BHP Firms On Capital Return

BHP announced the return of the full US$10.4 billion proceeds from the sale of the mining giant’s US shale assets.

The funds will be returned to shareholders almost immediately through a combination of an off-market buyback in Nov/Dec 18 (US$5.2 billion) and a special dividend of US$5.2 billion payable in January 2019.

BHP has been under an ALGO buy signal since September 11th at $31.20 and we see the next chart resistance level at $35.40.

BHP

 

Local Market Patterns – What Is Unfolding?

Over the last 5 tradings days, our Algo Engine has generated a number of buy signals in oversold blue-chip stocks, as well as the leading market indices and ETF’s.

We believe the market is finding support based on valuation and yield, consequently, we’re likely to see buying support build.

The graph below is the index on the ASX 100.  The graph below that highlights the technical structure we’re watching out for further down the road.

Will the major indices put in place a lower high pattern and generate an ALGO sell signal?

It is too early to position portfolios around this possibility and for now it is “buy the dip” in quality names. However, keep the following image in mind as we work through the December – February periods.

Buy Signals In Local Energy Names

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude Oil price dropped 1.3% overnight to post their worst monthly performance in over two years.

The combination of trade wars, the global equity market slump and increasing oil stockpiles has raised concerns about oil demand, which pushed the WTI price 10.8% lower during October.

However, with official US sanctions on Iranian oil set to begin on November 4th, some analysts are looking for a bounce in crude oil prices.

Our ALGO engine is currently showing buy signals in the local oil names: WPL, STO and OSH.

We look for all three of this stocks to firm over the near-term with OSH reflecting the best value on a relative basis

ALGO Update: Buy ALL & CWN

At $27.00, ALL is at about 17.5X estimated FY 2019 earnings.

In addition, given ALL’s exposure in the USA, a further fall in the AUD/USD will act as a tailwind for earnings going into next year.

ALL is part of our ASX Top 50 Model portfolio and we have an upside target of $40.50 over the medium-term.

The share price of CWN dipped to a 10-month low of $12.25 on Monday.

At the current level of $12.60, the stock is trading at less than 20X FY 2019 earnings for a partially franked yield of 4.5%.

Crown is included in our ASX Top 100 Model Portfolio.

Our near-term price target is just over $14.20, with a longer-term view to $15.75