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

As we've reported, some of the biggest dividend increases among ASX mining shares this season came from the gold miners.

Next week, two of them go ex-dividend.

Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS) shares will pay a fully-franked interim dividend of 3 cents per share on 15 April.

This exceeds the company's commitment to pay a minimum annual dividend of 2 cents per share for FY26.

Ramelius Resources reported a 13% increase in EBITDA to $347.7 million but a 6% fall in net profit after tax (NPAT) to $160 million.

The ASX gold share goes ex-dividend on Monday.

Capricorn Metals Ltd (ASX: CMM) shares will pay a maiden fully franked interim dividend of 5 cents per share.

The gold miner reported a 130% jump in underlying NPAT to $144.8 million for 1H FY26.

The ASX gold share also goes ex-dividend on Monday.

Here is a sample of the other ASX All Ords shares with ex-dividend dates next week.

ASX shares about to go ex-dividend

The post 26 ASX shares with ex-dividend dates next week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This ASX 200 investing house remains one of my favourite ASX investments of all time, and one of the largest positions in my Australian shares portfolio to this day.

However, this isn't your typical ASX stock. As such, if you're buying Soul Patts shares, it's very important that you understand exactly what kind of assets you're really buying.

Washington Soul Pattinson is a company that's really closer in structure to a managed fund rather than something like Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) or JB Hi-Fi Ltd (ASX: JBH).

That's because instead of producing or manufacturing goods or services to sell to customers as a traditional business does. Soul Patts runs a huge portfolio of other assets on behalf of its investors. Thus, buying a Soul Patts share is really just buying a stake in this underlying portfolio.

But what assets are we talking about here?

Soul Patts divides its investment portfolio into six underlying components, which sit outside the company's 'Net Working Capital' fund for acquisitions and the like. Let's break them all down using the data contained in Soul Patts' annual report from 2023.

What you're really buying when you purchase Soul Patts shares

The first (and largest) is its 'strategic' portfolio. Making up 48% of Soul Patts' overall house, this is where the company keeps track of its significant positions in a handful of other ASX shares.

Some notable examples are a 12.8% stake in TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG), a 39.2% share of New Hope Corporation Ltd (ASX: NHC), a 43.1% share of Brickworks Ltd (ASX: BKW) and a 36.6% position in Pengana Capital Group Ltd (ASX: PCG).

Next up is Soul Patts' 'Large Cap' portfolio. This is primarily made up of the basket of blue chip shares that Soul Patts acquired when it bought up the listed investment company (LIC) Milton Corporation a few years ago. Today, it accounts for 21% of Soul Patts' investing house.

Then we have the company's 'Private Equity' division. At 11% of Soul Patts' overall portfolio, this is where the company keeps its unlisted company investments, which are typically small, high-growth opportunities.

These are predominantly selected from areas like agriculture, energy transition materials and technologies, and education. Some examples are Soul Patts' investment in Aquatic Achievers swim schools and electrical supply company AMPControl.

Yield and property

The next part of the Soul Patts picture is the company's 'Structured Yield' portfolio. Here, the company invests in "actively managed structured credit investments", which basically involves lending other businesses money. It contributes around 6% to the company's overall investments.

Following that, we move on to the 'Emerging' division. This part of the business is similar to Soul Patts' 'Private Equity' portfolio, except it focuses on companies that are already listed or are in the late stages of preparing for an initial public offering (IPO). It accounts for another 6% of Soul Patts' investing house.

Finally, Soul Patts' last portfolio is 'Property', making up just 1% of its overall investments. Here' Soul Patts owns actively managed direct property investments, as well as joint ventures. It's a small part of the overall picture, but one example is a retirement development that the company is building in Cronulla, Sydney.

So if you're buying Soul Patts shares today, these investments are what you're really purchasing a stake in.

Of course, this inherent diversification and active management is what many investors find so appealing with Soul Patts. After all, this company has proven that it has what it takes to deliver outsized returns over long periods of time.

According to the company's December AGM update, Soul Patts' underlying portfolio delivered an average return of 12.4% per annum (including dividends) over the ten years to 31 July 2023. That rises to 12.5% per annum over 20 years. Over the 12 months to 31 July, the company hit a return of 32.4%.

The post Buying Soul Patts shares? Here's what you're really buying appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

When an ASX share has a low price/earnings (P/E) ratio it naturally boosts the dividend yield on offer.

In valuation terms, a lower P/E ratio is seen as cheaper. It describes what multiple of earnings the business is trading at. The lower the better, if the business is expected to grow earnings over time.

I think these are two of the best cheap ASX shares to consider.

Shaver Shop Group Ltd (ASX: SSG)

Shaver Shop is a leading retailer in Australia of hair removal products. It also offers beauty and oral care products.

The business is part of a growing market. According to Shaver Shop, there is a growing demand for beauty and personal care products – the beauty and personal care market in Australia is expected to grow from just over $10 billion to $12 billion by 2026.

New products are released every year, enabling the business to sell the most advanced products in those categories. The business is growing its store network, with its eyes on growth in New Zealand.

The ASX dividend stock has grown its dividend each year since 2017 and this is expected to continue to FY25. According to Commsec, it could pay a grossed-up dividend yield of 12.1% in FY23 and 13.8% by FY25.

The business seems very cheap to me. Using Commsec's EPS projection of 12.6 cents, it's priced at 10 times FY23's estimated earnings, with growth forecast for FY24 and FY25.

Pengana Capital Group Ltd (ASX: PCG)

Pengana is a fund manager that offers a variety of investment funds for investors. The business ended December 2022 with funds under management (FUM) of $3.2 billion, which is similar to where it finished June 2022.

Investment markets have generally risen since December, giving the company a positive outlook for the second half of FY23.

At the company's annual general meeting (AGM), it said that private market strategies are expected to become the dominant source of profitability. Pengana said it's well-placed to grow in this market, with its global private equity vehicle Pengana Equity Trust Pvt (ASX: PE1).

The ASX dividend stock has also been working on developing private credit strategies. It said it has "strong growth potential with large capacities." It will be launched in the second half of FY23.

