Codan Ltd (ASX: CDA) shares have been on fire over the past 12 months.

Following a stunning 24% gain on Tuesday, the technology products company’s shares are now up almost 120% since this time last year.

Is it too late to invest? Let’s find out what Bell Potter is saying about this high-flying stock.

What is the broker saying?

Bell Potter notes that Codan released a trading update for the first half of FY 2027, which revealed an acceleration in the strong momentum seen with its results in August.

Commenting on the Communications segment, the broker said:

CDA now expects 1H27 revenue of $400-410m (BPe $289m, VAe $283m) with 50% of revenue expected to come from conflict regions (vs. 20% in pcp. Outside of conflict regions, CDA expects the Communication segment to deliver 1H27 revenue growth in the order of 20% vs. pcp with broad-based growth across regions and markets. 

Elevated demand is expected to drive substantial operating leverage, resulting in a 1H27 EBIT margin of 40% (2H26 34.3%). CDA has upgraded full year FY27 Communications revenue growth target range to 30-40% from 20%. BPe and Consensus are both in line with original target growth of 20%. CDA has not given full year EBIT margin guidance. 

The good news is the Metal Detection business is performing positively as well thanks to a strong gold price and new product launches. It adds:

Minelab 1H27 revenue run-rate is now slightly above 2H26 levels an improvement from August 20 where it was tracking in line. (BPe monthly run rate of $33m in 1H27 vs. $32m in 2H26). The strong momentum is driven by recently launched GPZ 8000 and Gold Monster 2000 detectors, a favourable gold price and the continued expansion of ROW.

Is it too late to buy Codan shares?

While the big returns may now be behind us, Bell Potter doesn’t believe it is too late to buy Codan shares.

This morning, the broker has responded to the update by retaining its buy rating on the company’s shares with an improved price target of $73.00 (from $60.00).

Based on its current share price of $64.43, this implies potential upside of 13.3% over the next 12 months.

Commenting on its bullish view of the stock, Bell Potter said:

We forecast 39% Comms revenue growth in FY27e, implying 5% YoY in 2H27, and see scope for further upgrades if CDA successfully mitigates supply chain pressures given surging production of Group 2 UAS. CDA trades on 32x EBIT. Retain Buy.

The post Up 120%, is it too late to buy Codan shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• ASX 200 holds steady as investors brace for a big afternoon
• This ASX tech company just surged past the $10 billion valuation mark after a major profit upgrade
• Codan trading update: Record H1 FY27 profit and revenue

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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.

When you’re planning for your retirement, it’s great to start with a goal, and start as early as possible.

This ensures that you get the most benefit from compound interest on your savings, and can rest easy that you’ll be able to afford a comfortable retirement.

What actually is a comfortable retirement?

What constitutes a comfortable retirement is different for everyone, but a decent benchmark is the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia’s (ASFA) retirement standard, which tallies up what it will cost for life’s essentials and a few other costs which make up a comfortable existence.

These include being able to afford top-level health insurance, reliable internet, owning and maintaining a reasonable car, and enjoying leisure activities and occasional travel.

The standard does assume however that the retiree takes a part pension from the age of 67, and owns their own home.

The standard is currently set at $56,166 per year for singles and $78,998 for couples.

The good news if you’re aiming for $1500 a week, or $78,000 per year in income from your retirement savings, is that this is comfortably above the retirement standard level for singles.

So what level of retirement savings would you need to generate this level of income?

If you were able to earn a 10% dividend yield on your portfolio, which I would argue is unlikely, you’d need superannuation savings of $780,000.

If you were earning just 5%, this would increase to $1.56 million.

I would argue that with the benefits of franking credits you’d be able to comfortably earn about 7.5% from dividends, meaning you’d need savings of $1.04 million.

Franking credits effectively pay a shareholder back a credit for the tax a company has already paid.

Given that retirees pay a 0% tax rate, this means the full 30%, for fully franked dividends, flows back to the shareholder.

In practical terms, a 5% dividend yield on a fully franked share becomes 7.14%.

Which shares deliver solid dividends?

In terms of companies that can deliver solid dividend yields, there are plenty to choose from.

Premier Investments Ltd (ASX: PMV) recently reported its full-year results. The retailer maintained its dividend, yielding 6.85%.

The Atlas Arteria Ltd (ASX: ALX) share price has slipped sharply recently, boosting its yield to 10.58%.

At the more blue-chip end, Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX: WBC) has a trailing yield of 4.39%, and Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) pays 4.36%.

As you can see there are plenty of options for shares which deliver a decent dividend yield.

And if you think your superannuation could use a top-up, it’s worth looking into non-concessional contributions, which can be a tax-effective way to increase your retirement savings.

The post How much is needed in superannuation for $1500 in weekly passive income? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Buy, hold, sell: Premier Investments, New Hope, Xero shares
• Buy, hold, sell: Fortescue, Westpac, CSL shares
• ASX 200 holds steady as investors brace for a big afternoon
• Where to invest $20,000 in ASX dividend shares for passive income
• A rare buying opportunity in 1 of Australia’s top shares?

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

On Tuesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was on form and pushed higher. The benchmark index rose 0.35% to 8,709.3 points

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

ASX 200 to fall

The Australian share market is expected to fall on Wednesday following a poor night on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 5 points lower. In the United States, the Dow Jones fell 0.25%, the S&P 500 was down 0.15%, and the Nasdaq was 0.1% lower.

Oil prices tumble

ASX 200 energy shares including Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a difficult session on Wednesday after oil prices sank overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 4% to US$88.92 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 2.6% to US$102.56 a barrel. Traders were selling oil after crude exports recovered at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea ports.

REA Group shares upgraded

The team at Bell Potter has become a little more positive on REA Group Ltd (ASX: REA) shares following recent weakness. This morning, the broker has upgraded the property listings company’s shares to a hold rating with a $148.00 price target. It said: “We upgrade our recommendation to Hold, with the share price now trading in-line with our Target Price. Although we still see risk to FY27 volumes, we view the risk as broadly priced in and now wait to get clarity on looking through the cycle toward a recovery.”

Gold price rises

ASX 200 gold shares including Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could have a good session on Wednesday after the gold price pushed higher. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is up 1.1% to US$4,213.8 an ounce. Traders were buying the dip on gold following a heavy decline.

Buy Codan shares

Bell Potter doesn’t think it is too late to buy Codan Ltd (ASX: CDA) shares despite their 24% rise on Tuesday. This morning, the broker has retained its buy rating with an improved price target of $73.00 (from $60.00). It said: “We forecast 39% Comms revenue growth in FY27e, implying 5% YoY in 2H27, and see scope for further upgrades if CDA successfully mitigates supply chain pressures given surging production of Group 2 UAS. CDA trades on 32x EBIT. Retain Buy.”

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

More reading

• Up 120%, is it too late to buy Codan shares?
• How much do I need in my superannuation to retire comfortably at age 67?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• ASX 200 slips as RBA boosts interest rates to 15-year highs
• ASX 200 holds steady as investors brace for a big afternoon

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in REA Group. 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.