. Over the month, the index is 2.75% higher.

The Australian designer and bathroom fitting company also released its FY25 results yesterday. The business posted a 1.2% year-over-year rise in revenue, an 11.7% increase in tidal EBIT from ordinary activities and a 12.3% increase in total NPAT from ordinary activities. 

The Group's strong result means it has been able to deliver higher returns to shareholders with improved earnings per share and a 3% increase in full-year dividends.

The board declared a fully franked final dividend of 8.0 cents per share, bringing the full-year dividend to 15.5 cents per share, up from 15.0 cents for the prior year.

The record date for entitlement to receive the final dividend is 22 August 2025, with the payment date of 5 September 2025. 

The full-year dividend represents a payout ratio of normalised net profit of 88% and reported profit of 95%. 

Separately, given the company's robust financial position and continued strong cash flow generation, the board also decided to implement an on-market share buyback of up to $30 million. 

Here's what Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) has to say about the stock following the results announcement.

More upside to come from GWA Group

In a recent note to investors, the broker has confirmed its outperform rating on GWA Group shares. It also lowered its 12-month target price to $3.05, down from $3.15 earlier this year. 

At the time of writing, the new target price represents a potential 11.3% upside for investors.

"Valuation: We lower our TP to $3.05 (from $3.15) on earnings changes, leaving multiples unchanged," Macquarie said in its note.

"Retain Outperform. The group is managing cost and cash generation well, given soft macro backdrop. Valuation looks attractive: GWA trades at 10.3x EV/NTM EBIT vs a five-year average of 10.7x and FY25E dividend yield of 5.6%."

The broker noted that GWA reported FY25 EBIT of $76.3 million, which is lower than the broker expected, as a result of a top-line miss. 

"The market context is missed, but QWA is managing this well. Customer, cost and cash outcomes all remain good."

Going forward, Macquarie expects that monetary policy changes should continue to support the stock as a precursor for improving conditions, of which GWA will be a late-stage beneficiary.

The broker also commented that the group has not provided explicit guidance for its outlook, but repair and renovation markets are expected to remain subdued, commercial markets mixed, and new residential to inflect in late FY26. 

The post Macquarie tips 11% upside for this high yield ASX industrials stock appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In this article, we reveal which directors have raised their personal stakes in the companies they run.

ASX All Ords directors buying up big

Aurizon Holdings Ltd (ASX: AZJ)

Aurizon independent non-executive Tim Longstaff bought 27,500 shares on Tuesday.

He paid an average price of $3.6197 per share for a total consideration of $99,541.75.

The on-market purchase represented Longstaff's first purchase since joining the board on 1 June.

Aurizon reported its FY23 full-year results on Monday.

The rail operator revealed a 30% fall in underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) to $367 million and slashed its final dividend by 27% to 8 cents per share.

The ASX All Ords share closed the session on Thursday up 0.54% to $3.69.

GWA Group Ltd (ASX: GWA)

GWA independent chair and non-executive director Darryl McDonough purchased 30,000 shares on Monday.

This raised his stake in the company by 17.6%, from 170,000 shares to 200,000 shares.

He purchased the ASX All Ords shares on-market through his superannuation fund for $62,480.75.

That means an average price of $2.08 per GWA share.

GWA designs, imports, and markets building fixtures and fittings.

The company released its FY23 full-year results on the same day as McDonough's purchase.

The company reported a statutory NPAT of $43.2 million, up 22.7% on FY22.

The ASX All Ords share closed at $2.08 today, down 1.42%.

Boral Limited (ASX: BLD)

Boral non-executive director Mark Johnson has declared an indirect purchase of 10,000 Boral shares.

Johnson purchased the building supplies stock for $50,700 on-market on Monday.

That means an average price of $5.07 per Boral share.

Boral released its FY23 full-year results last week.

The company revealed quadrupled underlying NPAT of $142.7 million.

The ASX All Ords share finished trading at $5.06, down 0.39% for the day.

The post 3 ASX All Ords directors buying up their company shares this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

What does ex-dividend mean?

Whenever an ASX divided share announces a new dividend payment, the company must also identify an ex-dividend date to the markets. This is the date that a proverbial line in the sand is drawn between those investors who are eligible for a company's upcoming dividend and those who are not.

Put simply, if you own the shares before a company's ex-dividend date, you will receive the latest dividend. If you do not own the shares before the company goes ex-div, or buy shares on or after the date, you miss out.

That's why we tend to see a big share price loss when a dividend share trades ex-dividend. It is a reflection of this lost value for new investors.

So let's discuss six ASX 300 shares that are scheduled to trade ex-dividend before the end of this trading week.

Six ASX 300 shares that will trade ex-dividend this week

First up is ASX 300 real estate investment trust (REIT) Scentre Group (ASX: SCG). Scentre units will trade ex-dividend tomorrow, 17 August, for the upcoming interim dividend distribution of 8.25 cents per unit, unfranked. That's the same payment as the final dividend from February.

Payday is set for 31 August later this month. At present, Scentre units have a trailing dividend yield of 6.06%.

Another property share in Leandlease Group (ASX: LLC) is next up. This Friday, 18 August, is Lendlease's deadline for its upcoming final distribution, set to be worth 11.1 cents per share, partially franked at 41.95%. That's a slight increase over last year's final dividend of 11 cents.

