We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Australian Stocks to Buy Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Vast Renewables Limited (NASDAQ:VSTE) stands against other best Australian stocks to buy now.
According to a report by Vanguard published on January 24, Australia’s economy is expected to experience a gradual recovery in 2025, following its slowest growth in 32 years in 2024. The report forecasts an economic growth of 2% year over year by the end of 2025, with trimmed mean inflation, a core measure that excludes items at the extremes, expected to reach 2.5% year over year. However, the report notes that low productivity growth and higher unit labor costs will keep core inflation from falling sustainably to the midpoint of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) 2%–3% target range until later in 2025.
The RBA has left its policy rate target unchanged at 4.35% since December 10, but has softened its language around future policy decisions, noting that it is “gaining some confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward the target.” Despite this, Vanguard expects the RBA to remain patient and not initiate rate cuts until the second quarter of 2025, due to a tight labor market.
READ ALSO: 12 Most Promising Green Stocks According to Hedge Funds and 10 Worst Performing Energy Stocks in 2024.
In an interview on January 19, Lochlan Halloway, Market Strategist at Morningstar Australia, pointed out that the premium to fair value of large-cap stocks in the Australian market is abnormally high, trading at around 20% above fair value. According to Halloway, this is a concern as 20 companies account for about 60% of the ASX 100.
In terms of value opportunities, Halloway identified the energy sector, particularly companies that are trading at significant discounts to their fair value. He also noted that small-cap companies, which were largely left behind in the market rally may offer value, although investors need to be judicious in selecting quality companies. Additionally, sectors such as consumer defensives appear close to fair value or even cheap.
As the Australian economy gradually recovers in 2025, opportunities lie in undervalued sectors such as energy and consumer defensives, as well as among small-cap companies that have yet to catch up with the broader market rally.
Our Methodology
To compile our list of the 10 best Australian stocks to buy now, we used Finviz and Yahoo stock screeners to identify Australian companies. We then used Insider Monkey’s Hedge Fund database to rank 10 stocks according to the largest number of hedge fund holders, as of Q3 2024. The list is sorted in ascending order of hedge fund sentiment.
Why do we care about what hedge funds do? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
Vast Renewables Limited (NASDAQ:VSTE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 11
Vast Renewables Limited (NASDAQ:VSTE) specializes in developing renewable energy infrastructure. The company specializes in concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) systems that produce electricity and industrial process heat. Vast Renewables Limited (NASDAQ:VSTE) works with governments, utilities, and industrial clients worldwide.
Vast Renewables Limited (NASDAQ:VSTE) is actively expanding into the United States. The company recently signed a development services agreement with GGS Energy to pursue a commercial-scale synthetic fuels project in the southwestern U.S., known as Project Bravo. This project marks Vast Renewables Limited’s (NASDAQ:VSTE) first deployment in the U.S. and is a strategic move to leverage its CSP technology to power a co-located refinery that will produce green methanol and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). By deploying its proven CSP technology in the U.S., the company aims to establish a strong foothold in the North American market and contribute to the region’s green energy transition.
Furthermore, Vast Renewables Limited (NASDAQ:VSTE) is building a 30 MW solar project with eight hours of storage, known as Vast Solar 1 (VS1), located in the Port Augusta Green Energy Hub in South Australia. This construction of VS1 is expected to begin in Q2, with capital expenditures estimated in the range of $227 million to $246 million. To support this initiative, Vast Renewables Limited (NASDAQ:VSTE) has secured an updated funding agreement, which allows the company to access a grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
Overall VSTE ranks 3rd on our list of the best Australian stocks to buy now. While we acknowledge the potential of VSTE as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than VSTE but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