The latest half-year dividend from Pengana was 8 cents per share. If Pengana were to pay 16 cents per share in FY23, it would be a grossed-up dividend yield of 13%. Since 9 February 2023, the Pengana share price has dropped around 23%, making it seem much cheaper.

The post 2 ASX dividend stocks I think are dirt-cheap right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

But, there are some individual names that are down a lot more. For example, the Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price is down around 50%, the Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price is down more than 25%, the Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) share price is down around 40% and so on.

So, what's an investor supposed to do? Does it make more sense to buy ASX growth shares after their steep fall, or should ASX value shares be the way to go?

Funds management business Pengana Capital Group Ltd (ASX: PCG) has outlined some thoughts about the situation.

What is a value share?

According to Pengana, 'value stocks' are ones that have share prices trading at a lower multiple to the balance sheet or profit than the wider market. The fund manager named some sectors that have businesses that are regularly called value shares, such as banks, supermarkets and utilities that deliver "more dependable, immediate profits".

The types of businesses that can generate consistent and reliable profit in this inflation environment may be attractive to some investors. The fund manager said inflation increases business uncertainty. Businesses with more predictable earnings streams become "relatively more attractive", which supports value shares.

Pengana noted that after a decade of underperformance, (ASX) value shares saw a strong recovery in performance.

Should investors go for ASX value shares or growth shares?

Pengana said:

Investment textbooks tell us that value stocks generally outperform growth stocks in periods of rising interest rates and economic slowdowns. However, history tells us that investors who wait for certainty that the market has pivoted from favouring value back to growth are likely to miss the mark.

The tricky thing is that market lows and interest rate peaks can only be confirmed in hindsight. The fund manager notes that recent share market history offers little support for the strategy of 'waiting until the maximum market drawdown has passed' before investing in growth companies.

As I've already mentioned, many ASX growth shares have already been smashed in 2022 as multiple factors punish their valuations.

Pengana pointed to a couple of reasons why growth shares are hurting so much.

First, higher variable debt costs are reducing company profits, especially hurting those with already-thin profit margins.

Second, "higher bond yields increase a company's equity discount rate which reduces the present value of future earnings and thus its market value. This particularly impacts growth companies whose profits lie further out into the future".

Pengana has noted that some analysts are tipping that value shares can continue to outperform growth shares as higher interest rates slow the economy. Those value-focused analysts think that investors would do well to favour a value strategy until the market starts to show signs of recovery, and only then should a portfolio be rebalanced towards growth stocks.

But that's not Pengana's view.

How the fund manager sees the picture for growth shares

Pengana said:

This 'recovery moment' may arrive some time before the interest rate cycle peaks, because share markets are forward indicators of future economic health. Markets look ahead towards the economic recovery which follows the eventual downward turn in the interest rate cycle.

Moreover, the suggestion that growth stocks only begin outperforming value sometime after the maximum drawdown is not supported by historic data.

Investing in high quality growth companies, with moderate debt levels, has served as a good investment strategy for investors willing to ignore shorter-term market fluctuations. Such a strategy requires investing for the long term and recognising that well managed companies that grow earnings over time can sometimes be poor short-term performers.

It will be interesting how things play out for ASX growth shares from here and whether Pengana is right.

The post Are you at risk of missing the 'recovery moment' in ASX shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

It has already displayed longevity. The company has been listed on the ASX since 1903. It has survived through world wars, global pandemics, financial crashes and so on.

But that's old history.

These are three reasons why the company is a very useful ASX dividend share:

Diversified portfolio

Soul Pattinson first started as a pharmacy business.

But now it's a very diversified investment house. That means it operates by predominantly by investing in other businesses.

It has a portfolio of large and smaller ASX shares.

Some of the biggest holdings are TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG), Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW), New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC), Pengana Capital Group Ltd (ASX:PCG), Tuas Ltd (ASX: TUA), Pengana International Equities Ltd (ASX: PIA), Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ), Bki Investment Co Ltd (ASX: BKI), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and Bailador Technology Investments Ltd (ASX: BTI). There are many more.

The company also has a growing portfolio of unlisted and non-ASX shares. Examples of that include the electrical parts business Ampcontrol, Apex Healthcare, financial services, agriculture, swimming schools, resources and luxury retirement living.

Reliable cashflow funds dividends

With a contrarian mindset, Soul Pattinson has designed its portfolio to be defensive. The ASX dividend share says that its portfolio provides "reliable cash through market cycles which serves to protect downside in market corrections."

Many of the ASX dividend share's investments pay an annual dividend or distribution to shareholders.

Each year, Soul Pattinson receives all of that cash flow. It pays for its operating expenses and then it pays a large portion of that cash flow out as a dividend to investors. In FY21, it decided to pay 82.3% of its regular operating cash flows as a dividend.

With the bit of retained cash flow, the business invests in more opportunities. The company has a goal of paying steady and growing dividends.

Soul Pattinson has managed to grow its dividend every year since 2000. It has actually paid a dividend every year since it was listed in 1903.

Dividend yield

Soul Pattinson doesn't have the biggest dividend yield on the ASX. But it does offer a payout that is substantially more than what people can get from a bank savings account.

Based on the trailing dividends, Soul Pattinson has a grossed-up dividend yield of 3.4%.

The post 3 reasons why Soul Pattinson (ASX:SOL) is a strong ASX dividend share idea appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Meanwhile, S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has beejn having a dissapointing day in the red today, currently down 0.55%

It seems that investors have had mixed feelings after the company released its monthly funds under management (FUM) growth. Whilst it was a short and sharp update, let's still take a quick look.

What does the FUM release say?

In the 1 page FUM report, the company showed it has grown FUM by approximately 1.5% from October to November 2021.

In total, the firm now has $4.15 billion in managed funds, up from $4.0885 billion at the same time last month. Looking at the same comparison rolling into October this year, this is a greater step up in capital from $4.08 in FUM during September.

The announcement also follows a white paper compiled by the group last month that challenges assumptions on the effect of impact investing in secondary markets.

