In order to receive a dividend, you must own the ASX share before its ex-dividend date.

If you've had your eye on an ASX share for a while, and you're ready to buy, the ex-dividend date can provide a deadline to act.

Might as well buy and pick up the next dividend payment if the stock is trading at an acceptable price, right?

Alternatively, you could play a longer game, and wait for the ex-dividend date to arrive before buying the stock.

This can be a good strategy because share prices tend to fall on the ex-dividend date.

This happens because the stock is fundamentally worth less without the next dividend payment attached.

Many companies offer dividend reinvestment plans (DRPs).

DRPs allow investors to instruct the company to use their dividends to buy more shares on their behalf, instead of paying cash.

After lodging your DRP form, this process becomes automatic.

It's an easy, passive way for investors increase their shareholdings in a company over time.

And every now and then, a company will offer a discount to shareholders participating in the DRP.

Bonus!

ASX shares with ex-dividend dates next week

The post 14 ASX shares about to go ex-dividend 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:

Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN)

The Baby Bunting share price is down almost 8% to $1.53. This appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Morgans this morning. According to the note, the broker has downgraded the baby products retailer's shares to a hold rating with a trimmed price target of $1.70. It said: "BBN's FY24 earnings were in line with recent guidance. Earnings came under real pressure in FY24. BBN expects to return to positive growth in sales and margins in FY25, but with an FY1 PE of 19.5x and with consensus NPAT sitting towards the top of the guidance range, we adjust to a HOLD rating."

Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD)

The Corporate Travel Management share price is down 6.5% to $11.70. Although the corporate travel specialist reported strong profit growth in FY 2024, it fell short of its guidance. Corporate Travel Management posted a 22% increase in underlying net profit after tax to $113.3 million. This compares to its guidance of $125 million to $140 million. Management also warned that is facing significant headwinds in FY 2025. This includes a forecast 18% decline in European revenue due to the completion of non-recurring projects.

Lycopodium Ltd (ASX: LYL)

The Lycopodium share price is down 12% to $12.29. This has been driven by the release of the engineering company's full year results. Lycopodium reported revenue of $348.9 million and net profit after tax of $50.7 million, which were up modestly year on year. However, one thing falling was its cash balance, which reduced by 18% to $67.6 million. This may have spooked investors and overshadowed management positive outlook. It said: "The Company expects to maintain its strong financial performance in FY2025."

Santos Ltd (ASX: STO)

The Santos share price is down 5.5% to $7.39. Investors have been selling this energy producer's shares following the announcement of its half year results. Santos reported a 9% decline in sales revenue to US$2.7 billion and an 18% reduction in underlying profit to US$654 million. This was driven by lower volumes, lower realised LNG prices, higher tax expense, and a higher effective tax rate. Management has held firm with its production guidance for the full year.

The post Why Baby Bunting, Corporate Travel, Lycopodium, and Santos shares are falling today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The theory is that if they have the confidence to buy shares, it could be interpreted as a sign that things are going well and they expect them to appreciate in value.

Conversely, when directors sell shares, it is often regarded as a bearish indicator. After all, you would be unlikely to sell your shares if you felt they were about to increase in value.

With that in mind, let's now take a look at three ASX All Ords shares that have recently reported meaningful insider selling:

Audinate Group Ltd (ASX: AD8)

The first ASX All Ords share that has reported some major insider selling is audio-visual networking solutions provider Audinate.

A change of director's interest notice reveals that its chair, David Krall, offloaded a total of 100,000 Audinate shares through a series of on-market trades between 22 March and 27 March.

Krall received prices of between $20.70 to $22.36 per share for his sales, which equates to a total consideration in the region of $2.1 million.

Audinate explained that the chairman's sale was undertaken to fund an investment and for personal reasons. It said:

The disposal of 20% David Krall's shareholding in the Company is to allow an investment in a family asset and will be utilised for personal reasons. Following the sale, David Krall will retain 402,308 ordinary shares in the Company, representing approximately 0.5% of shares on issue.

Lycopodium Ltd (ASX: LYL)

This engineering and project delivery services provider is another ASX All Ords share that has experienced insider selling recently.

