What Happened to the Woolworths Share Price?
Woolworths Limited’s [ASX:WOW] main business is its Woolworths supermarket chain. But the company also has some chain retail interests, including the Big W discount stores, Masters Home Improvement, and the Woolworth/Caltex petrol alliances. The company also run liquor chain stores BWS, Dan Murphy’s and Cellarmasters. Topping it all off are some hotel and leisure interests.
The share price closed 2.25% lower on Wednesday.
Why Did This Happen to WOW Shares?
Woolworths went ex-dividend today. Its final year dividend was 72 cents, bringing the full year dividend to $1.37.
What Now For Woolworths Ltd?
Currently topping up the balance sheet with cash, two days ago Woolworths sold off 54 pubs to a newly created joint venture between Charter Hall Group and super fund HostPlus. Of this, 46 sites include a Dan Murphy’s and/or BWS liquor store.
The total sale of the properties was $603 million.
Free Reports:
Get Our Free Metatrader 4 Indicators - Put Our Free MetaTrader 4 Custom Indicators on your charts when you join our Weekly Newsletter
Get our Weekly Commitment of Traders Reports - See where the biggest traders (Hedge Funds and Commercial Hedgers) are positioned in the futures markets on a weekly basis.
Woolworths has confirmed the tenancy of each site will remain. Generally, Woolworths’ properties have a tenancy agreement for 20 years.
It’s likely WOW have sold these properties to cash in on rising property prices.
Woolworths can be a solid defensive stock in your portfolio. However, be aware that the Masters Home Improvement chain stores are currently a drag on earnings. The Masters stores aren’t expected to break even until 2016.
If you are looking to add WOW shares to your portfolio, don’t overpay for the stock. Look to enter the stock when it dips below $36.
Shae Smith+
Editor, Money Weekend
The post Why the Woolworths Share Price Fell Today appeared first on Stock Market News, Finance and Investments | Money Morning Australia.
