When scouting for companies that might deliver outsized gains, it’s often useful to look at the smaller end of the market.

The analyst team at Bell Potter has done just this and released two research reports on ASX small caps that they think will almost double in value.

Let’s see who they like.

Austco Healthcare Ltd (ASX: AHC)

This company announced two acquisitions last week, buying RTM Solutions for $15.3 million and CareTech for $4 million.

RTM is a Brisbane-based provider of real-time monitoring, reporting, and systems-integration software for healthcare and aged care facilities, while CareTech makes nurse call products and systems for aged care and smaller hospital customers.

Austco said regarding the RTM deal:

Austco sees strong demand across its global customer base for proactive system monitoring and intends to take the platform to its international customers. The acquisition is expected to grow Austco’s software and recurring service revenue, strengthen its proactive monitoring and maintenance capabilities, and broaden the integration functionality available across Austco’s global customer and installed base.

Austco said it would fund both acquisitions from existing cash reserves, and would have $7.7 million of cash on hand following the closure of the deals.

Bell Potter said between CareTech and RTM, “AHC delivers customers a single, cost-effective provider for care communications at the bedside, and real-time monitoring of every connected system on site”.

The broker increased its price target for Austco from 45 cents to 50 cents, compared to the current share price of 26.5 cents.

If achieved, this would be an 88.7% return.

Omega Oil & Gas Ltd (ASX: OMA)

Bell Potter analysts recently attended a site visit hosted by Omega at its Taroom Trough acreage, which included the Canyon North-1 wellsite where a drilling rig was recently mobilised.

The visit included investors, including Omega’s 20% shareholder TriStar.

Bell Potter said:

What was clear is OMA’s deep technical expertise, meticulous approach to building a high-quality Taroom Trough subsurface dataset and success working alongside land-owners to facilitate access.

Bell Potter said the current appraisal program was fully funded, with costs estimated at $55 million to $60 million, and that the company had $102 million in cash and no debt.

They said the current appraisal program “has the potential to materially expand the demonstrated extent and resource potential of the basin-centred Permian oil and gas system”.

Bell Potter added:

OMA is de-risking a new unconventional oil and gas play close to Australia’s east coast energy markets. Over 2026-27, OMA’s appraisal program will produce ongoing news flow and is designed to add significant scale to its current resource. Australia’s east coast gas market is attractive with established basins in decline, limited sources of new supply and secure demand from domestic and export customers.

The broker has a price target of $1.40 for Omega shares, compared with 76 cents currently.

If achieved, this would be an 84.2% return.

The post Bell Potter has tipped these ASX small caps to almost double in value appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Cameron England has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Austco Healthcare. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Dividend income is important to most ASX investors, even those who don’t actively look for dividend stocks. After all, our share market is a relatively high-yielding one by international standards, and most ASX stocks that are profitable divert at least some of those profits to shareholders as soon as they can afford to. However, securing a reliable stream of passive dividend income that will last decades is even more important for retirees, and those who want to retire in the near future.

Why? The answer is obvious: Retirees have no primary source of income to fill in the gaps if there are any hiccups with their portfolio’s income stream. They only get one shot at building a portfolio of reliable income providers. Miss that shot, and you miss your paycheque.

That’s why selecting the right shares is absolutely vital. Luckily for any investors who find themselves in that camp, I think there are characteristics we can look out for in a retirement share that indicate whether it will be a suitable candidate for providing income that one can live off.

Let’s examine these characteristics by going through five ASX dividend stocks that I think have what it takes to pay you for life.

5 ASX dividend stocks that can pay you for life

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)

The ASX banks are well-known for providing fat, franked dividends, and NAB is no different. It has funded generous shareholder payouts for decades, almost all of which have come with full franking credits attached. But does this bank and dividend stock have what it takes to pay you for life?

Well, I think that it does. NAB is one of the big four banks, forming an essential pillar of the Australian financial system. It comfortably inhabits that cozy oligopoly, with a rusted-on customer base, healthy profitability, and a sound loan book. It has been around and paying dividends for decades, and should be for decades to come.

Like all banks, NAB’s fortunes do tend to rise and fall alongside the broader Australian economy. Saying that, I think this bank will have the capacity, whenever the economic signs are clear, at least, to fund generous, franked dividends for the foreseeable future.

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

Next up, we have the largest public company in Australia to discuss. BHP is Australia’s largest miner, and one of the most prominent mining companies in the world. Normally, I prefer not to include resources or energy stocks in a portfolio, at least in meaningful allocations, due to the volatile nature of the commodities business. Even dividend stocks that irregulalry deliver massive payouts.

However, I think BHP is worthy of an exception. For one, its profits don’t rise or die on just one metal. BHP has significant operations in a range of vital commodities. There’s its flagship iron ore, of course. But also potash, metallurgical coal and copper. Copper in particular is exciting and future-facing. BHP has been expanding its operations in the red metal, which is an essential ingredient in electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels, data centres, and much more.

Thanks to this company’s size and scale, BHP should be able to supply massive amounts of these essential commodities for decades to come. Shareholders stand to benefit, particularly when prices are high, and BHP turns on its famous dividend spigots.

MFF Capital Investments Ltd (ASX: MFF)

Turning to a lesser-known ASX dividend stock now, let’s talk about MFF Capital. MFF is a listed investment company (LIC). This means it owns and manages its own portfolio of underlying investments on behalf of its shareholders. In MFF’s case, this portfolio is almost entirely made up of top US dividend stocks. These include the likes of Alphabet, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and more.