According to a change of director's interest notice, the company's founder and executive director, Bruno Ruggiero, offloaded a total of 1.35 million shares through off-market trades on 22 March and 25 March.

The release notes that Ruggiero received a total consideration of approximately $16 million from the sale.

Despite the large sale, the executive director still holds 1,650,520 Lycopodium shares.

Sovereign Metals Ltd (ASX: SVM)

Finally, one of this Africa based mineral exploration company's non-executive directors has been selling shares recently.

A change of director's interest notice reveals that Julian Stephens sold 3 million shares between 26 March and 27 March through a special crossing trade. The ASX All Ords share's director received $1.43 million from the sale.

The release notes that Stephens made the sale in order to settle outstanding personal tax obligations. He is left owning a sizeable 13,557,518 shares.

The post 3 ASX All Ords insiders selling over $1 million worth of their company shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

If you want to get in on the dividend action with any of these popular ASX All Ords stocks, you need to purchase them before the 'ex-div' date.

The ex-dividend date is the first day that a share trades without its next dividend payment attached.

The share price will typically go down on the ex-dividend date because the stock obviously loses a bit of value without the dividend attached. Plus, the company loses that amount of cash off its balance sheet.

So, it's handy to be aware of the ex-dividend dates on your stocks ahead of time so you're not surprised by the share price dip on the day.

Here are a bunch of popular ASX All Ords shares going ex-dividend next week, and their payouts:

ASX All Ords dividend shares trading ex-dividend next week

The post Popular ASX All Ords shares with ex-dividend dates next week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

During the Wednesday lunch hour, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 0.6%.

That's despite these four ASX dividend shares posting gains of up to 9% at the time of writing following their earnings results.

Here's what's spurring investor interest in these All Ords stocks.

Why these ASX dividend shares are rocketing today

The first All Ords stock going gangbusters on the heels of its half-year results is engineering and project management consultancy company Lycopodium Ltd (ASX: LYL).

The Lycopodium share price is up 8.9% in intraday trade at $13.29 a share. That sees the share price up a whopping 76% in 12 months.

Highlights for the six months include an 11% year on year increase in revenue to $178 million.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 35% from 1H FY 2023 to $44 million. And net profit after tax (NPAT) leapt 50% to $30 million. The company's cash holding went the other direction, down 27% to $69 million.

The ASX dividend share pleased passive income investors with a fully franked interim dividend of 37 cents per share.

If you want to bank that dividend, you'll need to own shares at market close on 22 March. Lycopodium trades ex-dividend on 25 March. Eligible investors can expect that payout on 4 April.

Which brings us to the second All Ords ASX dividend share soaring on its full-year 2023 results, Ventia Services Group Ltd (ASX: VNT).

Shares in the infrastructure maintenance services provider are up 8.5% today, trading for $3.65 apiece.

Among the FY 2023 highlights, the company reported a 9.8% year on year increase in revenue to $5.68 billion. EBITDA of $465 million was up 10.8% with an EBITDA margin of 8.2%.

Net profit after tax and amortisation (NPATA) increased 12.5% to $202 million.

And the ASX dividend share looks to have spurred All Ords investor interest with FY 2024 guidance forecasting 7% to 10% growth in NPATA.

As for that passive income, Venetia Services declared a final dividend of 9.41 cents per share, franked at 80%. The total dividend for FY 2023 of 17.72 cents per share is up 12.5% from FY 2022.

Venetia shares trade on a partly franked yield of 4.7%.

Two more All Ords dividend stocks soaring on results

Also soaring following the release of its half-year results is Lottery Corp Ltd (ASX: TLC), the company responsible for the OZ Lotto, Powerball, and Keno brands.

The Lottery Corp share price is up 3.4% on the back of those results, trading for $5.22 a share.

Among the highlights of the half year, the ASX dividend share reported "resilient" revenue of $1.89 billion, down about 2% year on year. EBITDA came in at $399 million, also down just over 2% from 1H FY 2023.

Commenting on the results sending the Lottery Corp share price higher today, CEO Sue van der Merwe said:

During the half, we reaped the benefits of the change we made to Oz Lotto in 2022 to increase the probability of bigger jackpots. The $90 million draw on Boxing Day was the biggest Oz Lotto jackpot in more than a decade.

The company also flagged ongoing initiatives to drive future growth, including its newly evolved Weekday Windfall game and a digitally enhanced retail membership program.

Lottery Corp declared a fully franked interim dividend of 8.0 cents per share. The stock trades on a fully franked yield of 2.7%.

Which brings us to the fourth ASX dividend share being rewarded on the back of its full-year results for 2023.

Namely employee management services provider Smartgroup Corporation Ltd (ASX: SIQ).

The Smartgroup share price is up 2.9% today at $9.88 a share.

Highlights from the full-year results that look to be spurring All Ords investor interest include a 12% year on year increase in revenue to $252 million.

Operating EBITDA of $100 million was up 7% from 2022, while NPATA increased by 3% to $63 million.

In what management noted was a "competitive environment" the ASX dividend share managed to increase its novated leasing and salary packaging customer numbers while securing "significant" new clients and renewing many existing ones.

On the passive income front, Smartgroup declared a final dividend of 16.0 cents per share and a special dividend of 16.0 cents per share, both fully franked. That brings total dividends for the year to 47.5 cents per share.

Smartgroup shares trade on a fully franked yield of 4.8%.

The post 4 All Ords ASX dividend shares going gangbusters on results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

3 ASX All Ords shares bought and sold by insiders this week

3P Learning Ltd (ASX: 3PL)

There've been some big parcels of 3P Learning shares swapping hands among the All Ords company's directors recently.

Non-executive director Craig Coleman was a buyer last week, snapping up 1.4 million stocks in the online education resources provider for a grand total of around $1.68 million – approximately $1.20 apiece.

On the other side of the fence, managing director and co-founder Matthew Sandblom offloaded 913,000 shares for close to $1.1 million ­– or $1.20 apiece. Sandblom still holds around 136 million shares in the company, representing a 49% stake.

And so far, neither director has realised any gains or missed opportunities. The All Ords share is still trading at $1.20 today.

Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA)

Over at All Ords packaging company Orora Ltd, CEO and managing director Brian Lowe has been selling shares.

The company's boss sold 95,000 shares on market a week ago and transferred another 170,000 between his direct and indirect holdings. Each stock he sold saw him receive $3.50, for a total of $332,500.

The Orora share price is trading 3% lower at $3.40 today.

Lycopodium Ltd (ASX: LYL)

Finally, ASX All Ords engineering company Lycopodium has also been the subject of recent insider selling.

Founding partner and non-executive director Rodney Leonard sold a 100,000-strong parcel of the company's stock for a grand total of around $1 million last week. That means each share was offloaded for approximately $10.12.

That's seemingly unfortunate given the Lycopodium share price is trading at $10.59 at the time of writing.

The post 3 ASX All Ords shares being bought and sold by directors appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

Lycopodium Ltd (ASX: LYL)

The Lycopodium share price is up 4% to $6.76. Investors have been buying this engineering company's shares after it announced the award of contracts worth approximately $40 million. The contracts are for engineering and procurement services and construction management services for Endeavour Mining's Lafigué Project in the Ivory Coast.

Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG)

The Origin share price is up 35% to $7.87. This has been driven by news that the energy company has received an indicative, conditional, and non-binding proposal from Brookfield Asset Management and MidOcean Energy to acquire it for $9.00 cash per share. This represents a premium of almost 55% to its last close price.

Perpetual Limited (ASX: PPT)

The Perpetual share price is up 11% to $32.32. The catalyst for this is news that the fund manager has received an improved takeover offer from the consortium comprising BPEA Private Equity Fund VIII and Regal Partners. The consortium has lifted its offer by 10% to $33.00 per share. However, Perpetual has rejected the proposal on the belief that its offer "continues to materially undervalue the company."

Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR)

The Sandfire share price is up almost 5% to $4.19. This morning the copper miner announced the appointment of highly experienced mining executive Brendan Harris as its new CEO. Sandfire notes that Harris has extensive experience as an exploration geologist and was a senior executive with BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and South32 Ltd (ASX: S32).

