COL share price in focus

Coles is an Australian retailer providing customers with everyday products including fresh food, groceries, general merchandise, liquor, fuel and financial services. It was founded in 1914 in Victoria which it still calls its home base.

Coles was formerly owned by conglomerate Wesfarmers from 2007 until 2018, when it was spun-off and listed as a separate entity on the ASX under the ticker symbol ‘COL’. Coles’ earnings are dominated by the supermarkets side of the business, however, it partly or fully owns or operates adjacent businesses like flybuys, Liquorland, First Choice, Vintage Cellars, Coles Express and more.

While Coles is in a way the ‘little brother’ to Woolworths, it still controls a significant share of the Australian grocery market (about 28%). In its short time as its own listed entity, Coles has established itself as a handy and reliable dividend payer.

HUB shares

HUB24 was founded in 2007 and has quickly become a leading player in the wealth management industry, providing software and management platforms that touch financial advice, superannuation, and investment management.

HUB24’s three main products are the platforms HUB24, Class, and myprosperity. HUB24 is made for financial advisers and their clients, providing access to a range of managed funds and investment products. Class is a leading software for self-managed super funds to manage portfolios, legal documentation, and compliance. myprosperity is a provider of client portals for accountants and advisers to provide an enhanced service and customer experience.

COL share price valuation

One way to have a ‘quick read’ of where the COL share price is could be to study something like dividend yield through time. Remember, the dividend yield is effectively the ‘cash flow’ to a shareholder, but it can fluctuate year-to-year or between payments. Currently, Coles Group Ltd shares have a dividend yield of around 3.78%, compared to its 5-year average of 3.76%. Put simply, COL shares are trading above their historical average dividend yield. Be careful how you interpret this information though – it could mean that dividends are growing, or it could mean the share price is falling, or both. In the case of COL, last year’s dividend was greater than the 3-year average, so the dividend has been growing.

Since HUB is more of a growth company than an established blue chip, a price-sales ratio might be a more appropriate assessment. The HUB share price currently trades at a price-sales ratio of 16.11x, which compares to its 5-year long-term average of 13.32x. So, its shares are trading higher than their historical average. However, a simple multiple like this should only be the start of your research. The Rask websites offer free online investing courses, created by analysts explaining things like Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) and Dividend Discount Models (DDM). They even include free valuation spreadsheets! Just remember there are many different ways to value a share, like Hub24 Ltd.