MFF has been investing in the US for many years, and has shown that it can deliver market-beating returns for its ASX investors. It has one of the best dividend growth streaks on the ASX, with its annual payouts rising from 6.5 cents per share in 2021 to 21 cents per share in 2026 (that’s with an annual hike every year along the way). It also attaches full franking credits to these payouts.

I’d be happy to spruik this income powerhouse as a cornerstone of an early retirement portfolio.

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)

Returning to a well-known ASX blue chip dividend stock, Coles is another prime candidate for a retirement portfolio. Coles is a stock known and perhaps loved by most Australians. It boasts the second-largest supermarket chain in the country, alongside its Liquorland chain of bottle shops.

Coles boasts a profitable and mature business, which is a great start. But its true strength comes from its nature as a consumer staples share. As a purveyor of food and household essentials, Coles sells goods that we tend to need to buy. That’s regardless of the state of the broader economy. This gives Coles a highly defensive earnings base from which it can pay its dividends. Since listing on the ASX in its own right back in late 2018, Coles has managed to hike its annual dividends every single year. It also tends to pay full franking credits too.

As long as Coles is one of the cheapest places to purchase food and household essentials, it should be a fantastic investment to own if you wish to fund an early retirement.

Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX: SOL)

Last, but certainly not least, we have investing house Washington H. Soul Pattinson, or Soul Patts for short. Soul Patts is an interesting and quite unique ASX dividend stock. Similarly to MFF, it invests in an underlying portfolio of investments for its shareholders. This portfolio is hugely diversified. It ranges from stakes in other ASX blue chips to venture capital, property, private credit and more.

Now, that in itself is not a reason to invest in this dividend stock. However, Soul Patts has been around for more than a century. Over that long time span, it has consistently generated market-beating returns for its investors. This includes what is the ASX’s best dividend track record, bar none.

This company has increased its annual dividend every single year since 1998, including in 2026. That’s through the dot-com bust, the global financial crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The rate of these increases has far outstripped inflation too. Just to put a cherry on this cake, those dividends almost always come fully franked.

With this inherent diversity and indomitable track record, I think this ASX dividend stock would be the crown jewel in any retirement portfolio, or any ASX share portfolio, for an investor who wants financial success and freedom for the rest of the 2020s, the 2030s, and beyond.

The post Plan on retiring early? I've found 5 dividend stocks that have what it takes to pay you for life appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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American Express is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Alphabet, American Express, Mff Capital Investments, Visa, and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Alphabet, American Express, Visa, and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Mff Capital Investments and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet, BHP Group, and Visa. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) shares have climbed further into the green in Wednesday morning trade.  

The shares are up around 1% for the day, to $80.63 at the time of writing.

The increase means the conglomerate’s shares have now rebounded around 12% from its latest low of $72.29 recorded in mid-September.

They’re still down around 1% for the year-to-date and are trading around 11% below levels seen this time last year.

It’s been a volatile ride for Wesfarmers shares in 2026. The shares have suffered two significant crashes, one in February after the company posted its first-half FY26 results, and again in mid-August when it posted its full-year FY26 update.

The latest full-year update two months ago was good on the surface and the conglomerate saw strong performance across its major Bunnings and Kmart divisions. These included a 3.4% increase in revenue, to $47.3 million, and a 7.3% increase in EBIT. But statutory NPAT fell 1.8% to $2.8 million including significant items, or was up 8.3% excluding them.

Wesfarmers’ result came in slightly ahead of the market’s $47.1 billion forecasts for revenue, and was in line with expectations for NPAT.

What spooked investors is that management flagged concerns about increasing operating costs, labor cost pressures and softer reading momentum heading into FY27.

Wesfarmers expected higher capital expenditure of $1.3 to $1.5 billion for FY27, particularly to support lithium production, store refurbishments, supply chain upgrades, and the start of a new joint venture in modular residential construction.

What has caused the latest rebound?

There isn’t any specific price sensitive news out of the company to explain why its shares have been rebounding since mid-September.

It’s most likely that after a huge 20% crash during the six weeks from early-August to mid-September saw investors shift their view on the share price value. It’s likely that savvy investors realised the stock had become oversold and was trading well below fair value.

Retail shares have also benefitted from a boost in confidence following the latest softer-than-expected Australian employment data. This has eased fears about a further interest rate hike, and eased pressure on household budgets, which is great news for retail businesses like Wesfarmers.

Can the Wesfarmers shares keep climbing higher?

Sentiment is still very mixed on the outlook for the conglomerate over the next 12 months.

Market Index data shows the majority of brokers have a sell rating. The $75.58 average target price implies around a 6% downside over the next 12 months.

TradingView data presents slightly more positive forecasts. Half of the 16 analysts have a strong sell rating on Wesfarmers shares. But another three rate the stock as a hold and five more have a buy/strong buy rating.

The average target price is a little higher, at $76.59, but that still implies a downside of around 5% at the time of writing.

But the gap between the maximum and minimum target prices is huge. Some expect the shares to drop another 19% to just $65 over the next 12 months. Others think Wesfarmers shares have the potential to jump 10% higher to $89 each, at the time of writing.

The post Wesfarmers shares rebound 11%: Can they keep climbing? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• How much must I invest in Wesfarmers shares to earn $2,000 of passive income?
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• If I could only buy 5 ASX shares for retirement, these would make my shortlist

Motley Fool contributor Samantha Menzies has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.