Pengana pushes back at the notion that secondary markets such as the share market are an appropriate domain for impact investing, as shares frequently change hands amongst owners and the companies involved don't directly profit from the sale or purchase of its shares.

It also questions the role of ESG investing and submits that it is more a function of managing risk versus "trying to get companies to be better corporate citizens".

Specifically, Pengana reckons that "ESG investing processes may indeed help to avoid risk…but this is not the same as reducing impact in the real world".

It says that "divesting a portfolio of carbon stocks is a good way to decarbonise a portfolio, but this divestment does little to decarbonise the economy".

Pengana also argues that divestment can have important socio-political ramifications but recognise that divestment itself will have little immediate effect on carbon emissions.

Whilst the report is in no way price-sensitive, it does give insight into the investment philosophies of the firm in this regard, plus some unique perspective on ESG investing.

Pengana Capital share price snapshot

Pengana shareholders have enjoyed an outsized return over the past 12 months to date. In that time, the share price has gained 34%, well ahead of the benchmark ASX 200's gain of around 10%.

This year to date, shares have rallied another 33%, once again leading the broad index, whilst also gaining another 8% in the last month.

The post Why is the Pengana Capital (ASX:PCG) share price struggling today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Just because a business is smaller doesn't mean that it can't pay a large dividend. The yield is dictated by the payout ratio and the valuation.

Plenty of the businesses in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) were smaller companies on the ASX at some point. Starting from a smaller base may give them a longer growth runway with their earnings as well.

Here are two small ASX dividend shares with large yields:

360 Capital REIT (ASX: TOT)

This is a diversified real estate investment trust (REIT). It's one of the positions in the Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) financial services portfolio.

It has the ability to invest across most assets in the real estate world. At the moment it has two large strategic holdings in Australian REITs. One holding is 9.2% of Irongate Group (ASX: IAP). Another holding is Peet Limited (ASX: PPC).

Peet is a residential developer that delivers master planned communities, medium density housing and apartments.

Irongate is a diversified real estate investors with real estate assets and a third-party funds management platform. Irongate owns office and industrial assets across Australia and New Zealand.

Another of the small ASX dividend share's recent investments include buying half of PMG Group, a New Zealand based diversified commercial real estate funds management business. At the time of the acquisition, PMG managed five unlisted funds, three single-property syndicates, with 42 properties and NZ$665.7 million of funds under management (FUM).

360 Capital says PMG gives the business an investment in a growing funds management platform with a long track record and diversification through exposure to the New Zealand real estate market. It provides fee income from funds management and underwriting activities.

Its longer-term objective is owning direct assets and value-add opportunities on the balance sheet. Initially, it's getting exposure to this through strategic investments in real estate funds management platforms.

The small ASX dividend share's annual distribution for FY21 is 6 cents per share. That trailing payment reflects a yield of 6.25%.

Pengana Capital Group Ltd (ASX: PCG)

Pengana is another business in the Soul Patts financial services portfolio.

It's a fund manager with a diverse array of funds that it manages. Pengana has strategies relating to international shares, ASX shares, private equity, property and ethical shares.

At 30 June 2021, its FUM had grown to almost $4 billion (the exact number was $3.974 billion). At 31 December 2020, the FUM was $3.6 billion. So the FUM had grown by 10.6% over the prior six months. FUM is an important part of generating revenue for Pengana in the form of management fees.

In the six months to 30 June 2021, the small ASX dividend share generated gross performance fees of $17.3 million. That brought total gross performance fees earned for FY21 to $27.6 million. However, those numbers are before payments to the fund manager teams and bonuses.

The FY21 half-year result saw FUM increase by 15% in the first six months of the financial year. This helped underlying profit before tax increase by 17.1% to $9.2 million.

Pengana declared an interim dividend of 5 cents per share, an increase of 25%. The current trailing dividend is 9 cents per share, meaning it has a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 7.6%.

The post 2 small ASX shares with big dividend yields appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Dividends are not guaranteed, they are decided by boards of businesses and funded by profits.

These three ASX shares have high dividend yields as a result of a lower price/earnings ratio valuation and/or a higher dividend payout ratio:

Pengana Capital Group Ltd (ASX: PCG)

Pengana is a funds management business that operates a variety of strategies for investors including Australian shares, global shares, private equity and property.

In the six months to 31 December 2020, Pengana's funds under management (FUM) increased by 15% to $3.586 billion. In the latest monthly update to 31 May 2021, FUM had increased further to $3.790 billion.

Pengana said that the FY21 half-year result saw "strong investment performance, with all strategies outperforming respective benchmarks for the period" and "significant improvement in net flows".

The ASX share's board decided to increase the interim dividend by 25% to 5 cents per share. That brought the trailing dividend to 9 cents per share.

At the current Pengana share price of $1.59, that means the trailing grossed-up dividend yield is 8.1%.

Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK)

Nick Scali is a large ASX-listed furniture business with showrooms across the country.

It says that its business model generates a leading retail industry operating cashflow margin, achieving average earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to cashflow conversion of over 100% in the past five years.

Nick Scali explains that its cashflow profile allows the company to maintain a high dividend payout ratio which has averaged 80% through time.

The ASX share expecting to grow its net profit after tax in FY21 by between 85% to 90%.

In the FY21 half-year result it grew its interim dividend by 60% to $0.40 per share. That brought the trailing 12-month grossed-up dividend yield to 8.3%.

360 Capital REIT (ASX: TOT)

This is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that looks to invest across an array of different property investment opportunities. Investments this financial year include PMG Funds, Peet Limited (ASX: PPC) and Irongate Group (ASX: IAP).

The business said its longer-term objective is owning direct assets and value-add opportunities on its balance sheet.

The 50% investment into PMG Group, a New Zealand diversified commercial real estate funds management business, is to provide the ASX share with an investment in a growing funds management platform with a long track record and diversification through exposure to the New Zealand real estate market. It provides earnings from fee income from funds management and underwriting activities.

The ASX share forecast a FY21 distribution of 6 cents per security, which currently translates into a distribution yield of 6.1%.