Lendlease shareholders will then receive this latest payment on 13 September next month. Lendlese shares today offer a trailing dividend yield of 1.99%.

Let's turn to GWA Group Ltd (ASX: GWA). Earlier this week, GWA revealed that its final dividend for this year would be worth 7 cents per share, fully franked. That's a rise over the interim dividend from March worth 6 cents per share, but a drop from last year's final dividend of 8 cents per share.

This ASX 300 share will go ex-dividend on Friday this week as well, and will then pay out this dividend on 5 September next month. As it stands today, GWA shares have a dividend yield of 6.09%.

Our final three income shares to consider

Moving on to some larger ASX 300 shares, let's now look at gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM). Newcrest surprised shareholders with its fully-franked 20 US cents per share final dividend earlier this week. If current exchange rates hold, this looks to be easily larger than the final dividend of 29.16 cents per share that we saw last year.

This dividend will be forked out next month on 18 September. But again, shareholders have until Friday's ex-dividend date to buy shares if they want to see it. Today, Newcrest shares have a dividend yield of 2.15%.

Then we have ASX 300 insurance giant QBE Insurance Ltd (ASX: QBE). Earlier this month, QBE revealed that its interim dividend for 2023 would be a payment worth 14 cents per share, partially franked at 10%. That's a lot more than last year's equivalent payment of 9 cents per share but less than the final dividend of 30 cents per share we saw earlier this year.

The ex-dividend date for this paycheque is set for tomorrow, 17 August. The dividend payday will then come on 22 September next month. Today, QBE shares offer a dividend yield of 2.9%.

Finally, let's take a look at ASX 300 industrial manufacturer Ansell Ltd (ASX: ANN). Ansell has just announced that its latest dividend will be an unfranked payment worth 25.8 US cents per share. The ex-dividend date for this dividend is set for this Friday 18 August. The payment date will then roll around on 7 September.

This payment looks like it will be slightly below last year's final dividend of 5.18 cents per share, but above the interim dividend of 29.15 cents we saw in March.

Right now, Ansell shares give us a dividend yield of 2.09%.

The post 6 ASX 300 shares trading ex-dividend before the end of the week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In afternoon trade on Monday, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 0.8%.

But this ASX All Ords share is heading the other way, up 7% at the time of writing to $2.06 per share.

Any guesses?

If you said GWA Group Ltd (ASX: GWA), give yourself a gold star.

GWA, which designs, imports and markets building fixtures and fittings, released its full-year results for the financial year ending 30 June (FY23) this morning.

Read on for the highlights.

GWA share price leaps on profit boost

• Revenue of $411.8 million, down 1.6% from FY22
• Statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) of $43.2 million, up 22.7% year on year
• Operating cash flow of $99.6 million, up 101% from FY22
• Fully franked final dividend of 7.0 cents per share, down from 8.0 cents per share for FY22

What else happened with the ASX All Ords share during the year?

Also likely offering a boost to the ASX All Ords share today was a 15% reduction in net debt, which stood at $117 million on 30 June. The company said this was driven by a reduction in working capital and improved operating cash flow.

While statutory NPAT was up 22.7% from FY22, normalised NPAT slid 6.6% year on year to $44.1 million. Normalised NPAT excludes significant items after tax: for FY23 ($1.1 million) and FY22 ($12.1 million).

Eligible investors can expect the final GWA dividend to land in their bank accounts on 5 September. The full-year dividend payout is 13 cents per share, down from 15 cents per share in FY22. At the current GWA share price, that equates to a yield of 6.4%.

What did management say?

Commenting on the results sending the ASX All Ords share flying higher today, GWA CEO Urs Meyerhans noted that the year "comprised two distinct halves".

According to Meyerhans:

The first half of the year was impacted by the decline in activity in the residential renovation and replacement segment, unexpected higher domestic freight rates somewhat offset by lower ocean freight rates and destocking by one merchant. GWA initiated a rapid and agile response to these conditions.

Revenue in the second half increased in Australia and the UK (on a constant currency basis) but was unfortunately offset by lower sales in New Zealand where the economy is in recession.

Our focus on operational discipline and cost management resulted in an improved second half performance compared to the first half with normalised EBIT [earnings before interest and tax] up 6.5% and normalised EBIT margin up 120 basis points to 17.7%.

What's next?

Looking to what might impact the ASX All Ords share in the year ahead, GWA forecasts increasing demand for new build in health and aged care and its Commercial Repair & Renovation segment.

The company also expects "solid level of completions" to continue into the first half of FY24 in its residential detached business, along with increasing activity in multi residential, social and affordable housing and build to rent.

"Subdued demand" is expected to persist through FY24 in GWA's Repair & Renovation in the Residential segment.

How has this ASX All Ords share been tracking?

The GWA share price is down 5% over the past 12 months, not including the two dividend payouts. The accumulated value of the ASX All Ords share is up 0.5% if we add those dividends back in.

