Author: openjargon

It’s been a wonderful day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and most ASX shares so far this Wednesday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has surged 1.1% to 9,116 points after hitting a new intra-day high of 9,121.9 points. But let’s talk about what’s happening with Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) shares, perhaps thanks to the new Woolworths dividend.

The ASX 200 might be having a wonderful day, but it pales in comparison to what’s happening with the Woolworths share price. The ASX 200 supermarket giant is enjoying a day for the record books. Yesterday, Woolworths closed at $31.54 a share. But this morning, those same shares opened at $33 each and are currently up by a whopping 11.1% at $35.04 at the time of writing. That’s the largest single-day gain Woolworths has seen in a very long time.

The catalyst for this massive share price jump is clearly the company’s half-year earnings report released this morning.

As we covered earlier today, there wasn’t much to hate in this report. Over the six months to 31 December 2025, Woolworths reported sales of $37.14 billion, up 2.4% year on year. That included a pleasing 14.6% lift in the company’s eCommerce sales. Earnings before interest and tax shot up 14.4% to $1.66 billion, while net profit after tax rocketed 16.4% to $859 million.

So it’s not hard to see why Woolworths shares are leaping so enthusiastically higher this Wednesday.

But let’s talk about the Woolworths dividend.

What’s the new Woolworths dividend worth?

This morning, the supermarket operator revealed that its next dividend will be worth 45 cents per share. As is this company’s habit, that dividend will come with full franking credits attached.

This dividend matches the final dividend that investors bagged in September last year, but represents a 15.4% increase over the 39 cents per share interim dividend that Woolworths investors received in April.

Investors who don’t yet own Woolworths shares but might wish to receive this latest dividend have until the close of trade on Tuesday, 3 March, to have shares in their name. Anyone who buys Woolworths shares on or after the ex-dividend date of 4 March will leave the rights to this dividend behind with the seller.

Payday for this dividend will then roll around on 2 April.

Woolworths is running its dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) for this dividend too. Investors who wish to receive additional Woolworths shares in lieu of the traditional cash payment have until 5 pm on  March to elect to do so.

Woolworths shares are currently trading on a trailing dividend yield of 2.4%, but today’s announcement means we can assign a forward dividend yield of 2.57%.

The post Up 15%: Everything you need to know about the new Woolworths dividend appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 ASX 200 stocks including NAB, Woodside and BHP shares charging to new 52-week plus highs today
• Why Accent, DroneShield, WiseTech Global, and Woolworths shares are racing higher
• Why is the Woolworths share price rocketing 10% on Wednesday?
• Experts name 3 ASX dividend shares to buy
• 3 reasons to buy Woolworths shares today

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

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on form and charging higher on Wednesday. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up 1.1% to 9,119.2 points.

Four ASX shares that are rising more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are storming higher:

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

The Accent share price is up 17.5% to 97.5 cents. This morning, this footwear retailer released its half-year results and reported a 2.4% increase in sales to $865.2 million and a net profit after tax of $28.1 million. Accent’s board elected to declare a 3.25 cents per share fully franked dividend for the half. The company also revealed that it has “successfully opened the first Sports Direct store and website with pleasing early trade.”

DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO)

The DroneShield share price is up 11% to $3.36. This has been driven by the release of the counter-drone technology company’s full-year results. DroneShield posted a 276% increase in revenue to $216.5 million and a 367% jump in profit after tax to $3.5 million. The company’s independent non-executive chairman, Peter James, said: “FY 2026 already has $104 million in secured revenue of which $22 million has been recognised to date. Secured SaaS in FY 2026 is at $22 million, of which $2 million has been recognised to date, and SaaS expected to increase further as additional sales are secured.”

WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)

The WiseTech Global share price is up 9% to $46.96. Investors have been buying the logistics solutions technology company’s shares following the release of its half-year results. WiseTech Global posted a 76% increase in revenue to US$672 million and a 31% jump in EBITDA to US$252.1 million. The company’s CEO, Zubin Appoo, said: “This half, we executed with discipline and delivered results in line with our expectations, and we are confident in our outlook. We continue on our deliberate AI transformation journey. AI is strengthening our advantage, enabling significantly more automation and value for our customers, embedding our products more deeply into their daily operations, and unlocking levels of efficiency gains across WiseTech that were previously out of reach.”

Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW)

The Woolworths Group share price is up 11% to $34.99. Investors have been buying the supermarket giant’s shares following the release of its half-year results. Woolworths reported a 3.4% increase in sales to $37.14 billion and a 16.4% jump in net profit after tax to $859 million. Woolworths CEO, Amanda Bardwell, commented: “Trading in Q3 to date has been strong in Australian Food; however, customers continue to be value-focused, shopping multiple retailers in a highly competitive environment.”