The post 3 ASX shares with BIG dividend yields appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The below businesses have yields that are higher than the market average:

360 Capital REIT (ASX: TOT)

360 Capital is a real estate investment trust (REIT) which invests in a wide range of property-related assets.

It has invested in a few different ASX shares in recent times. Peet Limited (ASX: PPC) is a residential developer that delivers master planned communities, medium density housing and apartments. Another investment was Irongate Group (ASX: IAP), which is a diversified real estate investor and it also has a third-party funds management platform.

360 Capital has also bought half of PMG Group, a New Zealand commercial real estate funds management business.

The forecast distribution guidance for FY21 is 6 cents per security, which translates to a forecast yield of 6.25%.

Pengana Capital Group Ltd (ASX: PCG)

Pengana is a fund manager that runs a number of different strategies including ASX shares, international shares and private equity. The company said that it's looking to diversify over time by adding new strategies.

In the six months to December 2020, the ASX share said that funds under management (FUM) increased by 15% thanks to both investment performance and net inflows. All of its strategies outperformed their respective benchmarks for the period. The fund manager said that it's growing FUM on higher margin products.

The Pengana Property Securities Fund was one of the latest products to be launched.

In the half-year result, Pengana grew its interim dividend by 25% to 5 cents per share. That brought the trailing annual payment to 9 cents per share, translating to a grossed-up dividend yield of 8%.

In the latest monthly FUM update, Pengana said its FUM had increased from $3.7 billion to $3.8 billion.

Pacific Current Group Ltd (ASX: PAC)

Pacific is an asset management ASX share that aims to partner with exceptional investment managers. It combines capital (offered through different economic structures) with strategic business development to help those investment managers grow.

Some of its investments include GQG, ROC, Carlisle, Proterra and Victory Park. Those were the ones that saw elevated inflows in the three months to 31 March 2021. It also acquired a stake in Astarte Capital Partners. In that same quarter, it experienced 8.9% organic FUM growth.

Over the last 12 months, Pacific Current has paid an annual dividend of $0.35 per share. That equates to a grossed-up dividend yield of 8.9%.

The post 3 small ASX shares with big dividend yields appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Some businesses don't pay any dividend at all, such as Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) and A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M).

However, there are others that have relatively high dividend yields:

Pengana Capital Group Ltd (ASX: PCG)

Pengana is a funds management business. It operates a number of different investment strategies including Australian small caps, a multi-cap ASX strategy, global small caps, global multi caps, global private equity, sustainable investing and so on.

Over the last 12 months Pengana has paid dividends totalling $0.09 per share. That translates to a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 7.6%.

The funds under management (FUM) increased by 15% during the six months to 31 December 2020, ending at $3.59 billion. This was predominately thanks to investment performance adding $463 million to the FUM total.

Pengana's FUM has steadily climbed during the second half of FY21. At the end of April 2021, it had risen to $3.77 billion.

The ASX share explains that growth of its Australian FUM is limited due to market dynamics and capacity constraints. An aim over the last few years has been to increase its exposure to international investing. At the end of FY17 international FUM made up 32% of the total, at the end of December 2020 it was 53%.

Pengana said that there's "significant" further capacity in various international equity strategies, including Pengana Equity Trust Pvt (ASX: PE1).

The fund manager also said that it has an opportunity to diversify further over time by adding new strategies.

Pacific Current Group Ltd (ASX: PAC)

Pacific Current is a business that takes investment stakes in global fund managers to help them grow with capital and expertise.

Over the last 12 months, Pacific Current has paid dividends totalling $0.35 per share. That translates to a grossed-up dividend yield of around 9.1%.

The ASX share has a portfolio of around 15 names. Some of its investments include Aether Investment Partners, Astarte Capital Partners, Carlisle Management, GQG Partners, Proterra Investment Partners and Victory Park Capital.

In the quarter ending 31 March 2021, Pacific saw FUM controlled by boutique asset managers increase by 8.9%. Including the new investment in Astarte Capital Partners, total FUM increased 9.3%.

During the latest quarter, Pacific saw "strong" inflows across the portfolio including GQG, ROC, Carlisle, Proterra and Victory Park.

The Pacific Current CEO, Paul Greenwood, said:

While GQG continued to post large FUM gains, we were again encouraged by the breadth of growth across the portfolio. As we emerge from the pandemic it appears that many of our portfolio companies are very well positioned to grow, and as a result we expect continued capital raising success in 2021 and 2022.

The post 2 high-yielding ASX dividend shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Smaller businesses are often less covered by analysts and investors which can lead to lower price/earnings ratios and higher dividend ratios.

These ASX dividend shares all have high dividend yields on offer:

Pacific Current Group Ltd (ASX: PAC)

This is a business that makes investments into global investment managers around the world. Each investment and fee structure is different, but Pacific benefits if the funds under management (FUM) grows.

Using the last 12 months of dividends, Pacific has a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 9.1%. As the FUM grows, the underlying profitability of the Pacific business increases (particularly as it is lowering its costs after the onset of COVID-19).

Pacific continues to invest into new opportunities such as Astarte Capital Partners which may be able to become larger contributors to profit in the coming years.

It's currently rated as a buy by Ord Minnett with a price target of $6.70. In FY22, it's expected by the broker to pay a grossed-up dividend yield of 9.6%.

Pengana Capital Group Ltd (ASX: PCG)

Pengana is a fund management business. At the end of March 2021, it had $3.71 billion of FUM (up from $3.63 billion in February 2021).

It earns management fees and performance fees from the FUM that it manages, which turns into profit and dividends for shareholders.

Looking at the last 12 months of dividends, Pengana has a grossed-up dividend yield of 7.4%.

The ASX dividend share's FY21 half-year FUM increased by 15% and underlying profit before tax increased by 17.1%. The board was happy enough to increase the interim dividend of 25% to 5 cents per share.

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

Accent is a business that aims to increase its dividend consistently for investors. Indeed, its dividend has actually been consistently growing over the last few years.