The post Guess which ASX All Ords share is soaring higher on a 22% profit boost appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here's why they are rising:

Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN)

The Baby Bunting share price is up 9% to $2.28. Investors have been buying this baby products retailer's shares after analysts at Morgans upgraded them to an add rating with a $2.50 price target. The broker made the move after increasing its earnings estimates to reflect cost reductions and a better sales outlook.

Carsales.Com Ltd (ASX: CAR)

The Carsales share price is up 6% to $26.11. This follows the release of the auto listings company's FY 2023 results. Carsales reported an 18% increase in pro forma revenue and a 43% lift in adjusted net profit after tax to $278.2 million. Looking ahead, management expects "to deliver good growth in Revenue and [pro forma] EBITDA in FY24" and an "expansion in the carsales Group EBITDA margin."

GWA Group Ltd (ASX: GWA)

The GWA share price is up 7% to $2.06. This has been driven by the release of the building fittings company's full-year results. GWA reported a 22.7% increase in statutory net profit to $43.2 million. Management commented: "GWA delivered a solid result for FY23 within a rapidly evolving operating environment that comprised two distinct halves."

Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU)

The Imugene share price is up 3.5% to 9.2 cents. This morning, this immuno-oncology company announced that its Phase 1 MAST (metastatic advanced solid tumours) trial evaluating the safety of novel cancer-killing virus CF33- hNIS (VAXINIA) has cleared the cohort 3 intratumoral (IT) arm of the monotherapy dose escalation study.

The post Why Baby Bunting, Carsales, GWA, and Imugene shares are racing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Shares in the water solutions provider headed south after the company reported its results for the half-year ended 31 December 2021.

Let's take a closer look at what the company revealed.

GWA share price tumbles despite profitable half

The company came in with a number of investment takeouts, including:

• Group revenue up 2% to $201.3 million, with Australian revenue alone climbing 6%
• Normalised group earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of $35.6 million, up 11% on the prior year
• Normalised group EBIT margin lifted by 140 basis points during the half
• Normalised net profit after tax (NPAT) of $22.4 million, up 12% year on year
• Reported NPAT (including significant items) of $18.6 million, up 1% from the same time last year.

What else happened this period for GWA?

Operating cash flows came in stronger this half with normalised group EBIT gaining 11% year on year, resulting in a 1.4% gain in EBIT margin.

The improvement in earnings came despite the significant increase in freight costs compared to the prior corresponding period, GWA says.

As a result of the efficiencies, the group's $201 million in revenue carried through to NPAT of $22 million, a 12% gain on the year.

This enabled the board to pay a fully-franked interim dividend of 7 cents per share, a 17% gain on the prior corresponding period. Investors can expect the dividend on 4 March 2022. Notably, the company's Dividend Reinvestment Plan will not be offered to shareholders for the interim dividend.

GWA held a net debt load of $104 million as of 31 December, in line with the figure of $104.8 million from the same time last year.

The company has also been active in improving its credit metrics, with the gearing ratio of 21.2% contracting by around 30 basis points year over year. It also held adequate liquidity for operations in 2022, according to the company's release.

"In October 2021, GWA successfully completed the extension of its syndicated banking facility which comprises a single three-year multicurrency revolving facility of $180 million which matures in October 2024," it said.

Cash flow from operations also came in stronger than last year at $43.6 million, compared to $49.7 million in 1HFY21.

Management commentary

Speaking on the announcement, GWA's Managing Director and CEO Urs Meyerhans said:

Throughout the period, we continued to operate within the COVID-19 impacted environment with the health and safety of our people and customers remaining as our first priority. We continue to implement our operational procedures to safeguard our people while minimising disruption to our customers to the extent possible.

Following an increase in the Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) in FY21, GWA has implemented customised training strategies primarily to address the root cause to reduce manual handling injuries.

What's next for GWA?

The Company expects "continued momentum in all its key markets, particularly in the Renovation & Replacement segment both for residential and commercial".

However, in the same breath, it notes labour availability and global supply chain disruptions have "extended the timing of completions particularly for new detached projects from around 9-12 months to 12-15 months".

As a result of these disturbances – which are actually tailwinds for the company – GWA expects its completions activity to remain strong into FY23.

GWA also says it remains on track to deliver annualised supply chain savings of $3 million from FY22 with $2 million achieved in the first half of FY22.

"For FY22, GWA currently expects Group Normalised EBIT in the second half will be higher than the first half, subject to any potential further impact of the general economic environment," the company concluded.

GWA share price snapshot

The GWA share price has lost more than 31% over the past 12 months, sliding more than 7% year to date.

At its current share price, the company has a market capitalisation of around $676 million.

The post How's that dividend? GWA (ASX:GWA) share price falls despite 17% payout bump appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This follows on the release of the water solutions products and systems' company's full year financial results, for the year ending 30 June (FY21).

GWA share price flying higher on dividend boost

• Reported net profits after tax (NPAT) – including significant items – of $35.1 million, down from $43.9 million in FY20.
• Earnings before income and taxes (EBIT) before significant items fell 4.7% to $68.5.
• Group revenue increased by 1.8% to $405.7 million.
• Operating cashflow increased 16% to $103.1 million.
• The company declared a final dividend of 6.5 cents per share. That brings the full-year dividend to 12.5 cents per share, fully-franked, an increase of 9% from FY20.

What happened in FY21 for GWA Group?

