ASX 50 stocks to watch out for

Highlights:

• S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.38% down at 6,826.50 points on 6 September 2022.
• Seven out of eleven significant sectors closed in red today.
• Discussed here are some top stocks - CSL, WES, EDV, COH, and TCL along with their recent ASX performances.

Australian stock market benchmark index, S&P/ASX 200 closed lower on Tuesday (06 September 2022). ASX 200 dropped by 25.70 points to 6,826.50 points. The index has lost 9.32% in last 52 weeks and 2.45% in past five trading sessions.

Today, sectors ended mixed as seven out of eleven sectors ended lower. Utilities was the worst performing sector as it fell by 1.86%. Information Technology was the best performing sector, it marked a rise of 0.67%.

This article discusses about five top 50 ASX stocks and their recent stock performance. The stocks discussed her are, CSL Limited, Wesfarmers Limited, Endeavour Group Limited, Cochlear Limited, and Transurban Group.

CSL Limited (ASX:CSL)

Share price of CSL followed an upward trend in the morning, and later it buzzed into the red territory. CSL shares have been underperforming the broader market as it has gone ex-dividend today.

While sharing the full-year results for the financial year 2022 (FY22), the company announced a final dividend of US$1.18 per share. The final dividend is 10% franked, and the tentative payment date is 5 October 2022.

Generally, on the ex-dividend date, a drop is observed in the stock price. It happens because on the ex-dividend date and after that, any new shareholders are not eligible to receive the dividend payment.

CSL is a biotech firm that manufactures and markets diagnostic and pharmaceutical products, human plasma fractions and cell culture media. The stock is trading on ASX with a market capitalisation of AU$142.13 billion.

CSL share price fell by 0.27% today. It last traded at AU$294.00 per share.

Wesfarmers Limited (ASX:WES)

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Share price of Wesfarmers mirrored the movement of ASX 200 today. Just like ASX 200, Wesfarmers’ share price was on the rise in the morning and around 2:30 PM AEST, it entered the red territory.

Recently, the company released its full-year results on ASX. Despite the challenging operating environment, the company delivered revenue of AU$36,838 million, up 8.5% from the previous year. However, earnings before interest and tax dropped 3.8%, and basic earnings per share declined 2.9%.

Wesfarmers’ board had announced a final dividend of 100 cents per share while releasing its financial results for 2022. With this, the full-year dividend reached 180 cents per share, a rise of 1.1% from the previous year. The tentative payment date of the final dividend is 6 October 2022.

Australian retailer Wesfarmers is engaged in diverse business operation that covers industrial, safety, fertilisers, energy, wellbeing, chemicals, health, office supplies, apparel, outdoor living and home improvement products. Wesfarmers is an AU$52.61 billion market cap company.

Wesfarmers shares closed 0.80% down at AU$46.02 per share on Tuesday.  

Endeavour Group Limited (ASX:EDV)

Shares of Endeavour traded lower today following the broader market movement. No price-sensitive news was shared by the company recently.

However, the company reported a significant surge in the group’s revenue during FY22 as pandemic-related restrictions eased. In the first half, the retail segment performed well, and in the second half, the hotel segment bounced back strongly.

Endeavour Group has reported an 11.2% rise in group NPAT and an 11.3% surge in earnings per share in FY22 over the prior year.

While releasing the full-year results, the board declared a final dividend of 7.7 cents per share. It represents a payout ratio of 73.1%. The divined got ex-dividend on 31 August 2022, and the tentative payment date is 16 September 2022.

Australian food and staples retailer, Endeavour retails products such as liquor. It operates numerous licenced hospitality venues. The company is trading on ASX with a market cap of AU$13.48 billion.

Endeavour ended today’s session at AU$7.39 per share, 1.86% lower from previous day close.

Cochlear Limited (ASX:COH)

Shares of Cochlear have been trading in the green zone since today’s morning. Cochler might have grabbed the investors’ attention because a lot of insider trading has been going on in the company of late.

Group’s non-executive director, Michael Del Prado, had bought 200 shares for US$147.50 apiece at the beginning of September 2022. He had bought 100 shares at the end of August at an average price of US$149 per share.

As per an ASX announcement, dated 26 August, Christine Frances McLoughlin (non-executive director) purchased 250 Cochlear shares for the consideration of AU$219.14 per share.

A higher amount of insider purchases indicates the management's confidence in the organisation. The insider purchase is generally linked with a bullish sign. The vice-versa also holds true; that is, if management is disposing of their holdings, then it is linked with the bearish sign.

Health care services and equipment company, Cochlear sells and manufactures Cochlear implant systems. Group’s market capitalisation is AU$13.88 billion.

Cochlear shares closed 0.25% up at AU$211.66 per share.

Transurban Group (ASX:TCL)

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Shares of Transurban were quite volatile today, although no update came from the company’s camp.

Transurban had recently shared its full-year earnings for FY22, following which the share price marked a significant drop on that day. In FY22, the proportional revenue grew by 5.7%, and the free cash flow surged by 19.8%. In the last quarter of Fy22, traffic exceeded the pre-pandemic levels and reached a new high, driven by an increase in travel and mobility and new asset capacity.

Due to inflation-linked toll escalation, the company got protection from the rising inflation environment.

The group ended the year with a robust balance sheet, with AU$355 million in capital releases and AU$3.9 billion in corporate liquidity.

The board declared a final dividend of 26 cents per share, taking the full-year dividend to 41 cents per stapled security. The distribution represents a growth of 12% year-on-year, said Transurban

Transurban is a transportation company which owns, operates and develops electronic toll roads and intelligent transport systems.

Today, Transurban shares closed 0.72% down at AU$13.71 per share.