Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares have climbed higher into the green in Thursday afternoon trade.

At the time of writing the shares are up over 3% and changing hands for $156.04 a piece.

At one point this afternoon, the shares reached as high as $157.08 each.

Today’s increase means the ASX bank shares are now up around 5% over the past week, recouping some losses shed earlier this year.

CBA shares are still down around 3% for the year-to-date and down roughly 6% compared to this time last year.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is travelling in the other direction today. At the time of writing the index is down slightly, around 0.5%.

Why are CBA shares climbing higher again today?

There isn’t any price sensitive news out of CBA today to explain today’s share price jump. 

It looks like the ASX bank sector as a whole is rallying higher, with the other big four banks also making gains in afternoon trade.

The main catalyst is most likely the result of fresh economic data, announced today. 

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released data showing that, in seasonally adjusted terms, Australia’s employment rate increased 0.1ppt to 4.7% for September. 

It looks like this has significantly boosted investor confidence that the Reserve Bank will decide to hold interest rates steady at its next meeting on the 3rd of November, rather than implement another hike as originally feared.

Renewed confidence that the RBA will pause rates for the time being looks to have lifted the entire financial sector. And as CBA has the most dominant market position as Australia’s largest bank, it is leading the share price increase today.

Are the bank shares a buy, hold, or sell now?

The latest analysts data still shows the experts are wary about the outlook for CBA shares over the next 12 months. 

Market Index data shows that all brokers still have a strong sell rating on CBA shares. The $125.20 target price implies the shares could fall another 20% over the next 12 months, at the time of writing.

TradingView shows something similar. The majority (14 out of 16) have a sell/strong sell rating on the shares. However, two more have a hold rating on CBA.

The average $128.29 target price still implies a potential downside of around 18%, at the time of writing.

It looks like today’s news was positive for CBA shares, but it’s most likely to be short-lived. The bank is still significantly overvalued versus its peers and the mortgage market still remains under pressure.

The post CBA shares jump 3% today: Is this the start of a rebound? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

ASX small-cap shares are underperforming in 2026 amid four interest rate rises from the Reserve Bank and one in the US.

The S&P/ASX Small Ords Index (ASX: XSO) has collapsed 18% in the calendar year to date (YTD).

Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX All Ords Index (ASX: XAO) has fallen 2%.

Morgans reckons there are buying opportunities among the small caps today.

Let’s check out three that the broker highlighted in new notes this week.

Atomic Eagle Ltd (ASX: AEU)

Atomic Eagle shares are 35 cents, down 6.7% today and up 46% since listing last November.

Morgans has initiated coverage with a speculative buy call on this ASX small-cap energy share. 

The broker has a 12-month price target of 80 cents.

This indicates a potential 128% upside ahead.

Morgans said: 

AEU offers exposure to Muntanga, a simple, low-capex heap leach uranium project in Zambia, plus a 60% interest in the high-grade Madaouela project in Niger. Buy Muntanga, get Madaouela for free.

AEU trades on just A$2.1/lb EV/resource versus the peer average of A$4.8/lb. In our view, the market is largely valuing Muntanga alone, with Madaouela’s 116.5Mlb U3O8 foreign resource estimate contributing little to the current share price despite its scale, grade and strategic importance.

Near-term catalysts include Madaouela JORC conversion (end-2026), Muntanga North drilling results (Q4 2026) and a Muntanga resource upgrade as AEU works toward its 100Mlb+ target.

Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN)

The Baby Bunting Group share price is $1.07, down 2.7% today and down 62% over 12 months. 

Morgans has a buy rating on this ASX small-cap consumer discretionary share. 

The broker has a 12-month share price target of $1.62.

This implies a potential 51% upside ahead.

Morgans said: 

BBN has provided a trading update for the first 14 weeks of FY27 which was broadly in line with expectations.

Comparable sales growth has moderated to +2.2% from +4.3% in the first 6 weeks of FY27 driven by the ramp up of temporary store closures in the period.