The FY21 half-year result saw the board increase the dividend by 52.4% to 8 cents per share. This was funded by a 56.9% increase of the earnings per share (EPS), with earnings before interest tax (EBIT) going up 47.3% and digital sales jumping 110%.

Accent Group continues to make compelling acquisitions, such as the Glue Store which diversifies the company's earnings and gives it more avenues to grow.

The ASX dividend share also continues to grow its store network, increase store like for like sales and improve its profit margins. The gross margin increased from 56.7% to 58.1%.

Further growth is expected into FY22. It's expecting to open at least 90 stores in FY21 and then there should be continued strong store openings into FY22.

In the first eight weeks of the second half of FY21, like for like retail sales were up 10.7% and digital sales were up 65.4%. Online sales continues to track above 20% of total sales.

The post 3 little-known ASX dividend shares offering big income appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

COVID-19 caused a lot of businesses to cut or maintain their dividends because of the enormous financial impacts and uncertainty.

But a few kept increasing, like these two:

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

Rural Funds is an agricultural real estate investment trust (REIT). It owns a diversified portfolio of farms across cattle, vineyards, almonds, macadamias and cropping (sugar and cotton).

Its farms are diversified across climate conditions and geographically.

The ASX dividend share has a goal of increasing its distribution by 4% every year for investors. It has been successful with this goal. Rural Funds grew the distribution by 4% in 2020, unfazed by COVID-19 impacts.

The farmland REIT is able to generate growth in two main ways. Its farms have rental increases built into the contracts, either a fixed 2.5% annual increase or CPI inflation growth, plus market reviews.

Rural Funds can also grow the value and rental potential of its farms thanks to productivity investments at the farms. For example, at its cattle properties it has been investing in more water access points.

At the current Rural Funds share price it has an expected FY22 distribution yield of around 5%, based on the 11.73 cents per units forecast by management.

Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL)

This ASX dividend share is also called Soul Patts. It's an investment conglomerate that has been operating for over a century.

Soul Patts started as a pharmacy business, but it's now invested in a wide array of sectors and businesses.

In terms of the listed investments, some of its biggest positions include TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG), Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW), New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC), Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API), Bki Investment Co Ltd (ASX: BKI), Milton Corporation Limited (ASX: MLT), Pengana International Equities Ltd (ASX: PIA) and Pengana Capital Group Ltd (ASX: PCG).

But that's not all. Soul Patts also has a portfolio of private businesses. It's invested in resources, agriculture, swimming schools, financial services and a business called Ampcontrol.

The ASX dividend share funds its dividend payouts to shareholders from the investment income it receives from its portfolio, after paying for its operating expenses. It can then re-invest the rest into new opportunities to grow its cashflow further.

The investment team within Soul Patts can pursue any investment opportunity in any sector, listed or unlisted.

It tries to invest in a contrarian way and have a portfolio of largely uncorrelated assets which are defensive. For example, it recently tried to acquire aged care operator Regis Healthcare Ltd (ASX: REG) when the share price was a lot lower.

At the current Soul Patts share price, it has a grossed-up dividend yield of 2.6%.

The post 2 ASX dividend shares that keep growing their dividend every year appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Businesses that are smaller may have the ability to generate decent capital and profit growth, as well as paying high dividend payouts.

These three ASX dividend shares are small but have higher yields:

Propel Funeral Partners Ltd (ASX: PFP)

For FY21, Propel Funeral Partners has a grossed-up dividend yield of 5.5% according to Commsec.

Propel is the second largest funeral operator in Australia and New Zealand. The company is aiming to benefit from the ageing population demographics to generate long-term organic growth. It has also been making acquisitions to capture more market share.

The business managed to generate earnings growth in the FY21 half-year result, despite all of the impacts of COVID-19.

Revenue rose 3.5% to $59 million, operating net profit after tax (NPAT) rose by 7.6% to $8.4 million, whilst operating earnings per share (EPS) went up 7% to 8.5 cents. This funded a 50% increase of the dividend to 6 cents per share.

The ASX dividend share is forecasting shorter-term growth because it's expecting death volumes to revert to long-term trends.  

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

Accent is expected to pay a grossed-up dividend yield of 7.5% in FY21, according to Commsec.

The shoe business is planning to keep opening more stores to expand its reach and grow its market share. There continues to be a high level of demand for quality shares, which is why the company saw NPAT growth of 57.3% to $52.8 million.

Total sales only went up 6.6% to $541.3 million, but online sales rose 110% to $108.1 million.

The ASX dividend share's management team want to keep growing its online sales and investing in innovation, with a long-term objective of at least 10% compound EPS growth.

Growing the dividend is one of the key goals of the business. The FY21 interim dividend was increased by 52.4% to 8 cents per share.

In the first eight weeks of the second half of FY21, like for likes sales went up 10.7%.

Pengana Capital Group Ltd (ASX: PCG)

Pengana is a fund manager that's backed by investment conglomerate Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL).

It has a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 7.8% after a 25% increase of its interim dividend in the half-year result.

Pengana has steadily been growing its funds under management (FUM) in recent months. Over the month of February 2021, FUM grew by another $45 million to $3.63 billion.

The ASX dividend share managed to grow its underlying profit before tax went up 17.1% year on year and funds under management grew by 15% in six months to 31 December 2020.

Its funds have been generating outperformance and it continues to launch new funds which could generate more earnings over time.

The post 3 small caps ASX dividend shares offering big income appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

High yield businesses come with the normal points of risks and rewards. Plenty of high yield dividends may not stay high yield forever. 

These businesses currently have a high dividend yield for shareholders:

Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK)

Nick Scali is an ASX dividend share that is now paying a much bigger payout than a few years ago. The FY21 interim dividend payout was the same size as the entire payout in FY18.

The board of Nick Scali implemented a 60% increase of the dividend to 40 cents per share after underlying earnings per share (EPS) grew by 99.5% to 50 cents.

Not only did revenue increase by 24.4% to $171.1 million, but the underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin grew by 1,270 basis points to 33.6%.