GWA pointed to improved residential construction activity in Australia in the second half of the financial year along with strong sales growth in its New Zealand and United Kingdom segments as helping drive the increased revenue.

It said significant items during the year included the costs to consolidate its New Zealand warehouses; the sale of its China plant; Methven integration costs; and Enterprise Resource Planning /Customer Relationship Management systems' project costs.

Over the year the company continued to launch new ranges of taps, showers, accessories and sanitaryware.

For investors wanting to get the final dividend, the record date for the final dividend is 8 September 2021, with the payment date on 6 October.

What did management say

Commenting on the results, GWA's CEO, Urs Meyerhans said:

This provides a strong platform for GWA to leverage an expected continued improvement in residential detached construction markets in FY22.

We continue to enhance the diversity of our revenue and earnings base with strong growth in our New Zealand and international businesses. The delivery of integration synergies and enhanced geographical revenue and earnings diversification reinforces the success of the Methven acquisition.

Meyerhans added that the company's Caroma GermGard antibacterial glazing to sanitaryware products is capitalising on "consumers' heightened concerns over safety and hygiene following the COVID-19 pandemic".

What's next for GWA?

Looking ahead, GWA cautioned that the outlook for construction markets remains uncertain due to continued COVID-19 lockdowns in Australia's biggest cities. The company pointed to international border closures as likely to negatively impact its multi-residential segment with decreased migration levels.

On a more upbeat note, improved consumer sentiment, increased dwelling approvals, new housing loans, higher housing turnover and government stimulus via the HomeBuilder package are expected to drive activity in its residential detached segment in FY22.

It expects its renovation and replacement activity, to be "stable or slightly positive" for both residential and commercial customers.

The GWA share price is up 18% over the past 12 months.

The post GWA (ASX:GWA) boosts dividend – share price rockets 11% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here's why they are charging higher:

A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

The A2 Milk share price has jumped 13% to $6.75. Investors have been scrambling to buy the infant formula company's shares amid speculation that global giant Nestle is considering a takeover approach. Though, according to the Australian, if an offer is made, it won't be until after the release of the company's full year results later this month.

AVZ Minerals Ltd (ASX: AVZ)

The AVZ share price is up 4% to 25.5 cents. This morning the lithium explorer announced encouraging drilling results from its Manono project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Wide spaced resource drilling at the Carriere de l'Este deposit confirms further high grade lithium and tin mineralisation directly beneath thin soil and laterite cover.

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

The BHP share price is up 1% to $53.25. This follows confirmation that the mining giant and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) are in talks over a potential merger of their oil and gas operations. BHP advised that while discussions between the parties are currently progressing, no agreement has been reached on any such transaction.

GWA Group Ltd (ASX: GWA)

The GWA share price has surged 11% higher to $2.92 following the release of the water products and systems supplier's full year results. Those results revealed a 1.8% increase in revenue to $405.7 million and a 4.7% decline in EBIT to $68.5 million. However, news that its commercial order bank is 14% ahead of the prior year earlier in FY 2022 appears to have given its shares the biggest boost.

The post Why a2 Milk, AVZ, BHP, & GWA shares are charging higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The water products and systems supplier posted a 4.7% drop in adjusted group earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to $68.5 million for FY21.

This is despite a 1.8% increase in group revenue to $405.7 million thanks to the strong residential construction market.

Management also said that strong growth in its New Zealand and UK businesses helped support the top line. The ongoing decline in its Australian commercial operations detracted from the results.

The adjusted EBIT does not include costs associated with the consolidation of New Zealand warehouses. It also doesn't count the sale of its China plant, Methven integration costs, and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)/Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems' project costs.

GWA profit results lagging peers

GWA's latest profit results confirmed what many investors have suspected. The group isn't making as much hay as its peers on a sunny day.

Its subdued outlook could prove to be another drag. Management is anticipating a flat to slightly positive year for renovation and replacement activity in the residential and commercial segments.

Multi-dwelling construction is also tipped to be soft due to lack of migrants and border closures. On top of this, lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne could impact on its business.

GWA share price underperforming its peers

"While GWA's Commercial order bank remains strong and 14 per cent above the prior year, completions are expected to remain subdued in FY22," said GWA.

"Growth in education and health is expected to be offset by declines in offices and retail.  As confidence and activity increases in the Commercial segment, GWA remains well placed to capitalise on this improvement."

Fellow building products suppliers like James Hardie Industries plc (ASX: JHX), BlueScope Steel Limited (ASX: BSL) and CSR Limited (ASX: CSR) have all posted strong growth or positive updates.

Bad news already priced into the GWA's share price?

But GWA is trying to put a positive spin on its latest results. Management pointed out that its performance in the second half exceeded that of the first. It's confident that this provides positive momentum into the current financial year.

Group EBIT in 2HFY21 gained 13.4% and EBIT margin improved 120 basis points to 17.5% over the first half.

Foolish takeaway

GWA also declared a final dividend of 6.5 cents a share to take its full year payment to 12.5 cents. This is a 9% increase over the previous year and puts the GWA share price on a yield of 6.8% (including franking).

Shareholders can also get some comfort from the fact that the GWA share price has been underperforming. Some if not all of the bad news in the GWA profit results is probably reflected in the share price already.

