This week, we bid farewell to winter… and another tumultuous ASX earnings season. So now, looking ahead to the brighter days of spring, hopefully the stock market can also deliver some healthy new growth.
Armed with a barrow full of info on which listed companies have been flourishing and floundering, we asked our Foolish contributors to let us know which ASX shares they reckon are worth planting some cash in right now.
Here's what the team came up with:
8 best ASX shares for September 2022 (smallest to largest)
- DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO), $88.67 million
- Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART), $184.92 million
- Alcidion Group Ltd (ASX: ALC), $196.55 million
- Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV), $2.31 billion
- Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO), $2.39 billion
- Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC), $7.78 billion
- South32 Ltd (ASX: S32), $19.21 billion
- CSL Limited (ASX: CSL), $141.57 billion
(Market capitalisations as of 31 August 2022)
Why our Foolish writers love these ASX shares
DroneShield Ltd
What it does: DroneShield specialises in designing and developing products to detect and disable threats from unmanned drones.
By Aaron Teboneras: The DroneShield share price sank by more than 19% on Wednesday, and I believe the stock is now trading at a bargain.
The substantial fall came on the heels of DroneShield's half-year results, which were released after market close on Tuesday. In its release, the company advised it had achieved revenue of $3.6 million, down 6% on the prior period ($3.9 million was delivered in the second half of 2021).
However, taking a closer look at some other key metrics, the company recorded cash receipts of $5.2 million in the first half of 2022. This represents a growth of 21% when compared to the $4.3 million recognised in the second half of 2021.
DroneShield said the difference between the revenue and cash receipts received in H1 2022 related to payments received in advance.
The counter-drone market is growing rapidly with a forecast total addressable market of around $5.9 billion by 2026.
In its 2022 second-quarter update, DroneShield also noted the highly favourable macro environment arising from the Russian war in Ukraine, with both sides demonstrating extensive use of small drones.
With this in mind, defence budgets globally, including that of the Australian Government, have been rapidly increasing.
Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras owns shares in DroneShield Ltd.
Airtasker Ltd
What it does: Airtasker operates an online local services platform that helps people who want a task completed connect with those who want to do the work. Furniture assembly, removalist services, website design, handyman services and photography are just some examples of the categories on offer.
By Tristan Harrison: I'm looking for compelling ASX growth shares that are attractively valued.
The Airtasker share price has dropped by around 50% in 2022, but the company is generating solid double-digit growth. In FY22, its gross marketplace volume rose 23.8% to $189.6 million, while revenue increased 18.4% to $31.5 million.
Airtasker also reported that, excluding research and development (R&D) costs, it made positive earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $1.3 million at the 'Australian marketplace and head office operations' EBITDA level.
I'm also excited by the company's international potential. In the United States, in the FY22 fourth quarter, the number of posted tasks grew 49% quarter-on-quarter.
Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison does not own shares in Airtasker Ltd.
Alcidion Group Ltd
What it does: Alcidion provides software solutions to the healthcare industry to improve patient outcomes. The company's flagship product is known as Miya Precision, which incorporates everything from bed management to patient monitoring.
By Mitchell Lawler: Alcidion released its full-year FY22 report earlier this week, showing a continuation of the company's tremendous growth momentum.
For the 12 months, the software provider achieved record revenue of $34.4 million, an increase of 33% from the year prior. Notably, the time frame included one entire half's worth of contribution from Alcidion's Silverlink acquisition.
Ultimately, the two most promising indicators for me from the recent results are the company's lessening dependence on revenue from Australia and New Zealand, reducing geographic risk, and the further improvement in recurring revenue composition, which reached around 68%.
The current valuation could be attractive if management continues to deliver on geographic and client expansion at this pace.
Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler does not own shares in Alcidion Group Ltd.
Lovisa Holdings Ltd
What it does: Jewellery and accessories retailer Lovisa is a staple in many shopping centres around Australia and the world. In addition to its extensive network of brick-and-mortar stores, Lovisa operates a successful e-commerce business.
