ASX gold stock Astral Resources Ltd (ASX: AAR) has had a big week for news at its Mandilla gold project in Western Australia, and according to the analysts at Shaw and Partners the company is one to watch.

They have a buy recommendation on the stock, albeit with a high-risk warning, and a bullish share price target, which I’ll get to shortly.

First let’s look at what the company has announced.

Solid drilling results from WA gold prject

Earlier this week, Astral released the latest drilling from the Theia deposit at the Mandilla project, saying further broad zones of mineralisation had been intersected.

The best results included 52.7m at 4.67 grams per tonne of gold from a depth of 445m, and 21m at 1.61 grams per tonne from 321m.

To date 13 holes of a total of 21 have been drilled.

Commenting on the result, Astral Resources Managing Director Marc Ducler said:

The Theia Deeps drill program, which has now been extended to 21 holes for 11,000m, continues to show tremendous potential for additional growth at Theia, with the program targeting further high-grade extensions to the Theia resource at depth and along strike. These latest assay results … have all demonstrated broad zones of high-grade gold mineralisation beyond the base of the current April 2026 Mineral Resource shell. These programs position Astral for a very active second half of 2026 as we continue to both de-risk and grow the Theia deposit, advance the Mandilla Project definitive feasibility study (DFS) and kick-off a series of very promising exploration programs to test for growth opportunities at Kamperman and across our highly prospective Spargoville tenure.

In addition to the new exploration results, Astral announced it had struck a land-use agreement with the Marlinyu Ghoorlie Native Title Claimant Group for the project.

The company said the agreement covers protocols for heritage surveys, activities to protect identified sites and clearance procedures to facilitate mining activities at the Mandilla project.

This ASX gold company’s shares are looking cheap

Shaw and Partners said the land use agreement was an important hurdle for the company.

They also said they saw good prospects for a mineral resource upgrade from the company either accompanying or following the DFS.

They added:

We maintain Buy rating on Astral Resources and $0.30 price target. The combination of continued high-grade extensional drilling at Theia and the completion of native title agreements across the Mandilla DFS tenement package both support the de-risking thesis into DFS completion in MarQ’27. Next key catalysts include further Theia Deeps assays, the Spargoville and Kamperman follow-up drilling in SepQ, and delivery of the Mandilla DFS itself.

Astral shares are currently changing hands for 18.5 cents. The company is valued at $297.2 million.

The post This ASX gold stock could jump in value by 60%: Broker 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 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.

The Solvar Ltd (ASX:SVR) share price is in focus today after the company reported a 7.5% lift in normalised NPAT to $36.1 million, as well as continued progress in scaling its commercial lending and an increased fully franked dividend for FY26.

What did Solvar report?

• Normalised Net Profit After Tax (NPAT) up 7.5% to $36.1 million
• Statutory NPAT down 6.2% to $29.5 million
• Normalised earnings per share rose 14.7% to 19.0 cents
• Total FY26 fully franked dividend of 19.5 cents per share (including special dividend)
• Loan book in continuing operations up 10.5% to $920.3 million
• Commercial loan book now $109.8 million, with Bennji reaching $49.7 million

What else do investors need to know?

Solvar has been simplifying its operations and investing in scalable growth platforms, with commercial lending through Bennji now a key strategic pillar. The continued rise in the commercial loan book has helped diversify the group’s earnings and underpins a shift towards sustainable long-term growth.

Funding remains robust, with the company securing a new $488 million warehouse facility for Money3 and expanding overall funding capacity to around $1.1 billion. These moves bring over $400 million in available capacity, positioning Solvar for further loan book growth and expected funding cost savings in FY27.

Solvar also completed its exit from the New Zealand market, selling its written-off loan book and reducing future complexity. The group resolved historical ASIC proceedings this year and highlighted improvements made in credit assessment and compliance frameworks.

What did Solvar management say?

Mr Scott Baldwin, CEO and Managing Director of Solvar, said:

FY26 was an important year for Solvar as we continued rebuilding the foundations of the business to create a platform delivering sustainable growth.

What’s next for Solvar?

Solvar expects to see continued growth in both its consumer and commercial lending portfolios heading into FY27. The group will focus on expanding its commercial offering through Bennji, driving productivity through technology, and keeping capital allocation disciplined.

Management believes that Solvar’s strengthened funding platform, scalable operations, and focus on responsible lending leave it well placed to deliver sustainable growth and attractive returns for shareholders.

Solvar share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Solvar shares have risen 6%, outperforming the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XJO), which has risen 1% over the same period.

View Original Announcement

The post Solvar earnings: NPAT up, commercial lending grows, dividend rises appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• This ASX dividend share just blew me away
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• This ASX gold stock could jump in value by 60%: Broker
• How many Brambles shares do I need to buy for $5,000 per year of passive income?

Motley Fool contributor Laura Stewart 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. This article was prepared with the assistance of Large Language Model (LLM) tools for the initial summary of the company announcement. Any content assisted by AI is subject to our robust human-in-the-loop quality control framework, involving thorough review, substantial editing, and fact-checking by our experienced writers and editors holding appropriate credentials. The Motley Fool Australia stands behind the work of our editorial team and takes ultimate responsibility for the content published by The Motley Fool Australia.

Brambles Ltd (ASX: BXB) shares are a popular choice for ASX investors looking for passive income.

The ASX blue-chip company is the world’s largest supplier of reusable wooden pallets and crates used for storing and transporting goods. It has a huge global footprint and operates in more than 60 countries, primarily under the Chep brand. 

The company has been operating for over 150 years and has a strong competitive position in the market.

Brambles’ scale, strong cash generation, recurring revenue and long operating history mean it is a classic defensive stock. And these qualities also mean the Australian blue chip is able to pay a regular passive income to its shareholders.

But what if you wanted to generate $5,000 of passive income from Brambles shares every single year? Is it even possible? And if so, what would it entail?

Let’s investigate.

What’s the latest out of Brambles shares?

At the time of writing, Brambles shares are trading for $19.47 a piece. That’s about 15% lower year-to-date and a 16% decline from this time last year.

Brambles shares jumped to an all-time high in September last year, and they stayed relatively consistent for around the next nine months. 

But in mid-May, Brambles shares crashed roughly 26% within a couple of days after the company scaled back its guidance figures for FY26. 

What dividend does Brambles pay its shareholders?

Brambles historically pays its shareholders two partially franked dividends per year, in April and October.

The company most recently paid shareholders a 32.74 cent interim dividend, with 14.05% franking, in April. Assuming Brambles will pay around the same amount for the second half of FY26, a 65 cent total dividend implies a forward dividend yield of around 3.4%.

How many Brambles shares do I need to generate $5,000 per year in passive income?

Assuming Brambles pays a total FY26 dividend of 65 cents per share, investors would need to buy around 7,692 shares in order to earn around $5,000 per year in passive income.

How much would that cost me?

Based on the current share price of $19.47, in order to buy the 7,692 shares needed for the $5,000 passive income in FY26, you would need to invest around $150,000.

It’s not a small amount of money, but if a regular and reliable passive income is your goal, it could be a worthwhile investment over the long-term.

And remember, you don’t have to invest the full $150,000 at once. You can slowly build your investment over time and let compounding do the rest.

The post How many Brambles shares do I need to buy for $5,000 per year of passive income? 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.