The post Why Accent, DroneShield, WiseTech Global, and Woolworths shares are racing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 ASX 200 stocks including NAB, Woodside and BHP shares charging to new 52-week plus highs today
• Up 15%: Everything you need to know about the new Woolworths dividend
• 2 Australian growth stocks supercharged to surge in 2026
• WiseTech shares jump 7% on its half-year results
• Why is the Woolworths share price rocketing 10% on Wednesday?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Accent Group, WiseTech Global, and Woolworths Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended DroneShield and WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended WiseTech Global and Woolworths Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Accent Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

If you are looking for some gold exposure outside the status quo, then it could be worth looking at the ASX gold stock in this article.

That’s because the team at Bell Potter believes this gold developer’s shares could be cheap following a “landmark” moment.

Which ASX gold stock?

The stock that Bell Potter is bullish on is Minerals 260 Ltd (ASX: MI6).

It is a Perth-based exploration and development company led by non-executive chair Tim Goyder and managing director Luke McFadyen.

Last year, it agreed binding terms for the transformational acquisition of 100% of the Bullabulling Gold Project (BGP) from Norton Gold Fields. It has a mineral resource estimate of 4.5Moz at 1.0g/t Au.

But it may not stop there. Bell Potter highlights that the project sits within a 293km2 total tenement package of granted mining and exploration leases.

What was the landmark moment?

This week, the ASX gold stock announced that it has signed a $220 million strategic funding package with Canadian gold royalties and streaming giant Franco-Nevada Corp (NYSE: FNV) to accelerate and de-risk the development of the Bullabulling gold project.

This news went down well with Bell Potter. It commented:

In our view, the pricing of both tranches of the deal is at a material premium to market and represents a strong endorsement by one of the world’s most capable and successful gold investment companies. The equity component, priced at $0.45/sh, was at a 7% premium to MI6’s prior closing share price before the deal.

In assessing the royalty component, we have conservatively applied the 2.45% initial rate and 1.63% tail rate to the current 4.5Moz Resource. This equates to the effective purchase by FNV:CN of ~106koz for A$170m, or A$1,600/oz. This is a substantial (~8x) premium to the ~A$200/oz (Enterprise Value per Resource ounce) we estimate for ASX-listed gold exploration companies. The deal is, in fact, better than this for MI6 as a 1.0% royalty is already held by FNV:CN over some of the Bullabulling tenements, implying a higher EV/oz metric is actually being paid for the new royalty.

Big potential returns

According to the note, the broker has retained its speculative buy rating on the ASX gold stock with an improved price target of 90 cents (from 75 cents). Based on its last close price of 59.5 cents, this implies potential upside of just over 50% for investors.

Commenting on its recommendation, Bell Potter said:

Following this deal MI6 will have ~$250m cash. This should comfortably fund MI6 through the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) and to Final Investment Decision (FID) in early CY27, plus a meaningful portion of project CAPEX. We view this deal as a capital efficient funding mechanism and do not believe these terms would be available to many gold development companies.

The post This ASX gold stock could rise 50% after ‘landmark’ moment appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why is this ASX gold stock surging 33% today?

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.

Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) shares were drifting lower on Wednesday after the company delivered a solid profit result, but brokers agree that the company’s shares are good buying at these levels.

The travel company said in a statement to the ASX that it had delivered an underlying profit before tax of $125 million, “above expectations”, on revenue of $1.411 billion, up 6%.

Flight Centre said the expectation had been for a “broadly flat” profit, and it had surpassed this “comfortably”.

The company’s total transaction value hit a record of $12.5 billion, up 7%, and the company had a record low cost margin of 9.6%, “reflecting disciplined cost management and productivity gains”.

Managing Director Graham Turner said it was a solid result.

Our results reflect our global model’s strength and our brands’ enduring value as we continue to evolve. Despite challenging conditions, demand remains resilient and we’re using our scale, people and technology to capture a growing market. “We are expanding into new sectors and creating additional revenue streams beyond traditional corporate travel management and leisure retailing. These initiatives are ensuring we are future-fit, deepening customer relationships and strengthening our market position.

AI to be a differentiator

The company also said it was investing in artificial intelligence and “deepening its competitive moat by leveraging its loyal customer base and proprietary data to build differentiated, AI-powered capabilities that competitors cannot replicate”.

The company added:

Supported by strong brand trust, exclusive product offerings and expert consultant capability, the company sees ongoing growth opportunities in complex, high-value travel segments as it scales an enterprise-wide AI strategy designed to lift productivity, enhance personalisation and strengthen long-term competitive advantage.  

Flight Centre declared a fully-franked interim dividend of 12 cents per share, up 9% on the previous corresponding period.

On the outlook, the company said it had started the year “solidly” and reaffirmed its previous guidance of $315 to $350 million in underlying profit before tax, which would be a 15% increase on FY25 if the midpoint were achieved.

Despite the upbeat outlook, Flight Centre shares were 1% lower at $13.15 in early trade.

Flight Centre shares looking cheap

The team at UBS said in a note to clients that the pre-tax profit results beat consensus expectations by 5% and “productivity improvements appear to be delivering in corporate”.

They also said there had been a large turnaround in the leisure division and the Asian business had swung to a profit.

UBS has a price target of $16.45 on Flight Centre shares.

Jarden is even more bullish on the company, with an $18.50 price target on Flight Centre shares.

