Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX: VEA), Codan Ltd (ASX: CDA), and AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) shares have all climbed to fresh annual highs in Wednesday lunchtime trade. 

Here’s why the shares are peaking today, and what brokers expect next.

Viva Energy shares

Viva Energy shares have climbed around 1% and are trading at a two-year high of $3.24 a piece, at the time of writing. The increase means the shares have jumped roughly 14% over the past month and are now up around 55% year to date.

As Australia’s second-largest vertically integrated refined transport fuel supplier, Viva Energy has enjoyed tailwinds from tight fuel supply and rising prices through 2026 as conflict in the Middle East constrains the flow of oil in and out of the region. 

It looks like investors are still flocking to the stock after the company posted a strong first-half result in late August. It announced record EBITDA results of $774.4 million for the half year ending June 2025, up a huge 154% from the same period last year. Its NPAT also boomed 493% higher to $371.1 million.

The news followed an update from the company in late July, in which it said its Geelong refinery had successfully returned to 90% of its operations after being affected by a fire in April. 

Going forward, it looks like the experts are bullish that the shares can keep rising. TradingView data shows the majority (six out of 10) have a buy/strong buy rating on the shares. Although after the latest rally, the $3.04 average target price now implies a potential 6% downside ahead.

AMP shares

AMP shares are up around 3% at the time of writing this morning, to an eight-year high of $2.61 per share. After the financial services shares dipped to an annual low of $1.16 in March, they’ve mostly consistently climbed higher to the time of writing. They’re now up 43% for the year to date.

AMP shares have rallied higher since March on the back of a rebound in investor sentiment. The company has managed to execute an operational turnaround this year, enabling it to improve its earnings and return some capital to shareholders.

It has posted strong financial results; its assets under management (AUM) have climbed; its wealth business has improved; it has boosted its interim dividend; and it has also completed a series of share buybacks.

Last month, the company announced a 33% increase in underlying NPAT for the first half of FY26, and an 8.2% year-on-year increase in AUM to $167.6 billion. Management credited its AUM growth to momentum in AMP’s wealth and retirement businesses.

Going forward, the experts are still bullish on the shares. According to TradingView data, the majority (seven out of nine) have a buy/strong buy rating on AMP shares. But after the rally over the past six months, the $2.57 target price implies around a 2% downside ahead, at the time of writing.

Codan shares

Codan shares have climbed around 2% higher at the time of writing, to an all-time high of $52.49. The shares have trended upwards throughout most of 2026 so far and are now up a huge 81% year to date.

The company, which develops electronic solutions for government, military, corporate, and consumer markets globally, has climbed higher this year amid continued geopolitical volatility.

Its communications segment, which designs drones and defence and public-safety equipment, benefited from a strong price rally, driven by soaring demand for defence-related stocks earlier this year.

The shares were propelled higher by a strong FY26 result last month, with net profit up 69% and revenue up 30%.

And the company believes it has another record year ahead. Earlier this week, it announced it is targeting full-year revenue growth of around 20% for FY27 and noted that the financial year has started with positive momentum.

Investors are clearly thrilled, and experts are also very optimistic that the company can continue to grow.

TradingView data shows that the majority (five out of nine) have a buy/strong buy rating on the stock. The average $53.17 target price implies around 1% upside. Although some think the shares could jump another 10% to $57.56 each, at the time of writing.

The post Viva Energy, Codan, AMP shares reach 52-week highs: How much higher can they go? 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.

New Hope Corp Ltd (ASX: NHC) and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) shares have not only smashed the benchmark returns over the past five years, they’ve also delivered some market-beating passive income.

Since 24 September 2021, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained 19.4%.

Reflecting the importance of passive income, the S&P/ASX 200 Gross Total Return Index (ASX: XJT), which includes all cash dividends reinvested on the ex-dividend date, has gained 44.1% over this same period.

So, just how much would you have earned from a $5,000 investment in New Hope and BHP shares five years ago?

Let’s dig in.

Drilling into BHP shares for passive income

On 24 September 2021, you could have bought shares in the ASX 200 mining giant for $33.59 apiece. So, your $5,000 investment would have netted you 148 shares, with enough change left over for a cheeseburger.