The post GWA (ASX:GWA) share price in the spotlight after it released its FY21 profit results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The latest building approvals data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics is firing up the sector. But the focus is clearly on CSR.

The CSR share price jumped 4.9% to $6.04 today. In contrast, the Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) share price added 1.3% to $6.91, Adbri Ltd (ASX: ABC) share price gained 4% to $3.36 and GWA Group Ltd (ASX: GWA) share price increased 3.5% to $2.98.

Strong approvals data supports building materials sector

Building approvals was strong even without the benefit of the government's Home Builder stimulus. This shows the underlying strength in the sector, according to Citigroup.

"We maintain a constructive outlook with low rates and strong established house price growth to underpin our housing starts forecast of +18% growth in the June 2021 quarter," said Citi.

"The pace of approvals has been running faster than this, presenting upside to our forecasts."

CSR share price better placed to boom

The broker believes we are still in the early stage of the earnings upgrade cycle. This means the CSR share price is particularly well positioned to rally further and Citi is recommending investors buy the shares.

"We forecast housing starts to grow by +18% to 49,717 for the June 2021 quarter, which brings starts to 201.8k in FY21e," said Citi.

"Should the current run-rate in approvals be maintained, this could present upside risks to our forecasts. CSR is best exposed to domestic housing, which drives ~80% of Building Product sales."

Renos taking off

Households are also spending big on renovations. I didn't need the ABS to tell me that as I am sandwich between neighbours who are making major modifications to their homes while I struggle to work from home in lockdown Melbourne.

Nonetheless, the data is impressive. The value of renovation activity approved increased 57% in April, and that comes off the 52% uplift in March.

I am sure Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) shareholders would be happy about that given the conglomerate owns Bunnings.

Part of the market that isn't doing as well

However, commercial building activity remains volatile. This is one reason why Citi doesn't think investors should buy the GWA share price.

"The value of commercial work approved increased by +6% in April 2021, down from the +50% growth seen in November 2020," explained Citi.

"Given long lead times in non-residential work, evidence of a more sustained turnaround is required before we become more positive on GWA (Neutral).

"For GWA, commercial and multi-res drives ~40% of overall sales and likely a larger proportion of earnings."

The post Why the CSR (ASX:CSR) share price is surging today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

The Afterpay share price is down 4% to $109.00. Investors have been selling Afterpay and other tech shares on Monday after bond yields widened on Friday night. The US 10-year treasury bond hit a one-year high of 1.625%, leading to tech stocks on the Nasdaq index tumbling lower. The S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is down 1.25% at the time of writing.

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

The Fortescue share price has fallen 4% to $20.43. Investors have been selling the iron ore producer's shares on Monday following another pullback in the price of the steel-making ingredient on Friday night. According to CommSec, the benchmark iron ore price fell by US$5.35 a tonne or 3.1% to US$165.70 a tonne.

GWA Group Ltd (ASX: GWA)

The GWA share price has dropped 6% to $2.83. This follows news that the buildings products company's shares will be kicked out of the ASX 200 index at the next rebalance. GWA is one of six companies that will be removed from the illustrious index on 22 March.

Jupiter Mines Ltd (ASX: JMS)

The Jupiter Mines share price has tumbled 7% to 30.7 cents. This morning the manganese mining company announced that the demerger and initial public offering of its Juno Minerals business will still go ahead, but on a delayed timetable. As a result, a general meeting of Jupiter shareholders will be held by the end of April to re-approve the capital reduction and demerger. The process is now expected to complete in May.

The post Why Afterpay, Fortescue, GWA, & Jupiter Mines are dropping today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Here's what is happening on the market today:

Tech shares drag on the ASX 200

The tech sector is acting as a drag on the ASX 200 again on Monday. At lunch the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is down just over 1% following declines by the likes of Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Altium Limited (ASX: ALU). Investors have been selling tech shares after a jump in bond yields on Friday night led to the tech-focused Nasdaq index tumbling lower.

Fortescue brings forward carbon neutrality plans

The Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price is sinking lower today after weakness in iron ore prices offset news that it plans to become carbon neutral sooner than expected. According to the release, the iron ore producer is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2030. This is 10 years earlier than first expected. The iron ore price lost 5% of its value last week amid steel production curbs in China.

Evolution acquisition

The Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price is pushing higher today after investors responded positively to a new acquisition. According to the release, the gold miner has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Canada-based Battle North. Evolution has agreed to pay C$2.65 per share in cash, which equates to a total consideration of approximately C$343 million. Battle North is the owner of the Bateman Gold Project in Ontario, which neighbours some of Evolution's tenements in the region.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Monday has been the Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX: FPH) share price with a 4% gain. This is despite there being no news out of the medical device company. The worst performer has been the GWA Group Ltd (ASX: GWA) share price with a 5% decline. The building products company's shares are being dumped out of the ASX 200 at the next rebalance.

The post ASX 200 down 0.1%: Afterpay sinks, Evolution announces acquisition appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

After an initial public offering at $5.31 per share, the data analytics provider floated in early December and immediately became a market darling.

It rose as high as $11.86 in January. But it's since sunk to $5.51 after investors savaged its half-yearly result.