By Brooke Cooper: Last financial year was a ripper for Lovisa. Its revenue surged 59%, it posted a $59.9 million profit and entered four new markets. It also more than doubled its final dividend to 37 cents per share.
And it's not expected to slow down soon. Morgans analyst Andrew Tang dubbed the company's earnings a "goldmine", saying:
"What was even more remarkable than the result itself was the phenomenal scale of [Lovisa's] ambition.
"The momentum of growth is expected to increase in FY23, and the addition of further new markets … appears more than likely. In our opinion, it won't stop there."
Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper does not own shares in Lovisa Holdings Ltd.
Core Lithium Ltd
What it does: Core Lithium is a resource explorer with a key focus on lithium. Its Finniss Lithium Project, located just south of Darwin Port in the Northern Territory, is under development.
By Bernd Struben: Core Lithium has been a stellar performer over almost any longer-term time frame you choose. Shares reached an all-time high of $1.62 on 15 August. At the time of publication, Core Lithium shares are up by around 122% in 2022 and 288% over 12 months. But I don't think the ship's sailed on the good times just yet.
In July, Core Lithium reported that its Finniss construction was progressing on track to export the first lithium by the end of 2022. This comes in an environment where lithium demand and prices are soaring amid the global shift to EVs and battery grid storage.
UBS recently upgraded its lithium price forecasts by 37%. UBS expects global demand for the critical battery metal to rocket 700% by 2030.
Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben does not own shares in Core Lithium Ltd.
Lynas Rare Earths Ltd
What it does: Lynas has expertise in integrating rare earths metals from mine to metal. It has a portfolio of assets concentrated in the exploration and production of rare earths.
By Zach Bristow: China currently supplies around 80% of the world's rare earths. But recently, growing geopolitical tensions have highlighted the world's need to diversify its supply chain. According to its website, Lynas "holds a unique position as the only significant producer of scale of separated rare earths outside of China".
It also has a considerable first-mover advantage over its ASX competitors. I believe this places the company in a prime position to capitalise on industry tailwinds that could see demand for Australian rare earths soar in the coming few years. This optimism was echoed in research from Jevons Global in a recent note.
Lynas shares are also rated as a buy by four out of seven brokers, with a consensus price target of $9.89 per share, according to Refinitiv Eikon data. At the time of writing, Lynas trades on a 14.4x trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio and presents with a 3.5% free cash flow yield and 6.7% earnings yield.
The Lynas share price closed Wednesday's session around 3% higher at $8.88.
Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow does not own shares in Lynas Rare Earths Ltd.
South32 Ltd
What it does: South32 is a diversified mining company with extensive global operations in base metals such as lead, aluminium, copper, zinc, and nickel.
By Sebastian Bowen: ASX 200 mining company South32 could well be worth a look this September, even though the company has already had quite a stellar run in 2022 thus far. South32's earnings last month contained a bumper 362% increase in annual dividends to 22.7 US cents per share. That's in addition to the special dividends worth another 3 US cents.
But ASX broker Morgans reckons the shares could climb to $5.50 over the next 12 months, which would give investors around 30% upside from today's price of $4.15. The broker also expects the company to deliver even higher dividends for FY23. As such, I believe South32 shares are well worth considering as we enter spring.
Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen does not own shares in South32 Ltd.
CSL Limited
What it does: CSL is a global biotechnology company that develops and delivers innovative therapies and vaccines that save lives, protect public health, and help people with life-threatening medical conditions to live full lives.
By James Mickleboro: I think CSL shares could be a quality option for investors in September.
The last couple of years have been tough for the company due to COVID-19 impacting plasma collections. Since plasma is a key ingredient in CSL's therapies, the lack of supply meant the company was paying over the odds to donors, putting pressure on margins.
The good news is that plasma collections are now at pre-COVID levels. And with its new collection technology expected to result in greater yields, CSL's margins look likely to start improving again in the near term.
Combined with strong demand for its immunoglobulins, the acquisition of Vifor Pharma, and new product launches on the horizon, I believe the future looks very bright for the company.
The CSL share price closed Wednesday at $293.54, down by around 5% over the past year.
Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro does not own shares in CSL Limited.
