Anyone who bought Codan Ltd (ASX: CDA) shares near their 52-week low of $25.18 would now be sitting on a gain of more than 100%.

And Wednesday gave shareholders another reason to be pleased, with the tech company’s shares climbing to a new all-time high of $53.16.

That surpassed the previous record of $51.76 set earlier in the week, with Codan finishing the session up 3.37% at $53.10.

The stock has now gained approximately 77% over the past year, with its recent rally pushing it further into record territory.

So, can Codan shares continue climbing from here?

What’s driving Codan shares higher?

Codan’s latest financial results provide some insight into why investors have been willing to pay more for the stock.

In its FY26 results, the company reported revenue of $875 million, up 30% on the previous year.

Net profit after tax (NPAT) jumped 69% to $175.2 million, while EBIT increased 67% to $244.1 million.

Its communications division delivered revenue of $506.2 million, up 22%, with segment profit climbing 45% to $156 million.

Demand for unmanned radio systems has been particularly strong, with revenue from this market more than doubling to approximately $215 million.

Meanwhile, Codan’s Minelab business benefited from higher gold detector demand and successful product launches.

Revenue increased 42% to $362 million, while segment profit jumped 65% to $162.4 million.

More growth to come?

The good news for shareholders is that Codan expects another strong year, with both divisions positioned to deliver further growth.

Its communications business is targeting revenue growth of approximately 20% in FY27, supported by continued demand for unmanned radio systems.

Management also expects the first half to be significantly stronger than the same period last year, giving the division a positive start to FY27.

Minelab should benefit from a full year of sales from its recently launched GPZ8000 and Gold Monster 2000 detectors.

Early FY27 trading has been positive, with Africa and other markets tracking broadly in line with the second half of FY26.

One thing worth watching, however, is the electronics supply chain, where emerging constraints could affect Codan’s ability to meet customer demand.

Is Codan getting too expensive?

While Codan’s growth has been impressive, I think valuation is becoming an important consideration after such a substantial rally.

At around $53 per share, the stock is trading on approximately 55 times its FY26 earnings per share of 96.5 cents.

That’s a lot to pay for last year’s earnings, despite how well the business has been performing.

And if the next update falls short of expectations, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of those recent gains disappear.

I still like Codan’s exposure to defence communications and gold detection, but I’d be reluctant to chase the shares at current levels.

The post This ASX 200 share hit an all-time high yesterday. Is the sky the limit? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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.

On Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was on form and edged higher. The benchmark index rose 0.1% to 8,765.3 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to sink

It looks set to be a tough session for Australian investors on Thursday following a poor night on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 104 points or 1.2% lower this morning. In the United States, the Dow Jones fell 0.7%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.75%, and the Nasdaq was 1.1% lower.

ASX 200 shares paying dividends

A number of ASX 200 shares are rewarding their shareholders with dividends on Thursday. This includes PLS Group Ltd (ASX: PLS), Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS), ResMed Inc. (ASX: RMD), Ramsay Health Care Ltd (ASX: RHC), and Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO). The latter is paying a fully franked $2.96 per share interim dividend later today.

Oil prices rise

ASX 200 energy shares Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a good session after oil prices rose overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 2.4% to US$92.70 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 4.1% to US$103.35 a barrel. Doubts over a US-Iran peace deal were behind the rise.

Buy Nufarm shares

Nufarm Ltd (ASX: NUF) shares could be a good option for investors according to Bell Potter. This morning, the broker has retained its buy rating on the agricultural chemicals company’s shares with an improved price target of $3.90 (from $3.75). It said: “Our Buy rating is unchanged. In FY26e NUF has delivered a result that was consistent with our expectations, while incurring costs related to plant outages that were not expected. The underlying performance looks to be stronger than what is implied at the headline, with material YoY growth in Seeds and the basis of the next leg of cost outs now articulated.”

Gold price falls

It could be a poor day for ASX 200 gold shares Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) on Thursday after the gold price fell overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is down 1.2% to US$4,323.9 an ounce. A rebound in oil prices appears to have led to increased US rate hike bets.

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• PLS shares have surged 85% in a year. So why are short sellers circling?
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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Woodside Energy Group Ltd. 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 positions in and has recommended Telstra Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

It’s interesting to look at the types of investments that other Australian investors own. It could be very informative to see what the most widely held ASX shares are in self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs).

SMSF investors have more flexibility than other superannuation investors about where to put their money. ASX shares have the biggest allocation, followed by owned property, cash and term deposits, managed funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), unlisted trusts, ‘other’, international shares and finally debt securities.

Let’s see which ASX shares are the most popular within SMSF portfolios.

The most popular ASX shares

SMSF cloud accounting software provider Class recently released its 2026 annual benchmark report, which gave a lot of insights into the SMSF landscape. Class is owned by Hub24 Ltd (ASX: HUB).

At 30 June 2026, there were 12 ASX shares that were held in at least 20% of SMSF portfolios:

• BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) – 46.6% of all SMSF portfolios
• Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) – 37.2%
• National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) – 34.4%
• Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) – 34.1%
• ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) – 34.1%
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) – 31.9%
• CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) – 31.4%
• Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) – 31.4%
• Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) – 29.4%
• Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) – 29.5%
• Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) – 24.1%
• Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) – 21.8%

It makes sense that these ASX shares have been chosen by SMSF investors. Almost all of them have a solid dividend yield. Passive income may be exactly what investors in retirement are looking for.

I think it’s interesting that BHP and Woodside appear in the most portfolios. But it’s also intriguing that NAB, Westpac and ANZ all feature in more portfolios than CBA. Commonwealth Bank also has the lowest dividend yield of the big four banks.

However, while they are in more portfolios, things look different when looking at which ASX shares have the most overall SMSF dollars invested in them.

According to Class data, order of most dollars allocated to ASX shares (with a weighting of more than 2%):

• CBA – 5.9%
• BHP – 5.5%
• Westpac – 3.6%
• NAB – 3.4%
• ANZ – 3.2%
• Wesfarmers – 3.2%
• Macquarie – 3.1%
• Telstra – 2%

ASX bank shares still have a very large place in SMSF portfolios, though BHP has significant SMSF dollars invested in it too.

What about exchange-traded funds (ETFs)?

ETFs are becoming increasingly popular investors as a way to gain exposure to certain sectors or geographies for a low cost.

According to the Class SMSF benchmark report, 35.5% of SMSFs now own at least one ETF, though they only account for a 7.2% allocation of overall SMSF dollars.

The ASX ETFs that are the most widely held include:

• Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS)
• iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV)
• VanEck MSCI International Quality ETF (ASX: QUAL)
• Vanguard Msci Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS)
• Vanguard All-World ex-US Shares Index ETF (ASX: VEU)
• Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

If SMSF investors use a mix of investments, they can build an ASX share portfolio that delivers strong returns and diversification.

The post Here are the most popular ASX share superannuation investments in SMSFs appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Can CSL shares hit $200? 3 things that need to go right
• ANZ shares have climbed 13% in a year. Is there still room to run?
• Bought $5,000 worth of New Hope and BHP shares 5 years ago? Guess how much passive income you’ve already earned!
• Is NAB one of the best ASX dividend shares to buy?

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in VanEck Msci International Quality ETF. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF, CSL, Hub24, Macquarie Group, Vanguard International Equity Index Funds – Vanguard Ftse All-World ex-US ETF, Wesfarmers, and iShares S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF and Telstra Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BHP Group, CSL, Hub24, Macquarie Group, Vanguard Msci Index International Shares ETF, Wesfarmers, and iShares S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.