Sharesight20 March top 20 trades on ASX & NZX

Welcome to the March 2018 edition of the Sharesight20 monthly trading snapshot (click here for last month’s Sharesight20), where we look at the top 20 trades on both the ASX and NZX markets among the Sharesight userbase during the current month, and dig a little deeper into the news behind these movements.

Let’s dive into March’s top trades.

Sharesight20ASX March Snapshot

With the February reporting season over, we’re back to looking mostly at company announcements driving investor interest. A2 Milk Limited (ASX: A2M) drops to 5th in our #Sharesight20ASX this month after claiming the top spot on both our ASX and NZX charts in February.

Woodside Petroleum (ASX: WPL)

• Conducted a successful equity raise in February worth $2.5 billion
• Announced ExxonMobil’s Meg O’Neill to replace Mike Utsler as Woodside Petroleum COO
• Announced a deal with BHP to take over the undeveloped Scarborough gas field
• Announced success in striking oil off southern Gabon field in joint venture with Petronas
• Abandoned plans to build an LNG plant at Grassy Point on Canada’s west coast

BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP)

• As many as 50 parties are interested in BHP’s shale oil asset sale - pushing up valuations
• This includes Royal Dutch Shell and Blackstone Group with a rumoured bid of $10 billion for a portion of BHP’s US Shale operations
• Andrew Mackenzie, CEO of BHP called Trump’s tariffs ‘regrettable’

Telstra Corporation (ASX: TLS)

• Shares hit a 5 year low in March
• Announced a transition from SAP to US based Workday’s HCM platform to streamline human resources
• Faces up to a $10 million fine from the ACCC over ‘Premium Direct Billing’ services
• Announced plans with joint venture partner News Corp to merge Foxtel and Fox Sports
• Also announced 100 jobs to be moved offshore in back-of-house wholesale billing and provisioning areas

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

• Shares traded ex-dividend on March 8th
• Announced a new paid parental scheme, with 6 months at full pay an increase on the previous scheme’s 18 weeks
• Signed a new deal with South Africa’s state-owned freight company Transnet to export 2.6 million tonnes of manganese to China

Retail Food Group (ASX: RFG)

• Shares hit 10 year lows during March
• Plans to close 200 stores
• UBS believes that 200 might be conservative - believing RFG may need to close as many as 456 stores between 2018 and 2020

Sharesight20NZX March Snapshot

On the NZX in March, the NZ Top 50 Fund (NZX: FNZ) claims top spot, two other market-tracking ETFs from last month’s #Sharesight20NZX also made the top 20, with the US 500 Fund (NZX: USF) at #4 and the NZ Mid Cap Fund (NZX: MDZ) further down this month.

A2 Milk Company (NZX: A2M)

• Rival Freedom Foods launched an UHT A2 protein milk under their Australia’s Own brand
• Farmers in New Zealand are raising concerns about the conversion path to A2 milk producing cows as part of the Fonterra/A2 Milk joint venture announced in February

Spark New Zealand (NZX: SPK)

• Launched their LoRaWAN low powered IoT network
• Successfully tested 5G technology (a New Zealand first) with partner Huaweii
• Is at risk of being limited in future land acquisitions by the Overseas Investment Amendment Bill
• Is ‘moving to Agile’ and will trim leadership team and flatten structure

SKYCITY Entertainment Group (NZX: SKC)

• Revealed the company’s H2 2017 results - revenue up 4%, profit up 11.6%, and a dividend of 10c per share
• The New Zealand International Convention Centre project for SKYCITY under construction by Fletcher Building (NZX.FBU) is now 6 months behind schedule
• Will auction their Federal Street Car Park through Colliers International on April 4

Auckland International Airport (NZX: AIA)

• Announced passenger growth of 7.1% in February - a total of 1.689 million passengers - with a significant spike in Chinese travellers due to Chinese New Year
• Launched world-first AI-powered digital ‘biosecurity officer’
• Sold its 24.5% interest in Cairns Airport, and Mackay Airport for $370 million

Don’t miss the Sharesight20 weekly market snapshots

Want the monthly Sharesight20 ASX and NZX weekly trading snapshots? Visit the Sharesight20 section of our blog, and subscribe to optional email alerts.

You’ll also find the latest Sharesight ASX and NZX trading snapshots on Twitter using the #Sharesight20ASX and #Sharesight20NZX hashtags, or by following Sharesight on Facebook or LinkedIn.

With over $1.9B USD worth of investments actively tracked by the userbase, it’s time you sign up to Sharesight and start tracking the true performance of your investments today!

Important Disclaimer. We do not provide tax or investment advice. The buying of shares can be complex and varies by country. You should seek tax and investment advice specific to your situation before acting on any of the information in this article.

FURTHER READING

• Blog – How much money can Sharesight save you?
• Blog – 7 reasons why Sharesight is better than a spreadsheet