21/02/2024 09:36

Woolworths (WOW) $35.87

The supermarkets are in the political cross-hairs, accused of price gouging when the cost of living pressures are extreme. Woolworths CEO, Brad Banducci, is under intense pressure on this issue and amplified his wows during a failed interview with the ABC (here), this morning he stepped down as CEO to be replaced by Amanda Bardwell.

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02/02/2024 09:10

Woolworths Group Ltd (WOW) $35.79

We discussed WOW in late January, concluding that we liked the defensive play at current levels, and it was added to our “Hitlist”. The stocks since slipped following the $1.7bn write-down of its struggling NZ-based supermarket business, making it even more attractive in our opinion; our core reasoning remains intact.

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24/01/2024 09:16

Woolworths Group Ltd (WOW) $36.42

WOW has recently gained significant publicity following its decision to shun Australia Day merchandise; however, today, we are simply focusing on the supermarket's outlook through 2024 as opposed to becoming entwined in its stance on the issue. The company and stock have delivered a pedestrian performance over recent years, although the shares have moved pretty much in line with the broad-based index.

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24/11/2023 09:09

Woolworths Group Ltd (WOW) $34.27

WOW delivered a solid result in August, cementing it as the highest quality Consumer Staple stock on the market, although it’s still being priced accordingly, i.e. WOW is trading on a valuation of 22.7x compared to Coles (COL) on 20x; however, the premium has slipped from closer to 15% earlier in the year.

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24/08/2023 09:39

Woolworths Group Ltd (WOW) $37.49

They say the cream rises to the top and that was certainly the case yesterday when looking at the Woolworths (WOW) result and subsequent reaction versus Coles (COL) the prior day. The cost and margin pressures that are evident at Coles were not obvious for Woolworths as years of investment in digital engagement, e-commerce, logistics & fulfilment.

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08/08/2023 09:37

Woolworths Group Ltd (WOW) $38.46

WOW has rallied over +25% from its 2022 low and is currently trading on 27.4x FY23 earnings, well above its historical average hence we are unlikely buyers over the coming months i.e. we believe if/when the market becomes increasingly optimistic, overpriced defensive stocks will struggle. WOW may be a quality defensive stock and business but in our opinion, it's simply too expensive around $38.50.

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04/07/2023 09:38

Four underperformers catching our eye on “RBA Day”

In the 1H of the year investors have been prepared to pay increasingly high prices for earnings certainty, propelling some stocks ever higher, while pushing others, ever lower. At MM we believe a period of performance catch-up is on the menu for some of the more ‘unloved’ names of FY23.

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01/06/2023 09:11

Woolworths Group Ltd (WOW) $37.54

WOW is a quality defensive stock and business but the important question is at what price, WOW is trading at 26.8x est. FY23 earnings, well above its historical average hence we are unlikely buyers over the coming months.

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09/05/2023 09:14

Woolworths (WOW) $38.64

Consumer Staples was the only sector to fall in a bullish market yesterday, not surprising given recent strength as both Woolworths (WOW) & Coles (COL) trade within sight of their all-time highs. There is no doubt these are quality, defensive stocks, and they have proven this time and time again, however, 15-20% pullbacks are commonplace and with Woolworths (WOW) now trading on 25.8x earnings, around 32% above its historical earnings multiple, WOW in MM’s view will become susceptible to weakness if the market turns more bullish.

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03/05/2023 09:10

Coles (COL) $18.11 & Woolworths (WOW) $38.58

The two major supermarkets have reported quarterly sales updates this week at a time when Woolworths (WOW) is trading just ~10% below its all-time high while Coles (COL) is only ~8% below their equivalent milestone. Both reported strong results with WOW booking like-for-like sales growth for the 3 months to March 31 of 7.6%% while Coles (COL) said +6.5% more sales went through their tills.

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