The ASX dividend share is also expecting more growth in the second half of FY21, with the sales order growth in January being up 47% year in year. The sales order bank at the end of January 2021 was at an all time high.

At the current Nick Scali share price, it has a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 9.4%.

Pengana Capital Group Ltd (ASX: PCG)

Pengana is a fund manager that operates a number of different strategies for investors including ASX shares, international shares and private equity.

The business is seeing steady growth of its funds under management (FUM). In the FY21 half-year result, it reported that funds under management increased by 15% to $3.6 billion thanks to a mixture of investment performance ($463 million) and positive net inflows ($81 million).

Indeed, the ASX dividend share said that all of its strategies outperformed their respective benchmarks for the period.

Underlying earnings per share (EPS) went up by 13% to 5.96 cents, which helped fund a 25% increase to the interim dividend to 5 cents per share.

The last 12 months of Pengana dividends amounts to a grossed-up dividend yield of 7.1%.

At the end of February 2021, Pengana's FUM had grown to $3.63 billion.

Pacific Current Group Ltd (ASX: PAC)

Pacific is another ASX dividend share that it's in the funds management business.

It doesn't actually run any funds itself yet, instead it looks for fund managers around the world to invest in. Pacific Current takes stakes in those businesses and then aims to help them grow.

Some of its investments include fund managers called Aether, Carlisle, GQG, Proterra, Victory Park and ROC.

Pacific Current said that widespread growth led to its FUM increasing by 23.9% to $113 billion on a 100% basis. GQG continues to receive "substantial" inflows.

In the recent FY21 half-year result it said that base management fees grew by 10% (or 16% in US dollar terms), whilst operating expenses fell 24%. It was a large fall in performance fees (down 68%) and a stronger Australian dollar that saw underlying net profit fall 13.4%.

However, Pacific Current announced that the interim dividend would remain at $0.10 per share, which represented a dividend payout of 44%.

The ASX dividend share has a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 9%.

The post 3 ASX dividend shares with BIG yields appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Businesses that are small are sometimes priced at a lower earnings multiple than if they were large, despite being earlier on in their growth journey. A lower earnings multiple/share price boosts the dividend yield for investors.

Here are two small ASX shares that just reported big dividends:

360 Capital REIT (ASX: TOT)

This business is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that's operated by 360 Capital Group Ltd (ASX: TGP). 360 Capital REIT just reported its FY21 half-year result.

It was previously generating earnings by making real estate loans, but all direct real estate loans ($42.4 million) have now repaid as a result of active management.

360 Capital REIT revealed that it has sold a further six apartments in Gladesville, 19 of 23 apartments have now been sold at an average premium of 21.3% to the purchase price.

The small ASX dividend share has made a number of equity investments into real estate related assets including Peet Limited (ASX: PEET), Irongate Group (ASX: IAP) and PMG in New Zealand. The PMG investment may find New Zealand investments that can be pursued.

As a result of COVID-19, the REIT ceased its lending activities and shifted management's focus to converting outstanding loan positions and assets to cash. Management decided to be conservative with the cash to preserve capital, which impacted earnings.

It said that its operating earnings per share (EPS) was down 76% to 1.1 cents.

After the end of the reporting period, the majority of the business' available capital had been deployed into investments that provide recurring income in line with 360 Capital REIT's strategy and objectives.

The small ASX dividend share has forecast a FY21 distribution guidance of 6 cents per security, which translates to a yield of 6.9% at the current 360 Capital REIT share price.

Pengana Capital Group Ltd (ASX: PCG)

Pengana is a fund manager that just reported its funds under management (FUM) increased by 15% in the six months to 31 December 2020.

It reported that underlying profit before tax grew 17.1% to $9.2 million and normalised EPS grew 13% to 5.96 cents per share.

The small ASX dividend share said that there was a significant improvement in net flows. Pengana also said that there was also strong investment performance, with all strategies outperforming their respective benchmarks for the period.

As part of the result release, management said that it still has significant further capacity in its various international equity strategies and a major growth opportunity in the Pengana Private Equity Trust (ASX: PE1). It also said it has an opportunity to diversify further over time by adding new strategies.

In terms of the dividend, the board of Pengana decided to declare a fully franked interim dividend of 5 cents per share, which was an increase of 25%.

At the current Pengana share price, that means that the grossed-up dividend yield is now 6.8%.

The post 2 small ASX shares that just reported big dividends appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Pengana's FY21 half-year result

The fund manager announced that its funds under management (FUM) grew by 15%, ending at $3.59 billion in December 2020. The investment performance contributed $463 million and it saw positive net inflows of $81 million. However, distributions were a negative impact of $80 million.

Management fee revenue increased by 1.6% to $17.7 million. Pengana said the benefit of higher FUM at the period end will be reflected in the second half of the year. Performance fee revenue jumped 88.9% to $10.3 million. Net fund direct expenses improved 21.4% to $1.4 million as the business focused on reducing expenses.

The fund manager said that its funds achieved strong investment performance, with all strategies outperforming respective benchmarks for the period.

The management fee margin decreased to 1.15%, down from 1.21% in FY20. The total fee margin rose to 1.87% including the performance fees.

Operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 30.2% to $8.25 million. Underlying profit before tax grew by 17% to $9.2 million. Underlying earnings per share (EPS) went up 13% to 5.96 cents.

However, statutory profit declined slightly to $3.17 million and statutory EPS dropped to 3.79 cents.

Dividend declared

Pengana announced an interim dividend of 5 cents per share, which was an increase of 25% compared to the prior corresponding period.

Pengana share price movements

Over the last year the Pengana share price has risen 34%. However, over the last six months the Pengana share price has gone up 68%.

CEO commentary

The Pengana managing director and CEO Russel Pillemer said:

Admist a highly volatile macro environment navigating around the uncertainty of vaccine trials, US election jitters, Brexit fallout and deteriorating China-US relations, all the major Pengana strategies delivered strong absolute and relative returns in the period, outperforming their respective benchmarks.

The trend towards higher margin products highlighted in our last annual report continues, as well as our increase in international equity products which comprised 53% of FUM at 31 December 2020.

