Top 20 stocks lead revival, but with caveat

Original article by Jens Meyer
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 5-Dec-16

Blue chip stocks have been in favour with Australian investors in recent weeks, amid a trend to offload growth stocks. The 20 largest stocks in particular have generally performed well since the start of October 2016, and Macquarie Group expects this trend to be sustained into 2017. However, Tony Brennan of Citigroup cautions that blue chip stocks in some sectors may not perform as well as others.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, VOCUS COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED – ASX VOC, BELLAMY’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX BAL, APP SECURITIES, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

Beaten-down blue chips offer attractive buying opportunities

Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 14-Jun-16

Australia’s S&P/ASX300 has gained 3.76 per cent so far in 2016, while the S&P/ASX 200 has shed 2.4 per cent. However, Olivia Engel of State Street Global Advisors remains upbeat about the top 20 blue chip stocks, arguing that the sell-off means that some of them offer value. Tim Schroeders of Pengana Capital recently noted that blue-chip miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto represent "reasonable" value on an enterprise value and EBITDA basis.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 300 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 20 INDEX, STATE STREET GLOBAL ADVISORS AUSTRALIA LIMITED, PENGANA CAPITAL LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, BRAMBLES LIMITED – ASX BXB, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG

Why this market isn’t like the bloodiest days of 2008

Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 17-Feb-16

The slump in global sharemarkets in 2016 has prompted comparisons with the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008. However, analysis shows that many Australian blue-chip stocks remain significantly above the lows recorded at the height of the GFC. National Australia Bank is the only one of the "big four" whose share price had not reached its pre-GFC high when the market peaked in April 2015. In contrast, energy stocks – which generally rallied during the GFC – have fallen sharply since April.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 20 INDEX, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, LEHMAN BROTHERS INCORPORATED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, CARNEGIE ASSET MANAGEMENT FONDSMAEGLERSELSKAB AB

Uncertainty clouds fate of blue-chip dividends

Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 13-Nov-15

Data from Morningstar shows that the average gross dividend yield for S&P/ASX 20 stocks has risen to a seven year-high of seven per cent. Meanwhile, three of the top-20 stocks have a 12-month gross yield in excess of 10 per cent, according to Bloomberg. ST Wong of Prime Value Asset Management says the top-20 stocks should be able to maintain their dividend payouts during the next year. However, some analysts believe that banks and resources groups may need to reduce their dividends.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 20 INDEX, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD, BLOOMBERG LP, PRIME VALUE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WATERMARK FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

Few shares spared as index heads to correction

Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 15-Oct-14

Bearish sentiment toward equities means that just 11 stocks in Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index have risen in the last six weeks. These include TPG Telecom, Qube Holdings, Recall Holdings and M2 Group. Some 40 per cent of ASX 200 stocks have fallen by more than 10 per cent since early September 2014, while the index itself has shed eight per cent over this period. CIMB’s Shane Lee says the sell-off means that some stocks may now offer good value to investors

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, QUBE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX QUB, RECALL HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX REC, M2 GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTU, CIMB SECURITIES INTERNATIONAL (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, RUSSELL INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, RESMED INCORPORATED – ASX RMD, SONIC HEALTHCARE LIMITED – ASX SHL, TOLL HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TOL, BRAMBLES LIMITED – ASX BXB, IINET LIMITED – ASX IIN, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH