Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) shares could be an increasingly compelling pick for dividends over the next few years.

Woolworths is best known for its supermarket business in Australia – it’s the biggest operator in the country.

But, it owns a number of other businesses including the New Zealand supermarket Countdown, the business food supplier PFD, BIG W, Petstock and more. It’s better diversified than some investors may think it is.

After everything that has happened over the last few years, it’s good to look at the potential dividend income from the ASX defensive share. The company may be able to provide steadily rising payouts for investors.

FY26

The 2026 financial year has already finished, but we haven’t yet seen the FY26 result or the annual/final dividend.

The latest update we have from the business is the FY26 third-quarter update. Total third-quarter sales were up 4.5% to $18.1 billion. Within that, Australian food grew sales by 5.9% to $13.8 billion, Australian business-to-business (B2B) sales grew 4.9%, New Zealand food increased 1.4% in New Zealand dollar terms and ‘W Living’ sales rose 4.8%.

Sales growth does not automatically turn into profit growth because it depends on what’s happening with the profit margin. Woolworths’ margins will be revealed with the full-year result next month.

Underlying earnings growth can turn into a rising dividend, whether that’s this year or next year.

In the FY26 half-year result, the company grew its interim dividend by 15.4% to 45 cents per share. The projection on Commsec suggests the business could hike its annual dividend per share to 99.5 cents per share in FY26.

At the time of writing, that translates into a grossed-up dividend yield of 3.6%, including franking credits.

FY27

We’re already in the 2027 financial year, and investors won’t have too long to wait until the next dividends come along.

Woolworths continues to work on becoming more efficient and resilient, while providing customers with “lower prices, better experiences and greater convenience”, according to the Woolworths CEO Amanda Bardwell.

It’ll be interesting to see how much Woolworths can grow its earnings in FY27, following the Middle East disruption. In FY26, its Australian food operating earnings (EBIT) growth is expected to be in the “mid to high single-digit range”.

The projection on Commsec suggests Woolworths’ earnings per share (EPS) and dividend per share could both rise by more than 10%.

The FY27 dividend per share is forecast to increase to $1.13, translating to a grossed-up dividend yield of 4.1%, including franking credits.

FY28

The 2028 financial year dividend could increase by more than 10% again in the 2028 financial year.

The FY28 payout could translate into a grossed-up dividend yield of 4.7%, including franking credits. If the company’s dividend does increase to that level, then it’ll be a fairly compelling pick for passive income.

But, investors may be looking for investments that can grow earnings even faster than what Woolworths can deliver.

The post Here’s the dividend forecast out to 2028 for Woolworths shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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.

After delivering standout returns through much of 2025 and into 2026, ASX gold shares have finally lost some of their shine. 

Supported by a surging gold price, persistent geopolitical uncertainty, and strong investor demand for safe-haven assets, many of the sector’s biggest names climbed to record or multi-year highs. 

More recently, however, a pullback in the gold price and a wave of profit-taking have seen many ASX-listed gold miners retreat from their peaks, prompting investors to weigh up whether this is simply a healthy correction or the start of a more prolonged downturn.

A new report from VanEck suggests the long-term outlook remains positive despite the recent pullback. 

Sentiment switches

Imaru Casanova, Portfolio Manager, Gold and Precious Metals, VanEck said gold has pulled back roughly 25% from January highs. 

At the end of June, the apparent end of the conflict in the Middle East further eroded gold’s safe-haven appeal, as markets shifted toward a risk-on environment and equity markets traded near recent highs. 

Gold is now trading around US$4,000 per ounce, representing an approximately 25% pullback from its January highs. However, gold stocks remain the best-performing asset class over the past year, and gold continues to outperform most other major asset classes.

There’s still gold in these hills

However, the long-term case remains supported by inflation, central bank buying and lower real rates.

Gold stocks have historically outperformed the metal itself in rising gold price environments. 

However, investors may not need to wait for the next leg higher in gold to begin increasing exposure. 

At current prices, these companies are already generating record cash flow, as Q1 2026 earnings made abundantly clear. Gold has traded at an average price of approximately US$4,700 per ounce so far in 2026. With all-in sustaining costs for the sector estimated to average below US$2,000 per ounce in 2026, margins remain very strong even at US$4,000 gold.

According to the report, this gives companies the ability to finance growth, pay dividends and repurchase shares. 

Gold stocks continue to trade at valuations that remain low relative to historical levels, while the sector appears to be in strong financial and operational health by historical standards. 

Current equity prices appear to reflect more conservative assumptions than those implied by prevailing gold prices.

If investors rotate capital away from sectors with much richer valuations, particularly against a backdrop of rising risk of a pullback, gold stocks could be beneficiaries.

How to gain exposure to gold shares

There are many individual ASX gold shares for investors to consider. 

Some of the most popular include: 

• Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) – One of the largest gold mining companies in the world 
• Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) – Large mining company with projects in Australia and the United States

Another option is to target gold shares using an ASX ETF. 

For example, VanEck Gold Miners ETF (ASX: GDX) includes over 105 companies involved in the gold mining industry. 

Or, the VanEck Gold Bullion ETF (ASX: NUGG) provides exposure to the price of physical Australian gold bullion rather than to gold mining companies.

The post Why gold shares remain a strong long-term option despite recent pullback: Expert appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Bell 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.

Owning National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) shares could be a rewarding investment for the year ahead (and beyond).

Investors may normally expect a good dividend from ASX bank shares, but there’s more to the total shareholder return (TSR) than just dividends. Capital gains can be useful or even provide the majority of the return over a particular time period.

A year is a relatively short-term timeframe for investing, but that’s usually the time frame analysts consider when they give their expectations for the share price – it’s called a share price target.

Let’s look at the forecast for both the NAB share price and dividend.

Analyst projections for NAB shares

According to CMC Invest, there have been 10 ratings on the ASX bank share within the last 12 months. Of those, two were buys, four were holds, and four were sells.

Of those 10 analysts, the average price target is $36.90. At the time of writing, that implies a possible decline of around 7% over the next 12 months.

If someone had invested $10,000, the forecast decline could mean those NAB shares are only worth $9,300 in 12 months.

But don’t forget there’s also the forecast dividend. According to CommSec, the business could pay an annual dividend per share of $1.70 in FY26. While the dividend is projected to increase to $1.72 per share in FY27, I’ll be conservative and stick with the lower $1.70 dividend per share estimate.

At the time of writing, that projection translates into a forecast dividend yield of 4.3%. The TSR figure doesn’t usually include franking credits, so I won’t include it for my calculations.

The projected payout could translate into a cash payout of close to $430. That would take the overall $10,000 investment to approximately $9,700. In other words, investors could see a net loss of 3%, or approximately $300, over the next 12 months.

Is this a good time to invest in the ASX bank share?

This is seemingly not a good time to invest. Analysts are suggesting the NAB share price is overvalued, and investors may see negative returns if the bank’s valuation goes backwards.

Of course, a 12-month period isn’t the right time frame to judge a business. Over a longer time period, the NAB share price could rise, and the TSR could be much more positive, with dividend payments adding additional returns each financial year.

With all of the above in mind, I think there are better ASX share opportunities out there with a $10,000 investment.

The post By July 2027, NAB shares could turn $10,000 into… appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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.