Pengana's outlook

The fund manager said that whilst the period had a high level of uncertainty and volatility in the global landscape, its strategic focus is always on the long-term growth and success of the company. Pengana believes it's this focus on the long-term that led to the strong result in the period.

Mr Pillemer concluded:

The foundational steps we have taken in the last few years have been designed to build a platform for future growth and I have never been more confident; particularly as I am surrounded by talented people at all levels at Pengana, our product offering has never been more diverse and our ability to service and interact with our investors on a personal and digital level has never been better.

The post Pengana (ASX:PCG) share price on watch on 25% growth of HY21 dividend appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Businesses that are smaller may have the potential to grow more because they haven't reached their growth ceiling yet. However, some of them may be able to deliver higher levels of income because they are paying high dividend yields.

Here are two examples:

360 Capital REIT (ASX: TOT)

This real estate investment trust (REIT) invests across the entire real estate investment world, taking advantage of varying market conditions in order to find the best opportunities. It's managed by fund manager 360 Capital Group Ltd (ASX: TGP).

The business has been busy with acquisitions and sales in recent months.

In the three months to 30 September 2020, it continued its investment strategy of buying equity stakes in real estate assets and businesses, whilst exiting the debt investments.

It recently settled on the sale of its non-core Penrith shopping centre in line with book value. A few months ago it announced that it had settled seven contracts for its Gladesville investment averaging at a 20.3% premium to the purchase price.

Over the last month the small ASX dividend share has bought a 9.18% interest in Irongate Group (ASX: IAP), a diversified REIT, for approximately $78.6 million.

It has also announced a 50% interest in PMG Funds, a New Zealand based real estate fund manager with over NZ$665 million of real estate funds under management (FUM).

360 Capital REIT said that the partnership gives it exposure to a growing funds management platform across New Zealand. It will allow 360 Capital REIT to invest in direct commercial and industrial real estate transactions in New Zealand.

Management said that the REIT remains well capitalised with no gearing and a focus on growing its real estate strategy.

360 Capital REIT is currently paying a quarterly distribution of 1.5 cents, which translates to a distribution yield of just under 7% at the current share price.

Pengana Capital Group Ltd (ASX: PCG)

Pengana is a fund manager that runs a variety of strategies including Australian share strategies, global shares and global private equity.

In the latest monthly update, Pengana said that its funds under management (FUM) was just under $3.6 billion.

The small ASX dividend share believes that there is significant further capacity in various international equity strategies. Pengana also thinks there is a major growth opportunity in the Pengana Private Equity Trust. There's also the potential to diversify further over time by adding new strategies, according to management.

Pengana said that one of the key attractions about its business was that it has more than 20% of its FUM in listed vehicles. It says that it has good fee margins and diversified performance fees. It also says that profitability is highly leveraged to growth in FUM. It largely has a fixed operating cost base.

The company believes that a key growth opportunity is the USA expansion platform with its acquisition of a controlling stake in Lizard International.

At the current Pengana share price, it has a grossed-up dividend yield of 6.2%.

The post 2 small ASX dividend shares with big yields appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Here are two little-known businesses that have income yields bigger than the market average:

360 Capital REIT (ASX: TOT)

According to the ASX, 360 Capital REIT has a market capitalisation of $121 million.

This is a real estate investment trust (REIT) which invests across the entire real estate industry to take advantage of varying market conditions in order to maximise returns for investors.

It is managed by 360 Capital Group Ltd (ASX: TGP), which is an investment and funds management group, focused on strategic and active investment management of alternative assets.

360 Capital REIT recently changed its strategy to focus on equity investing in real estate assets and businesses and exiting its debt investments.

The ASX dividend share recently completed the sale of its Penrith shopping centre asset, in line with the book value.

A recent investment that the business made was acquiring a 9.18% stake in Irongate Group (ASX: IAP) for approximately $78.6 million. Irongate is an ASX-listed diversified REIT with approximately $1.1 billion of assets on the balance sheet and a third-party funds management platform. It also announced it had agreed terms to become a major equity partner in an unlisted real estate funds management platform with settlement expected this month.

The ASX dividend share explained that based on the recurring nature of the income from these investments, the REIT decided to provide guidance of 6 cents per unit for FY21. At the current 360 Capital REIT share price, it has a FY21 distribution yield of 6.8%.

At the FY20 result, which was released almost six months ago, the business said that it had net tangible assets (NTA) per share of $1.13. The current 360 Capital REIT share price is trading at a 22% discount to its NTA.

Pengana Capital Group Ltd (ASX: PCG)

Pengana is a fund manager that predominately provides investment services to retail investors. According to the ASX, Pengana has a market capitalisation of $181 million. 

The last funds under management (FUM) update showed that the FUM had grown to $3.6 billion, up from $3.5 billion in the previous monthly update.

Pengana has a number of different investment strategies for investors to utilise. It has Australian multi-caps, Australian small caps, global multi-caps, global small caps and global private equity.

The ASX dividend share believes that it has a long-term and loyal customer base of financial advisors, retail investors and high net worth individuals with more than 20% in listed vehicles.

Listed investments have a stable pool of funds which allows it to invest for the long-term and provides consistent management fees.

One of the ways that Pengana plans to grow is overseas expansion. It bought two thirds of Lizard Investors in the US, Pengana plans to help it increase its FUM whilst also transforming Lizard into a platform for managing other strategies.

Pengana management think that eventually Lizard can grow to become the same size as the Australian business.

At the current Pengana share price, it has a grossed-up dividend yield of 6.3%.

The post 2 secret ASX dividend shares with large yields appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Some businesses are quite a bit smaller than the biggest companies on the ASX. Shares like Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) have market capitalisations of more than $100 billion.

These stocks have much smaller capitalisations, but they still have large yields:

Adairs Ltd (ASX: ADH)

Adairs is one of the largest retailers of furniture and homewares in Australia.

Using the market capitalisation from the ASX, it's valued at $646 million.

The ASX dividend share has a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 4.3%. In FY21, Commsec has numbers projecting that Adairs will pay an annual dividend of $0.21 per share, equating to a forward grossed-up dividend yield of 8.1%.

