WES share price in focus
Wesfarmers is a diversified Australian conglomerate headquartered in Perth. It’s essentially a listed investment company with outright ownership or significant stakes in companies across retail, chemical, fertiliser, industrial and safety brands and products.
Wesfarmers has a long history of buying businesses, re-investing in them to grow cash flow and assets, then selling them off for a higher price. A good example of this is Coles Group, which it bought in 2007 and spun out in 2018. However, by far (over 50%) of the company’s operating profit comes from Bunnings Warehouse, the #1 hardware and home improvement business in Australia (and the country’s most trusted brand in 2023 & 2024). Wesfarmers originally bought into Bunnings in 1987, buying the final 52% in 1994 for $594 million.
Other household names owned by Wesfarmers include Blackwoods, Kmart, Target, Officeworks, and Priceline Pharmacy. Wesfarmers has been a leading blue chip stock on the ASX for decades and is known for paying a consistent dividend.
WTC shares
Founded in 1994 by Richard White and Maree Isaacs, Wisetech Global is a developer of cloud-based software used for international and domestic logistics industries.
Wisetech’s vast suite of software products is used across various logistics functions including fowarding & customs, landside transport, rates & contracts, warehousing, and transport management systems.
Their cornerstone software is called Cargowise. It’s become an industry-leading solution now used by all 25 of the largest global freight forwarders and 46 of the top 50 third-party logistics providers.
WES share price valuation
One way to have a ‘fast read’ of where the WES share price is could be to study something like dividend yield over time. This can give us a sense of the stability of the company and whether they can consistently pay out a percentage of profits.
Remember, the dividend yield is basically the ‘cash flow’ to a shareholder, but it can fluctuate year-to-year or between payments. Currently, Wesfarmers Ltd shares have a dividend yield of around 2.77%, compared to its 5-year average of 3.36%. In other words, WES shares are trading lower than their historical average dividend yield. Be careful how you interpret this information though – it could mean that dividends have fallen, or that the share price is increasing, or both. In the case of WES, the annual report shows last year’s dividend was greater than the 3-year average, so the dividend has been growing.
Since WTC is more of a ‘growth’ company than an established blue chip, a price-sales ratio might be a more appropriate assessment. This ratio gives us an idea of how the company has historically been valued relative to its earnings, which can indicate if the company is over or undervalued today. The WTC share price currently trades at a price-sales ratio of 39.82x, which compares to its 5-year long-term average of 31.86x. So, its shares are trading above their historical average. Don’t forget, 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! It’s a good idea to use multiple valuation methods to value a share like WiseTech Global Ltd.