Now you would have done quite well on the capital gains front alone. During the Wednesday lunch hour, BHP shares are changing hands for $62.11, up 84.9% in five years. And if you sold those 148 shares today, you’d receive $9,192.

As for that passive income, if you’d owned Australia’s largest mining stock – and now the biggest stock on the ASX – for the last five years, you would have received (or shortly will) the last 10 fully-franked dividends. BHP stock traded ex-dividend on 3 September. If you held the miner at market close on 2 September, you can expect to get paid today.

Turning to my trusty calculator, those 10 fully-franked dividend payouts work out to $13.583 a share.

So, the 148 BHP shares you bought for $5,000 five years ago would already have delivered $2,010 in passive income. And that’s atop those share price gains, not to mention the cheeseburger!

Which brings us to…

Tipping $5,000 into New Hope shares

Five years ago, New Hope shares were trading for $2.38 each. Meaning for $5,000, you could have bought 2,100 shares in the ASX 200 coal stock.

And you wouldn’t have regretted it.

At the time of writing, New Hope shares are trading for $5.89, up 147.5% since 24 September 2021. And those 2,100 shares you bought are now worth $12,369.

Over this time, you’d also have received (or shortly will) the last 10 fully-franked New Hope dividends. New Hope stock traded ex-dividend on Monday. If you owned shares in the Aussie coal miner at market close on Friday, you can expect to receive that passive income payout on 15 October.

All told, those last 10 New Hope dividend payments equate to $2.69 a share.

Meaning the 2,100 New Hope shares you picked up for $5,000 five years ago will already have paid out $5,649 in passive income, with tax benefits from those franking credits.

The post Bought $5,000 worth of New Hope and BHP shares 5 years ago? Guess how much passive income you’ve already earned! appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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 BHP Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO) shares have fallen further into the red in Wednesday lunchtime trade.

At the time of writing, the ASX tech shares are down around 5% to a seven-year low of $58.28 a piece.

Today’s slide means the shares have now shed 34% of their value since spiking to a six-month high of $88.95 in August.

While it looked like the cloud-based accounting software company was finally rebounding from a huge share price crash in the second half of 2025, investor sentiment has reversed, and the shares have now dropped to a fresh multi-year low.

Xero shares are now down 48% year to date and 64% lower than 12 months ago.

What has happened to Xero shares over the past month?

Xero shares were caught up in a broad-based sell-off of technology shares earlier this year, when investors were spooked that AI could replace the core services of companies like Xero.

The shares rebounded strongly through July and most of August, driven by an investor rotation back into growth and technology stocks. It looks like investors started to become more confident that the company can keep growing revenue and become more profitable.

Xero’s most recent FY26 results, posted in May, confirmed that, too. The company reported a strong increase in its FY26 revenue, which it said was helped by subscriber growth and higher prices. 

There hasn’t been any price-sensitive news out of Xero to explain why the share price changed course over the past month.

It’s possibly the result of profit-taking investors taking their gains off the table after the July-August rally, combined with higher-than-expected inflation figures and news that the RBA could hike interest rates again next week. Investors have rotated away from growth stocks and into safer, more reliable assets amid fears of another spike in sharemarket volatility.

And this sentiment shift acts as a strong headwind for companies like Xero.

Is there any chance of a rebound?

According to the experts, yes, there’s a good chance that Xero shares will rebound over the next 12 months. And some expect the upside to be significant.

The company has sticky subscription revenue and huge potential for growth both into new markets and with new offerings.

Market Index data shows the majority of brokers have a buy rating on the shares. The $112 average target price implies that the shares could jump another 94%, at the time of writing.

Sentiment is just as positive on TradingView. Out of seven analysts, six have a buy/strong buy rating and one rates the shares as a hold. But they all agree there will be an upside ahead.

The average $111.25 target price implies a potential 92% upside, while the maximum $143.88 implies that Xero’s shares have the potential to rebound 149%, at the time of writing.

The post Down 5% today to a 7-year low: What is going on with Xero shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• Xero shares crash to a 7-year low after a brutal sell-off
• Why brokers think Xero shares could surge 130% from here

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 Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.