The post Why Lycopodium, Origin, Perpetual, and Sandfire shares are charging higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Lycopodium is an engineering and project management consultancy working primarily in mining.

The micro-cap ASX share began the session at $6.14 on Wednesday — a 4.95% bump on yesterday's closing price of $5.85. It then ascended to $6.80 — a new 52-week record — before settling back to $6.51 at the time of writing.

ASX share hits 52-week high on FY22 results

The highlights of the report are as follows:

• Revenue of $232.2 million, up 43% on the prior corresponding period (pcp)
• Net profit after tax (NPAT) of $27.2 million, up 92% pcp
• Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $45.4 million, up 71% pcp
• Earnings per share (EPS) of 68.4 cents, up 92% pcp
• Cash balance of $100.9 million, up 31% pcp
• Final dividend of 36 cents per share with 100% franking, payable on 7 October

The record profit is enabling the company to more than double its dividends. It will pay a total of 54 cents per share for FY22. This is up 116% on the 25 cents per share it paid shareholders for FY21.

Based on the Lycopodium share price at the time of writing, this represents an 8.3% dividend yield.

In its announcement, Lycopodium said: "FY2022 has been a successful year for the business, with the award of new study work and the progression of several significant projects to the construction phase."

What else happened in FY22?

Several projects commenced on-site works in FY22, including the Motheo Copper Project in Botswana. The Bomboré Gold Project in Burkina Faso and the Ahafo North Gold Project in Ghana also began works.

Lycopodium strengthened its profile in the lithium sector with several new projects awarded to it.

In Western Australia, this includes the EPCM (engineering, procurement and construction management) contract for Talison Lithium's Chemical Grade Processing Plant #3 (CGP3). It also won the EPCM scope for the Kathleen Valley Project owned by Liontown Resources Limited (ASX: LTR).

Overseas, Lycopodium won the engineering, procurement and secondment services contract for the Goulamina Lithium Project in Mali. Owned by Leo Lithium Ltd (ASX: LLL), it is one of the largest lithium deposits in the world.

Other key projects secured include the early works on the expansion of the Sabodala-Massawa complex. This is the largest producing gold mine in Senegal and is owned by Endeavour Mining.

Lycopodium is also providing design consultancy services to CSL Limited (ASX: CSL). It's helping the biotech giant plan for new vaccine production facilities.

What did management say?

Lycopodium managing director Peter De Leo said:

We have returned a record profit result this year. The fact that we have been able to continue to win work, provide opportunities for new people to join the business and support our clients to deliver their projects, despite the pandemic prevailing for two years, is a reflection of the strength, commitment and resilience of our people.

What's next?

Lycopodium notes there is much activity in the mining sector. It expects base metal usage to increase as global industrial activity resumes following COVID-19.

The company also foresees increased demand for iron ore (especially from China), and gold because it is seen as a safe-haven asset in volatile economic times.

It notes that the energy transition will necessitate the building of new energy and transport systems.

Lycopodium also points to rising demand for minerals and metals used in electric vehicle batteries and portable electrical appliances. This includes lithium, graphite, copper, nickel, manganese, and cobalt.

Lycopodium said its FY23 performance is likely to be "broadly in line with that achieved in FY2022".

The company says it will provide revenue and profit guidance at its annual general meeting in November.

Lycopodium share price snapshot

This ASX share is one of few enjoying a strong year in 2022. The Lycopodium share price is up 27% in the year to date. By comparison, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 9%.

Lycopodium has a market capitalisation of $232.5 million.

The post Guess which ASX share is soaring 11% after dividends doubled? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Let's take a look at what Lycopodium has been up to and what might be lifting the share price.

The Orezone Gold Corporation Project

Lycopodium is an engineering and project management consultancy company with a focus on the Minerals sector. The company's target markets extend across the Asia Pacific region, North America and Africa.

Earlier this week, Lycopodium announced that the company had been awarded a contract to provide engineering, procurement and construction management services for Orezone Gold Corporation's State 1 Oxide Process Plant for the Bomboré Gold Project.