In a recent trading update, Adairs said for the first 23 weeks sales had gone up 23.4% with Adairs online sales going up by 99.7%. Online sales made up 39% of total sales, compared to 20% for the same period last year.

In terms of guidance for the FY21 first half, total sales are expected to be in a range of $235 million to $245 million, representing growth of at least 31%.

Pacific Current Group Ltd (ASX: PAC)

Pacific Current is an ASX dividend share that takes strategic stakes in fund managers from around the world. One of its biggest investments is GQG.

Dean Fremder of Perpetual Limited (ASX: PPT) said when Pacific Current shares were a bit lower: "The stock's really cheap. It is on nine times earnings. It's growing earnings at double digits, so more than 10% a year. It's paying a 6.5% fully franked yield. And most excitingly, we think they can pay out a much larger portion of their earnings as dividends. We see no reason, given the surplus franking credits they have on the balance sheet, they can't be paying a 10 or 11% fully franked yield in the next 12 months. So, really excited about that one."

In FY20 the company grew its dividend by 40% to $0.35 per share on the back of a 62% increase in the funds under management (FUM).

Looking at the first quarter of FY21, Pacific Current said that its FUM went up by another 14% to $106.4 billion, with the vast majority of the FUM growth during the period coming from GQG. In native currencies, US dollar orientated fund managers saw FUM rise by 19.3%. When converting to Australian dollars, the increase was offset by the significant appreciation of the Australian dollar against the US dollar.

Pacific is also thinking about launching a fund to manage external money and invest that capital into fund managers, where Pacific Current would also have co-investment rights.

At the current Pacific share price, it has a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 8%.

Pengana Capital Group Ltd (ASX: PCG)

Pengana is an ASX dividend share that operates as a fund manager, it largely looks to provide services to retail investors.

At the end of December 2020, its FUM increased to $3.593 billion, up from $3.523 billion.

The fund manager operates a variety of investment strategies – Australian multi-caps, Australian small caps, global multi-caps, global small caps and global private equity.

Pengana says that it has a sticky and loyal client base of financial advisors, retail and high net worth individuals with more than 20% of FUM in listed vehicles. The benefit of this is that it provides a stable pool of FUM which generates stable management fees.

One of the ways that Pengana plans to grow is overseas expansion. It bought two thirds of Lizard Investors in the US, Pengana plans to help it increase its FUM whilst also transforming Lizard into a platform for managing other strategies.

Pengana management think that eventually Lizard can become the size of the Australian business.

At the current Pengana share price, it has a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 6.7%.

The post 3 small ASX dividend shares with big yields appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

These are businesses that are already paying shareholders some of the profit each year, but they are earlier on in their expansion plans.

Here are those small dividend-paying businesses:

Propel Funeral Partners Ltd (ASX: PFP)

Propel has a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 4.8%. According to the ASX, it has a market capitalisation of $295 million.

It's the second largest funeral operator in Australia and New Zealand. Propel's core business is regional funeral businesses, though it's also looking to expand into metropolitan areas as well. For example, it recently acquired the Dils Group which operates primarily on the North Shore of Auckland in New Zealand.

In FY20 the ASX dividend share grew revenue by 16.5% to $110.8 million, volumes grew by 17.6% to 13,300 and the average revenue per funeral increased by 1.6% to $5,672. Operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) went up 36.4% to $32.4 million and operating net profit after tax (NPAT) grew by 6.5% to $14.2 million.

In the first quarter of FY21 it reported 18% growth of operating EBITDA of $10.5 million, with average revenue per funeral growth within the target range of 2% to 4%. It also reported total funeral volume and strong cash flow conversion.

For FY21 and beyond it's expecting a growing and ageing population, with acquisitions likely to help earnings too. Death volumes are expected to grow by 1.4% per annum between 2016 to 2025 and then increase by 2.2% per annum from 2025 to 2050.

Pacific Current Group Ltd (ASX: PAC)

Pacific has a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 8%. According to the ASX, it has a market capitalisation of $320 million.

It's a business that invests in other fund managers that it thinks have good growth potential. Pacific Current helps fund managers grow with both its expertise and capital. 

One of the investments that the ASX dividend share previously made, GQG, is currently delivering most of the growth of funds under management (FUM) at the moment. In FY20 FUM grew by 62% to $93 billion, which helped underlying earnings per share (EPS) rise 18% to $0.51. This in turn supported a 40% increase of the dividend per share to $0.35.

In the quarter ending 30 September 2020, Pacific Current saw FUM rise by another 14% to $106.4 billion.

Dean Fremder of Perpetual Limited (ASX: PPT) said when Pacific Current shares were a bit lower: "The stock's really cheap. It is on nine times earnings. It's growing earnings at double digits, so more than 10% a year. It's paying a 6.5% fully franked yield. And most excitingly, we think they can pay out a much larger portion of their earnings as dividends. We see no reason, given the surplus franking credits they have on the balance sheet, they can't be paying a 10 or 11% fully franked yield in the next 12 months. So, really excited about that one."

Pengana Capital Group Ltd (ASX: PCG)

Pengana has a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 6.8%. According to the ASX, it has a market capitalisation of $170 million.

This ASX dividend share is a business that aims to service retail investors. At the end of November 2020, it had $3.5 billion of FUM.

It runs a variety of investment strategies – Australian multi-caps, Australian small caps, global multi-caps, global small caps and global private equity.

Pengana says that it has a sticky and loyal client base of financial advisors, retail and high net worth individuals with more than 20% of FUM in listed vehicles, which provides a stable pool of FUM.

One of the ways that Pengana plans to grow is overseas expansion. It bought two thirds of Lizard Investors in the US, and plans to help it increase its FUM whilst also transforming Lizard into a platform for managing other strategies.

Lizard intends to launch at least two more strategies over the next year. Management believe there is potential to build this business over the longer term so that it rivals the scale of Pengana's Australian business.

The post 3 secret ASX dividend shares with large yields appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.