In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a small decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down slightly to 7,074.5 points.
Four ASX shares that are falling more than most are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:
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Boral Limited (ASX: BLD)
The Boral share price is down 42% to $3.78. The good news is that nothing bad has happened and this decline relates to Boral returning a total of $3 billion to shareholders following a series of asset sales. Today the building materials company's shares are trading ex-capital return. Eligible shareholders can now look forward to receiving a total cash distribution of $2.72 per share. This comprises a $2.65 per share capital reduction and an unfranked dividend of 7 cents per share.
Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)
The Magellan share price is down over 1% to $18.25. This may relate to a broker note out of UBS this morning. According to the note, the broker has retained its sell rating and $17.00 price target on the fund manager's shares. It isn't feeling confident about Magellan's fees and flows outlook.
REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)
The REA share price is down 2% to $141.36. This is despite the release of first half results that came in ahead of the market's expectations. The property listings company delivered revenue growth of 37% to $590 million and EBITDA growth of 27% to $368 million. The latter was ahead of the market consensus estimate of ~$350 million. REA also revealed that January had started strongly.
SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK)
The SEEK share price is down 4.5% to $28.14. This may have been driven by a broker note out of Goldman Sachs this morning. According to the note, the broker has retained its sell rating and cut its price target on the job listings company's shares by 15% to $27.30. This follows a review of its valuation of the Seek Growth Fund business following industry feedback which suggests valuation pressure on venture capital assets.