Responding to this win, Lycopodium's Managing Director Peter De Leo said:

Having supported the initial study work and Front End Engineering Design for the project out of our Toronto office, we are very pleased to continue to support Orezone in the development of Bomboré. With vast experience in successfully designing and constructing gold projects in Africa, we will draw on our specialist expertise in Australia, Canada and Burkina Faso to deliver this significant project.

How has Lycopodium performed recently?

In the last released shareholder report, the company noted that regardless of the growing impact of COVID, its projects have been generally unaffected. The report goes on to boast FY20 highlights including a $211.1 million revenue and $11.8 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).

While COVID didn't strike too hard against the company's current projects, the Lycopodium shareholder report further notes that "the pandemic has significantly impacted the award and commencement of new opportunities coming to market". 

Despite this impact, in December Lycopodium also announced that it was awarded the contract to provide engineering and procurement services for the Sandfire Resources Motheo Project located in Botswana's Kalahari Copper Belt.

Lycopodium shares are up more than 8% this week. On the current Lycopodium share price, the company has a market capitalisation of $193.93 million.

The post Why the Lycopodium (ASX:LYL) share price is on the rise today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

On Monday, Mondium announced it had secured a $400 million contract for the design and construction of the Western Turner Syncline Phase 2 (WTS2) mine from Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO). This is Mondium's largest contract award in its short life since 2017 and builds on a successful track record of major projects from the lithium sector. 

Mondium is a 60/40 joint venture between Monadelphous Group (ASX: MND) and Lycopodium Limited (ASX: LYL), which was created to address opportunities within the mineral processing sector.

Monadelphous provides the multidisciplinary construction experience, while Lycopodium provides the technical engineering expertise in minerals project delivery, giving Mondium a vertically integrated delivery model with no interface issues. 

Lycopodium's current projects tend to be in the feasibility study and design end of the construction sector, with a few medium-sized projects in the design and build space. This is often very lumpy by nature depending on market conditions and prevailing sentiment. Even in a mining boom, each construction project is a complex sale with differing profit margins across the long life of a project's execution phase.

Accordingly, the Lycopodium financials show the ups and downs of a company tied to the cyclical mining sector with a marked downturn in revenues and profits in 2014, the last low point in the mining cycle. 

The lacklustre performance in equity growth in the 5 years since the 2014 downturn is somewhat understandable as Lycopodium deploys intellect and skills, not machines. However, its inconsistent sales performance is something to keep an eye on. 

On the positive side, Lycopodium's earnings per share has grown at a compounded average rate of 27.2%, helping the company to show an average return on capital employed (ROCE) of 34% over the past 3 years. This is an impressive return in any industry. 

The company doesn't disclose the Mondium contribution in its annual report, nor is there a clear view of the forward order book value or stability. They do, however, have a lot of good ongoing contracts in place. 

Foolish takeaway

I have always seen Lycopodium as a pugnacious company punching well above its weight division. The JV in Mondium was a stroke of genius for both companies – it is very credible and has generated new revenue streams for both parent companies. 

Of all of the engineering and construction firms in Perth, I think Lycopodium is the best placed to profit from mining construction spending, both through its own continuing operations and via the Mondium JV. 

Personally, I intend to purchase a small amount when the Lycopodium share price is under $6 to tap into current expansion spending. Over the next 12 months I will be looking to see what actions the company is taking to make its sales more consistent before committing to a greater investment.

The post Is this ASX small cap the best way to profit from the $75 billion mining construction boom? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping lower:

The Lycopodium Limited (ASX: LYL) share price is down 2.5% to $5.74. This decline means the engineering company's shares have given back the gains they made on Monday following a positive announcement. That announcement revealed that its joint venture with Monadelphous Group Limited (ASX: MND), Mondium, has won a major contract with Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO).

The Mosaic Brands Ltd (ASX: MOZ) share price has crashed 18.5% lower to $1.84. This morning the fashion retailer, formerly known as Noni B Limited (ASX: NBL), revealed that the devastating bushfires burning across Australia have impacted its businesses. Approximately 20% of the company's stores have been directly impacted by the fires. Furthermore, almost one-third of its total 1,386 stores are located in regional areas, where consumer confidence has been particularly fragile. This led to same store sales falling 8% during the first half.

The Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) share price is down 2% to $30.15. Newcrest and the rest of the gold miners have come under pressure today after improving investor sentiment led to softening demand for safe haven assets. The S&P/ASX All Ords Gold index is down 1.5% at the time of writing.

The Pendal Group Ltd (ASX: PDL) share price has dropped 3% to $8.71 following its latest quarterly funds under management update. That update revealed that at the end of December Pendal Group's funds under management climbed 1% to $101.4 billion. However, this was due to favourable market movements which offset $1.3 billion of net outflows over the quarter.

The post Why Lycopodium, Mosaic Brands, Newcrest, & Pendal are dropping lower appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing the engineering company's shares are down 0.5% to $17.12.

What did Monadelphous announce?

This morning Monadelphous made an announcement relating to its 60% owned incorporated joint venture, Mondium Pty Ltd.

Mondium is an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) service provider targeting and delivering EPC projects in the minerals processing sector.

According to today's release, Mondium has been awarded a major contract, valued at approximately $400 million, with mining giant Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO).

The contract is for the design and construction of the Western Turner Syncline Phase 2 (WTS2) mine, located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Mondium will carry out all engineering and design, procurement and site construction works associated with the WTS2 development. This includes the process plant, overland conveyor and non-process infrastructure.

The joint venture's managing director, Andrew Carnie, believes this contract award is a major strategic milestone in its growth strategy.

He said: "Mondium has been working hard to execute projects successfully and prove our capability. We are thrilled to be making great strides in our growth strategy and to have secured this significant contract with Rio Tinto."

This sentiment was echoed by Monadelphous' managing director, Rob Velletri. He said that "being chosen to partner with Rio Tinto to deliver these important mine expansion works was a great achievement for Mondium."

"The award illustrates the strong progress Mondium has made in cementing itself as a preferred and trusted provider of EPC services. I would like to congratulate all involved in this historic win," he added.

The shares of fellow joint venture partner Lycopodium Limited (ASX: LYL) have pushed higher on the news. At the time of writing the Lycopodium share price is up a sizeable 4.5% to $6.06.

The post Monadelphous share price lower despite Rio Tinto contract win appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

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

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

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

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

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

Lycopodium Limited (ASX: LYL)

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

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

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

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

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

This is certainly one to watch.

Heron Resources Ltd (ASX: HRR)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The post Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) among these 3 small cap shares backed by brokers appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

These speculative picks have been flying under the radar, but there are several compelling reasons why they belong on your watchlist at the very least.

Senex Energy Ltd (ASX: SXY)

With a $559 million market cap, Senex Energy Ltd is an emerging player in the oil and gas space – focused on energy sources in Australia's Cooper, Eromanga and Surat Basins.

Senex is one of Morgans current top stock picks, with scalable gas reserves linked to east coast infrastructure giving it good "corporate appeal" according to the broker.

Morgans has an add rating on Senex right now, despite the stock dropping from its 52-week highs of 52c per share in early October to sit at 38c per share at the time of writing.

The Senex share price fell heavily off the back of its September quarter report, but those in the know are backing it, with Citi also placing a buy rating, albeit a high risk one, on the stock earlier this month with a 56c per share price target.

Senex is certainly worth a look, particularly on this downturn, but the overall oil and gas sector is volatile at present so the consensus here is to tread carefully and do your due diligence.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

Canaccord Genuity has a hold rating on $398 million market cap connectivity and network services company Megaport Ltd with a price target of $3.80.

Megaport shares were down 1.7% to $3.31 at the time of writing.

According to the broker, Megaport's increased investment focus was evident in its recently-reported first-quarter update, with a large increase in customers over the period, with no increase in operating costs.

Megaport has a sturdy $46.2 million cash on hand to start off the second quarter with first-quarter revenue up 19% on the fourth quarter of FY18 to $6.86 million – the highest rate of growth and compounding to 83% annual revenue growth if continuing throughout FY19.

