BEN

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (BEN) have released its first half profit results to the market shareholders, investors and traders.

• Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Net Profit of $189.4 million, a 227 per cent increase year-on-year.
• Underlying cash earnings of $169.7 million, an increase of 4.4 percent.
• In the previous corresponding period, there was a $95 million asset write-down relating to its margin lending equities business.

Stocks went up and down before Christmas day arrived and this record shows to prove it. Below are list of the best and the worst traded stocks in ASX100, ASX200 and All Ordinaries of the Australian Stock Exchange in the 51st week of 2011, December 19 to 23, 2011.

Best Performing Trade Stocks ASX100 (XTO)

ASX100

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (BEN) has increased its equity sale to $150 million from the $120 million it announced to raise last Friday after receiving a strong demand from institutional investors. The regional lender planned to raise its capital to fund its acquisition of the Australian arm of Bank of Cyprus and to strengthen its balance sheet.

There is only one company scheduled to float, but the rest of the board is filled with 6 that will have their extraordinary general meeting, and 17 stocks that will go on ex-dividend.

Dividends

ComputerShare

Share registry services provider Computershare Ltd's (ASX:CPU) full year profit fell by 10.4 percent while net profit dropped to $264.09 million for the 12 months to June 30 from $294.76 million last year. Revenue was flat from the previous year at $1.604 billion. ComputerShare declared final dividend of 14 cents per share, 60 per cent franked, unchanged from last year.

Dominos

Australian banking companies, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (ASX:BEN), created a new wealth management division: Bendigo Wealth Management. The new unit will be headed by John Billington, who joined Bendigo last September. Bendigo Wealth brings together the group's cash, margin lending, fund management, and superannuation businesses like the Adelaide Bank, Leveraged Equities, Sandhurst Trustees and its new low-cost investment platform Trinity3.

Worst Australian Stockmarket Shares on the ASX 100 for the week. These stocks decreased their share price by the largest percentage on the Australian sharemarket, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) from the previous week of trading (9th week: 28th February to 4th March 2011). Other lists of ASX companies by market capitalisation.

Stocks Loser of the Week on the S&P ASX 100 (XTO) for the week. These stocks decreased their share price by the largest percentage on the Australian sharemarket, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) from the previous week of trading (7th week: 14th February to 18th February 2011). Stock losers this week include: PDN, PRY, BEN,IPL, OZL, CBA, RHC, TEN, IAG, RIV. Other lists of ASX companies by market capitalisation.