17 stores have now been refurbished to the Store of the Future format; they continue to deliver strong results, with average sales growth of 20% in the first year after re-opening, which sits within the 15-25% target range.

BBN has reiterated FY27 guidance for pro-forma NPAT of $19-21m, with sales of $585-600m (3-5% LFL sales growth), and 42% gross margin. Capex guidance was also maintained at $33-37m.

BBN is trading on <8x FY27F PE, which we believe undervalues its earnings growth profile over the next few years.

MotorCycle Holdings Ltd (ASX: MTO)

The MotorCycle Holdings share price is $2.89, up 0.4% today and down 11% over 12 months. 

Morgans has a buy recommendation on this ASX small-cap retail share. 

The broker has a 12-month price target of $4.30.

This suggests a potential 48% upside ahead.

Morgans said: 

MTO’s investor day reinforced a business transformed in scale and mix, with wholesale driving earnings in a challenging market, retail and data offering the next leg of improvement, and FY31 targets giving clarity on the growth trajectory ahead.

The group set FY31 targets (A$1.2bn+ revenue, ~6% implied ROS) pointing to ~8% pa sales growth and ~11-15% pa PBT growth over the 5 year period.

We’re encouraged by MTO’s clear strategy ahead. We think the market overlooks MTO’s wholesale business, which has meaningful growth levers across product, categories and partnerships.

We see scope for Retail upside from Harley-Davidson scale, ongoing brand rationalisation and data and systems integration.

Double-digit earnings growth and a net cash balance sheet look compelling on ~7x PE.

The post 3 ASX small-cap shares with 48% to 128% upside ahead: Morgans appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

Owning Bank of Queensland Ltd (ASX: BOQ) shares today is expected to translate into a sizeable dividend payment in the coming years following the ASX bank share‘s release of its FY26 result.

The company revealed that statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) soared 88% to $250 million, though cash earnings after tax fell 7% to $358 million.

While commercial lending grew 16%, or $2 billion, home lending declined 8% to $4.6 billion, so there was a net reduction of lending between those two areas. The net interest margin (NIM) improved 6 basis points to 1.70% despite competition.

The bank’s annual cash earnings per share (EPS) was 54.4 cents (down 7%), which is a key figure that shows how easily (or not) it can fund the dividend.

BOQ dividend declared

The board of directors of the ASX bank share decided to declare a FY26 second-half dividend of 20 cents.

At the time of writing, this payout alone translates into a dividend yield of approximately 3% excluding franking credits and 4.2% including franking credits. In other words, it’s a sizeable payout.

The FY26 second-half payout represents a dividend payout ratio of 72.9% of reported second-half cash earnings, excluding notable items.

This upcoming payout is in addition to the FY26 first-half dividend and the special dividend that have already been paid.

When will the passive income be paid?

Before we get to the payment date of the BOQ dividend, we should look at the ex-dividend date.

The ex-dividend date tells investors the cut-off date for eligibility for the dividend payment. Investors need to own shares before the ex-dividend date, so that means they have until the end of trading on the previous trading day to be entitled to the upcoming payment. If the ex-dividend date is a Monday, they’ll need to own shares on Friday to be entitled to the payout.

For the FY26 second-half dividend, the ex-dividend date is Tuesday, 27 October 2026. That’s less than two weeks away!

After that, the payment date is 19 November 2026, so investors only have to wait just over a month until they receive this payout.

Owners of Bank of Queensland shares can also decide to take part in the dividend re-investment plan (DRP), where they receive new BOQ shares rather than dividend cash.

If someone wants to take part in the DRP, they need to elect to do so by 5pm on Thursday, 29 October 2026. DRP allows investors to grow their ownership of the business without paying additional brokerage for that investment.

The post Everything you need to know about the BOQ dividend appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Would I buy Bank of Queensland shares after looking at its results?
• Bank of Queensland earnings: FY26 profit up 88% as dividends stay steady
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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.