Megaport has plans to continue its North American expansion with concerted efforts also ongoing in the Asia Pacific region.

Canaccord is taking a wait and see approach to Megaport and savvy investors will do the same.

Lycopodium Limited (ASX: LYL)

At just $173 million market cap, this engineering and project management consultancy has a long way to go before it starts getting widely recognised.

But Hartleys has a buy rating on the stock, and here's why.

According to the broker, Lycopodium has a solid outlook ahead of it and is leveraged well to the resources cycle after achieving annual profit growth each year from listing until 2013 when profitability was impacted by a subsiding industry boom.

With resource sector conditions back on the up, Lycopodium seems poised to snap up potential contract wins over the next few years, according to Hartley's.

Its joint venture with Monadelphous Group Limited (ASX: MND) – Mondium – also presents a likely upside, the broker says, with Mondium drawing upon Monadelphous' construction expertise and Lycopodium's technical expertise to target large-scale projects in the minerals processing sector.

Lycopodium shares are up 0.6% to $4.40 at the time of writing, but the broker has a $5.80 price target on it with a belief the company is well-managed and well-served by its strategy and strong client focus.

The post 3 speculative shares brokers think you should take a look at appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Ausenco's APAC/Africa division is finalising a number of new contracts that are expected to deliver $45 million in revenues. That represents 80% of the revenues booked by the division in 2015 according to CEO Zimi Meka.

The company also says it has won a number of other contracts, including a $17 million project to upgrade a coal handling and preparation plant (CHPP) at a NSW coal facility. Ausenco also says it has been awarded a $15 million three-year contract to provide operations and maintenance services for the CHPP at the Isaac Plains coal mine in Queensland.

Ausenco is but one of the many ASX-listed mining services companies that has seen its share price hammered over the past few years, losing more than 90% of its value since March 2013 as the resources boom ended.

Worleyparsons Limited (ASX: WOR) share price has tumbled 82%, Lycopodium Limited (ASX: LYL) has seen its share price fall 79% while the Monadelphous Limited (ASX: MND) share price is down more than 70%.

Not only have these companies been affected by less available work, but competition for work on offer is fierce, resulting in lower margins and higher levels of risk.

As I've mentioned before, winning a contract means virtually nothing unless the contractor can make a profit from it, and the risks of that have risen substantially. I wouldn't be touching Ausenco shares even at these prices.

The post Why the Ausenco share price jumped today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Markets have been going up pretty consistently over the past two years, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has climbed 37% since the beginning of 2012 – and that excludes dividends. Investors appear skittish with the market down 0.3% today, following on from falls offshore on Friday.

Headwinds coming?

And the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reports that earnings per share growth over the past four years have averaged minus 2%. Fund managers say Australian companies are struggling to generate organic earnings growth and have had to resort to cost cutting and mergers and acquisitions to deliver growth expected by shareholders.

Earnings reporting season, which is just kicking off, will be crucial. Some analysts fear the ASX is vulnerable to a selloff, and a number of broker analysts have savagely downgraded their earnings forecasts for this year.

So here are two steps you can take to make sure your portfolio is ready for any surprises.

Get your risk right

With the market up 37% since early 2012, your portfolio may now have much more exposure to some stocks than others – like the big four banks for example. A simple way to reduce some risk is to take some profits, and make sure you are well diversified.

Watch your dividend shares

Dividend companies can be a great way to protect your portfolio through the downturns. But instead of just taking the dividends at face value, make sure that your companies are capable of still paying out those regular dividends.

There are more than 20 companies on the ASX with dividend yields above 10%, according to CapitalIQ. These include iron ore miners BC Iron Limited (ASX: BCI) and Grange Resources Limited (ASX: GRR) and mining services companies Lycopodium Ltd (ASX: LYL) and Calibre Group Limited (ASX: CGH). Given their respective threats (lower iron ore prices and falling resources investment), those yields could come under pressure.

On the other hand, Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) could surprise investors and raise its legendary dividend from the 28 cents it paid last year.

The post Do this now, before the next crash appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.