But now that Nuix will join the elite 200 from 22 March, all eyes will be on the share price again. This is because index funds that follow the ASX 200 will be forced to buy into the stock, pushing demand upwards.

The same goes for Hub24 Ltd (ASX: HUB), which was also announced as a new entrant to the ASX 200 this month.

The Hub24 share price has had an up-and-down year but still sits slightly down year-to-date. No doubt the fintech is looking forward to a potential boost from index funds.

S&P Dow Jones Indices on Friday also announced 4 other companies would make it into the ASX 200 this month:

• Codan Limited (ASX: CDA)
• Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA)
• Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX: NIC)
• Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

The ASX companies kicked out from the 200

If 6 companies enter the 200, then 6 must come out.

Unfortunately, these were the businesses that couldn't grow quite enough to remain in the club:

• Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS) 
• GWA Group Ltd (ASX: GWA)
• Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR)
• Smartgroup Corporation Ltd (ASX: SIQ)
• Service Stream Limited (ASX: SSM)
• Tassal Group Limited (ASX: TGR)

The Bravura Solutions share price has tumbled almost 17% so far this year, and its demotion out of the ASX 200 will not help.

Fellow technology business Service Stream has suffered even more, taking a 33% haircut off its share price year-to-date. The Motley Fool reported last week it's one of the most shorted stocks on the ASX.

The ASX 200 is a group of the 200 largest companies on the bourse. Membership is updated quarterly.

The above additions and removals will occur before market open on Monday 22 March.

The post Why Nuix, Hub24 shares are on watch appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

That's a good 1.8% away from the post-March 2020 high of 6,917 points we saw back on 16 February, but still well above the 6,685 point level the ASX 200 started the year at.

After Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) reported the week prior, we heard from the rest of the big four banks last week. National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) all delivered quarterly updates last week.

Of those three, it seems investors were most impressed by Westpac. The Westpac share price pushed 8.8% over the week spurred by the bank's results on Wednesday. That included a 54% jump in quarterly profits. The ANZ share price also had a strong week, rising 7.2%.

Mining giants BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) also had strong weeks after announcing massive new dividend payments.

The BHP share price hit a new all-time intra-day high of $49.32 just after open on Wednesday as a result. Meanwhile, the Rio Tinto share price also reset its own highs when it hit $128.90 on Thursday.

BHP announced a fully franked interim dividend of US$1.01 for investors, a 55% beat on its previous interim payout. Rio announced a final fully franked dividend of US$4.02 (including a special dividend component) for its shareholders on Thursday.

ASX giant CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) also reported its results on Thursday. It initially delighted investors with a 16.9% increase in revenues and a 9% bump to its dividend.

However, all of these shares were caught up in a massive market sell-off on Friday, which dampened an interesting week with a 1.3% one-day slide.

Take CSL. The CSL share price spiked to $295.22 at market open on Thursday after the company's earnings report was released. However, by Friday, it finished the week at $274.43, a slide of more than 7%. We saw very similar moves from all of the shares discussed above. So what happened on Friday?

Well, it seems that the ASX's overlord, a.k.a. the US markets, had a bruising day of trading on Thursday, which dampened investors' sentiment and perhaps triggered a wave of profit-taking from some of the week's biggest performers on the ASX.

In the week's other news, several ASX companies in the buy now, pay later (BNPL) and fintech sectors got speeding tickets from the ASX for seemingly-unprovoked spikes in price and share trading volume. These included Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P), Douugh Ltd (ASX: DOU), Novatti Ltd (ASX: NOV) and IOUpay Ltd (ASX: IOU).

Oh, and Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) hit another series of new all-time highs last week as well. The cryptocurrency is now trading for over US$57,500 per coin (at the time of writing) after exceeding US$50,000 for the first time on Wednesday.

How did the markets end the week?

It was a bit of a rollercoaster on the ASX 200 last week. Monday and Tuesday kicked things off on the right foot with rises of 0.9% and 0.7% respectively. Wednesday saw a retreat of 0.46%, while Thursday was essentially flat.

But Friday's hefty 1.34% slide saw the index go backwards for the week. All up, the ASX 200 started at 6,806.7 points and finished up at 6,793.8 points, a drop of 0.19%.

Meanwhile, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) also took a step backwards, starting at 7,081.3 points, and finishing up at 7,064 points for a 0.24% slide.

Which ASX 200 shares were the biggest winners and losers?

Put the tea on and fetch the bikkies because it's time for our Foolish take on the gossip pages. So let's unpack the biggest winners and losers for the week, starting, as always, with the losers:

Last week's wooden spoon went to contractor company NRW Holdings. NRW delivered its earnings report last week, and it was something of a mixed bag. Revenues and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were up 44% and 28% respectively, while net profits fell 17%. Investors have clearly chosen to take the 'glass half empty' view on this one.

Meanwhile, water company GWA Group was given a backhand by investors after an evidently disappointing earnings report. This included a 17% fall in profits to $20 million.

Next up was the newly-wedded ASX gold miner Northern Star Resources. Northern Star has been suffering some buyers' remorse from investors of late after its merger with Saracen Mineral Holdings a few weeks ago. A sluggish gold price and a rising Aussie dollar aren't assisting.

