Profit season gives the analysts plenty to work with when they’re assessing which companies represent a good buying opportunity.

I’ve had a look through the reports Macquarie has put out this week and singled out three which profile companies they think will do particularly well.

Let’s see who they like.

Arena REIT (ASX: ARF)

This listed property trust recently reported a net operating profit of $79.1 million, up 8% on FY25, and boosted its distributions per security by 5.5% to 19.25 cents.

The trust also guided to distributions for the current year of not less than 18 cents.

The company said re the result:

Key contributors to the FY2026 result were income growth from contracted annual and market rent reviews and acquisitions and development projects completed in FY2025 and FY2026. Arena finished the year with a strong balance sheet, with total assets of $2 billion and relatively low gearing of 24.5%.

Managing Director Justin Bailey said it was a strong year, and the trust “continued to improve portfolio quality through disciplined capital allocation, development activity and targeted divestments”.

The trust is dealing with a default from Edge Early Learning, which leases 31 Arena properties representing 14% of Arena’s income.

The trust says it is continuing to engage with Edge and reserves its legal rights.

Macquarie said in a note to clients that they assume Edge will not remedy the situation and will need to be replaced.

But they said the current share price implies an “overly pessimistic outcome”.

Macquarie has a price target of $2.90 on Arena shares compared to $2.45 currently.

Liberty Financial Group Ltd (ASX: LFG)

Macquarie said Liberty’s second-half result was positive, underpinned by stronger margins, while a 15 cent special dividend was also a positive.

They said:

We like LFG’s continued focus on delivering stable margins and returns, which we believe supports ongoing capital management initiatives. This supports return on equity of ~14% over the medium term, based on our forecasts. Despite changes to negative gearing and CGT in the budget, management noted only modest impacts to date on mortgage lending (with peers reporting similar), which has positively surprised us.

Macquarie has a price target of $4.70 on Liberty shares compared to $3.58 currently.

Navigator Global Investments Ltd (ASX: NGI)

Macquarie said this funds manager’s net profit of US$75 million came in at about 8% better than consensus estimates, and the outlook for the current financial year was strong.

The completion of an acquisition during the year “provides for material earnings growth in FY27, with capacity on the balance sheet to fund additional M&A”, Macquarie said.

The broker has a price target of $3.24 on Navigator shares compared to $2.51 currently.

The post 3 ASX shares Macquarie says will return 23% to 49% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Liberty Financial Group grows FY26 profit, rewards shareholders with special dividend
• Arena REIT FY2026 earnings: profit up 8%, distributions higher
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• After falling 33% over two days, a huge 77% rebound for this ASX real estate stock is tipped
• Arena REIT postpones FY2026 earnings result as Edge Early Learning seeks rent relief

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

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) shares are up around 2% in lunchtime trading on Tuesday. At the time of writing, Coles shares are changing hands at $23.19 each.

The increase means Coles shares are now up around 9% for the year to date, and have climbed 12% over the past 12 months.

Today’s increase comes off the back of the company’s FY26 results posted to the ASX ahead of the market open this morning.

Coles announced a 2.8% increase in its group sales revenue, a 9.9% increase in its EBIT excluding significant items, and a 13.7% increase in its NPAT excluding significant items.

The robust result saw management declare a fully-franked total dividend of 78 cents per share for FY26, an increase of 13%.

But, while it’s worthwhile to understand how the supermarket giant and its shares have performed over the past 12 months, investors should also keep an eye on what lies ahead.

For the business itself, Coles said it is ramping up its investment in new stores, renewals, and technology, including accelerated eCommerce and supply chain automation.

This could improve productivity and market share over the longer term, but it also raises near-term capital requirements.

But what about the Coles share price? What can we expect to happen next?

If I buy $5,000 of Coles shares today, what could they be worth in 12 months’ time?

Most experts are positive about the outlook for ASX consumer discretionary shares.