Finally, wealth manager Netwealth also had a clanger. The catalyst? You guessed it, earnings. Investors weren't too impressed with what Netwealth put on the table, despite the company delivering an earnings boost of more than 30%.

Now with the losers out of the way, here are last week's winners:

EML topped the ASX 200's winners' list last week with a whopping 24.2% gain. Investors couldn't control themselves when EML released its earnings report, which came with a 61% rise in revenues to $95.3 million and a net profit growth rate of 30% to $13.2 million.

The Nearmap share price was also an earnings beneficiary when its own result came out. The mapping company gave the markets a 322% rise in earnings and a halving of its previous statutory loss to $9.4 million.

Lithium company Lynas also continues to shine. As my Fool colleague Gretchen Kennedy looked at, there are reports that China is looking to curb the exporting of the rare earth minerals that Lynas also produces.

Finally, Zip continued to enjoy rising sentiment last week. That was despite no major news out of the BNPL company, in addition to the ASX speeding ticket we touched on earlier.

A wrap of the ASX 200 blue-chip shares

Before we go, here is a look at the major ASX 200 blue-chip shares as we start another week on the markets. A note for this week: we have just surpassed the 12-month anniversary of the ASX's last peak (and all-time high) of ~7,139 points that we saw on 21 February last year. So expect to see the odd 52-week high move around over the next few weeks!

And finally, here is the lay of the land for some leading market indicators:

• S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) at 6,793.8 points.
• All Ordinaries Index (XAO) at 7,064 points.
• Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) at 31,494.32 points after rising 0.003% on Friday night (our time).
• Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) going for US$57,550 per coin.
• Gold (spot) swapping hands for US$1,784.28 per troy ounce.
• Iron ore asking US$168.44 per tonne.
• Crude oil (Brent) trading at US$62.91 per barrel.
• Australian dollar buying 78.7 US cents.
• 10-year Australian Government bonds yielding 1.43% per annum.

That's all folks. See you next week!

The post ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX lower despite bumper dividends appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

While a number of ASX 200 shares dropped with the market, some fell more than others. Here's why these were the worst performers:

NRW Holdings Limited (ASX: NWH)

The NRW share price was the worst performer on the ASX 200 with a decline of 15%. Investors were selling the contractor's shares following the release of its half year results. For the six months ended 31 December, the contractor reported a 44% increase in revenue to $1,168 million and a 28% lift in EBITDA to $132.8 million. However, on the bottom line the company posted a disappointing 17% decline in net profit to $29 million. This was driven largely by a significant increase in depreciation.

GWA Group Ltd (ASX: GWA)

The GWA share price wasn't far behind with a decline of 14.9% last week. The catalyst for this was the release of a disappointing half year result by the leading provider of water solutions products and systems. For the half, the company reported a 4.4% decline in revenue to $197.2 million. Management advised that this reflects an overall decline in market conditions. Things were even worse on the bottom line, with normalised net profit after tax falling 17% to $20 million.

Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST)

The Northern Star share price was out of form and dropped 13.9% over the five days. This appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Morgan Stanley last week. After updating its financial models to reflect the merger with Saracen Mineral, the broker has reiterated its underweight rating and put a $12.95 price target on the company's shares. Though, it is worth noting that the Northern Star share price has now dropped below this price target.

Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL)

The Netwealth share price was a poor performer and dropped 13.8% lower last week. Investors were selling the investment platform provider's shares despite it delivering strong growth during the first half. For the six months ended 31 December, the company recorded a 30.1% increase in EBITDA to $40.5 million. This was driven by strong growth in Netwealth's funds under administration over the last 12 months. Concerns over its second half margins may have been weighing on its shares.

The post These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

However, shares in the water solutions product provider have dipped today, dropping 1.35% at the open to $3.66.

Let's review some highlights from the half-year results released today to see what drives the GWA share price.

GWA Group financial results

For the half-year period ended 31 December 2020, GWA's normalised net profit after tax was $20 million, a 17% dip compared to the previous corresponding period (pcp).

GWA grew revenue in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, but this was offset by the weaker Australian market. Group revenue for the half-year period slid 4.4% to $197.2 million.

GWA advised that these losses reflected an overall decline in market conditions.

However, despite the challenges, operating cash flow jumped 18% to $49.7 million.

The company also reduced its net debt from $144.8 million on 30 June 2020 to $125 million on 31 December 2020.

The GWA interim dividend paid out will be 6 cents per share, fully franked, payable on 20 April 2021. This compares to 8 cents per share for the pcp and 3.5 cents per share for the final dividend for FY20. 

Positioning GWA share price for growth

GWA advised that it continues to execute its growth strategy as market conditions improve. Commenting on what lies ahead, managing director Tim Salt said:

We launched new ranges of taps, showers, accessories and sanitaryware under the Caroma brand in Australia and New Zealand and new Methven showerware ranges in Australia, New Zealand and China.

We introduced Germgard® antibacterial glazing to our sanitaryware to capitalise on consumers' heightened concerns over safety and hygiene following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Meanwhile, our touchless intelligent bathroom system, Caroma Smart Command®, continues to represent a growth opportunity in the commercial segment.