Market Index data shows that the majority of brokers have a buy rating on Coles shares. The $24.28 average target price implies a potential upside of around 5% at the time of writing.

Sentiment is similar on TradingView. The majority of analysts (eight out of 17) have a buy/strong buy rating on Coles shares, and another seven rate Coles shares as a hold. Two experts have a sell or strong sell rating.

The average target price of $24.07 implies a potential 4% upside over the next 12 months, at the time of writing. But analyst forecasts range from a 9% downside to $21 to a 17% upside to $27 over the next 12 months.

Assuming the average target price comes to fruition, that means a $5,000 investment today could be worth around $5,200 to $5,250 in 12 months time.

But if the more bullish expert forecasts are correct, a $5,000 investment today could climb to $5,850 by this time next year.

The post By August 2027, $5,000 invested in Coles shares could turn into… appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Post-earnings: Why I’d buy this ASX dividend share for income
• Why is everyone talking about Coles, Ramelius Resources and Woodside shares on Tuesday?
• How many Coles shares do I need to buy for $5,000 a year in passive income?
• Coles Group grows profit and dividend as Supermarkets shine in FY26
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

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.

Some investments become more attractive to me because of how little attention they require.

The Vanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF (ASX: VDHG) is designed to give investors a diversified portfolio through a single investment.

For someone looking decades ahead, I think that simplicity can be a major advantage.

One Vanguard ETF does a lot of work

The VDHG ETF invests across Australian shares, international shares, emerging markets, smaller companies, and defensive assets such as bonds.

Its portfolio is tilted heavily towards growth assets, with roughly 90% invested in shares.

I think that makes sense for investors with a long timeframe who are prepared to accept periods of market volatility in exchange for greater growth potential.

More importantly, investors do not need to decide for themselves how much money to allocate to Australia, the US, Europe, Asia, or emerging markets.

Vanguard handles those allocations within the fund.

That removes a surprisingly difficult part of investing. It is easy to spend too much time wondering whether one market has become expensive or another is about to outperform.

With this Vanguard ETF, I can simply own a collection of markets and let the portfolio develop over time.

It automatically stays diversified

Another feature I like is rebalancing.

Markets rarely move together. Australian shares might have a strong year while international shares struggle, or technology stocks might surge while another part of the market falls behind.

Over time, those movements can push a portfolio away from its intended allocation.

The VDHG ETF takes care of bringing its investments back towards their target weightings.

For an individual investor, that means fewer decisions. There is no need to work out what to sell, what to buy, or whether a strong-performing market has become too large a part of the portfolio.

I think reducing the number of decisions investors need to make can make it easier to stay with a strategy for the long term.

It can grow with an investor for decades

This Vanguard ETF also has a quality I think is sometimes underestimated. That is that it can grow with an investor.

Someone could buy the fund with their first few thousand dollars and continue adding to the same investment as their portfolio becomes much larger.

The underlying diversification is already built in.

That makes it quite different from buying a handful of individual shares, where a growing portfolio may eventually need more holdings to avoid becoming too concentrated.

An investor could simply keep contributing when they have money available and reinvest dividends along the way.

Given enough time, the combination of regular investing, market growth, and compounding could do much of the wealth-building work.

Foolish takeaway

This Vanguard ETF is the type of investment I could imagine buying and leaving alone for a very long time.

It is diversified, growth-focused, automatically rebalanced, and requires very little ongoing decision-making.

Sometimes making investing easier is one of the best ways to give compounding the time it needs to work.

The post Why I think this Vanguard ETF could be one of the best to buy and hold forever appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How I’d make investing easy with Vanguard ETFs
• Which is the best Vanguard ETF? VAS, VGS and VDHG compared
• The simple investing strategy anyone can use to get rich
• 5 top ASX ETFs for beginner investors in August
• How much superannuation do I need to retire comfortably at 60?

Motley Fool contributor Grace Alvino 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.