The system has now been successfully installed in 77 sites with a solid bank of additional projects in the pipeline. We have completed the first pilot installation in Asia with further activity planned over the next year."

The GWA share price is closing in on the same price levels it was trading at a year ago, and is now down just 4.8% over the previous 12-month period.

The post Why the GWA Group (ASX:GWA) share price has gained 52% in six months appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) slumped 0.7% during lunch time trade with just about every sector losing ground.

However, the CSR Limited (ASX: CSR) share price is defying the gloom to jump 2.9% to $5.76 – a more than 10-year high.

Building to an ASX share "buy" upgrade

The positive outlook for residential construction is one driver for its outperformance. But an upgrade by Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) is also probably helping.

"While the recovery from COVID-19 in health terms may well come in fits and starts, the earnings cycle for stocks seems well supported in the near term," said the broker.

"Longer-term concerns around the lack of migration and its impacts on sustainability are likely less pertinent to the investment thesis, especially in 1HCY21."

Macquarie lifted its earnings per share (EPS) forecasts for the sector to above consensus, and it believes the upgrade cycle has not yet run its course.

The broker changed its recommendation on the CSR share price to "outperform" from "neutral" with a price target of $6 a share.

Earnings remodeling

But CSR isn't the only ASX stock that is leveraged to the positive housing activity outlook. The big jump in renovations prompted Macquarie to also upgrade the GWA Group Ltd (ASX: GWA) share price "outperform" from "neutral".

Shares in the household fittings group surged 3.6% to $3.62 at the time of writing.

The broker noted that alterations and additions (A&A) approvals increased by 29% in the December 2020 quarter compared to the same period in 2019.

This is probably thanks to the federal government's HomeBuilder grant. A&A accounts for more than 60% of GWA's revenue.

Building approvals for detached housing also increased by an eye-watering 42% in the quarter compared to 4QCY19.

A&A and detached activity are expected to remain elevated for a while yet. The broker's 12-month price target on the GWA share price is $3.90 a share.

Attractive package

Finally, the Amcor CDI (ASX: AMC) share price got upgraded by UBS to "buy" from "neutral" following its first half profit result.

Shares in the packaging company fell 3.4% to $14.52 at the time of writing, but the AMC share price jumped 4.5% yesterday on the earnings news.

Amcor posted results that were ahead of the market's and UBS' expectations, thanks largely to organic growth and its Bemis acquisition. Management also upgraded its FY21 guidance to above consensus.

"We are attracted to Amcor's leading position across key global consumer packaging markets," said UBS.

"The defensive nature of these markets is clearly supporting Amcor's earnings base and cash flows despite COVID-19 related uncertainty.

"We think this earnings resiliency and growth outlook, combined with a solid dividend yield of c.4% should support the stock."

UBS' 12-month price target on the AMC share price is $16.60 a share.  

The post Top brokers just upgraded these 3 ASX shares to "buy" appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This is when Standard's & Poor (S&P) announces the changes to key stock benchmarks, including the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO).

ASX investors should care. A number of studies have shown that new ASX entrants to stock indices tend to outperform in the weeks before and the months after their inclusion.

The opposite happens to ASX stocks that get bumped from these indices.

Rise of passive investments

One reason for this is the growth of index investing. Investors have been increasingly buying into exchange traded funds (ETFs) and other passive investing strategies that hug an index.

Their popularity is driven by the belief that the vast majority of active fund managers cannot beat the index over the longer term. Passive investments charge much lower fees than active managers.

As stocks are added into an index, these ETFs and passive managers have to buy the stock. By the same token, the opposite happens when an ASX stock is dropped.

ASX winners and losers

Another reason behind the performance trend is the fact that new index members tend to be moving from strength to strength. Hence their inclusion. Those that fall to the wayside have often been plagued by challenges.

This of course is unless an ASX stock is dropping out of a larger cap index into a smaller cap index.

Thus, if you can identify these ASX shares ahead of time, you could squeeze a couple of extra percentage points of performance from your share portfolio.

On this happy note, Morgan Stanley believes there are three stocks that stand out ahead of the S&P changes on December 11.

Changes to the S&P large cap indices

The broker is convinced that Afterpay will added to the S&P/ASX 50 as it swaps places with the Vicinity Centres (ASX: VCX) share price. The changeover is a sign of the COVID‐19 times when online shopping is booming at the expense of shopping malls.

Meanwhile, the Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) share price could keep outperforming into early next year. The mineral processing and contracting services group is tipped to gain membership to the S&P/ASX 100 [XTO] (INDEXASX: XTO), according to Morgan Stanley.

The stock that is making way for the MIN share price is the Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price. No one needs a travel agent when international borders are shut.

ASX stocks to be added and dumped from the ASX 200

Finally, the Reece Ltd (ASX: REH) share price could also find favour in the near-term as it's well placed to be added to the ASX 200.

Other stocks that could also be included into the club are the Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH) share price, Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) share price and Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR) share price.

Stocks that may be tossed out are the Avita Therapeutics Inc (ASX: AVH) share price, Cooper Energy Ltd. (ASX: COE) share price, Western Areas Ltd (ASX: WSA) share price and GWA Group Ltd (ASX: GWA) share price.

The post Why the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price and these ASX stocks could get a boost next week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.