The Jarden team said the risks were now “weighted to the upside” and noted that the company’s buyback was continuing, which would also bolster the share price.

RBC Capital Markets has a $16 price target on Flight Centre shares.

The RBC team said the corporate profitability looked “very strong”.

They added:

We already expected a strong focus on the corporate segment given industry disruption in this sector, but the standout profitability may draw even more attention.

The post After a solid profit result, brokers say Flight Centre shares are looking cheap appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• These are the 10 most shorted ASX 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 recommended Flight Centre Travel Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Owning Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) shares has meant big dividends over the last several years. The ASX mining share just announced its latest payout to shareholders with its HY26 results.

The company has benefited from a higher iron ore price, leading to higher profits and a larger payout.

Fortescue may be a volatile business, but shareholders are about to enjoy a significantly larger dividend than last year.

Fortescue dividend announced

The business determines the size of its dividend based on the dividend payout ratio, so changes in profitability play a vital role in the company’s dividend potential.

Fortescue reported a 23% rise in net profit, driven by a 7% increase in its iron ore sales price and a 3% reduction in production costs. This led to the earnings per share (EPS) increasing by 24% in Australian dollar terms to 95 cents per share.

The company maintained a dividend payout ratio of 65% in the first half of FY26, the same as in the first half of FY25. Its policy is to pay between 50% and 80% of the full-year underlying net profit as a dividend.

Fortescue hiked its interim dividend per share by 24% to 62 Australian cents. At the current Fortescue share price, this payment alone translates into a cash dividend yield of 3%, or 4.3% including the franking credits.

When will it be paid?

The business announced that the Fortescue dividend will be paid to shareholders on 30 March 2026.

But there’s another important date to be aware of. The ex-dividend date is the cutoff date by which investors need to own Fortescue shares to be entitled to this payout. Investors need to own shares by the end of trading on the previous trading date.

Fortescue’s ex-dividend date is Monday, 2 March 2026, so investors have until the end of trading on Friday, 27 February (this week) to invest and gain entitlement to the dividend.

Investors can choose to participate in the dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) if they would rather receive new Fortescue shares (with no brokerage costs) rather than receive cash.

If shareholders wish to participate in the DRP, the deadline is 5pm on 4 March 2026. That is essentially a week away, at the time of writing.

Time will tell whether the FY26 final dividend can match this, or even exceed it. It’s likely to depend on what happens with the iron ore price over the next few months, which is notoriously unpredictable and volatile.

The post Everything you need to know about the latest Fortescue dividend appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• Fortescue delivers record shipments and a bigger dividend in H1 FY26 earnings
• Should you buy South32 and Fortescue shares amid strong commodity prices?
• Buy, hold, sell: Fortescue, Solstice, and South32 shares
• Are these 3 popular ASX 200 stocks a buy, hold or sell ahead of earnings results next week?

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.

Australian stocks are climbing higher again today. At the time of writing on Wednesday lunchtime, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 0.96% for the day. This represents growth of 4.36% for the year-to-date.

The index has been driven by some strong Australian growth stocks over the past year. And I’ve identified two which are tipped to keep charging higher in 2026.

Droneshield Ltd (ASX: DRO)

Droneshield shares are up another 6.31% in Wednesday lunchtime trade, to $3.20 a piece. Today’s uptick means the stock is now up a whopping 302.52% for the year, too, making it the second-best annual performer on the ASX 200 index at the time of writing.

And analysts don’t think the share price hike will stop anytime soon. There is a strong buy consensus on Droneshield stock, with a $5 target price over the next 12 months. That implies a huge 56.25% potential upside for investors at the time of writing. 

The company’s latest share price lift comes off the back of the release of its full-year earnings results for 2025. It posted an impressive 276% revenue uplift for the 12 months to 31st December, and its EBITDA came in at $4.5 million, up from a loss of $8.6 million in 2024. 

DroneShield also said it is scaling up its production capacity from $500 million in 2025 to $2.4 billion by the end of 2026. This will be via new facilities in Australia, the United States, and Europe. The company also confirmed it has a $2.3 billion sales pipeline, representing a 92% increase in the last 12 months.

It looks like there is plenty of room for this surging defence stock to storm even higher in 2026.

Resolute Mining Ltd (ASX: RSG)

Close behind Droneshield, and the third-best-performing ASX 200 stock over the past 12 months, is Resolute Mining. The ASX mining stock only joined the ASX 200 index in November.

The gold producers’ shares have shot higher over the past year on the back of record-high gold prices and a significant increase in the company’s gold production figures. 

At the time of writing in Wednesday lunchtime trade, Resolute Mining shares are up 3.23% to $1.44 a piece. For the year, the shares are 294.52% higher.

Analysts are bullish on the stock going forward too. They have a consensus buy rating on the Australian growth stock with a maximum target price of $2.49. That implies the shares could jump another 72.6% in the next 12 months.

Earlier this month, the miner announced that it has been awarded a key mining permit for its Doropo Gold Project in Cote d’Ivoire. Management described the approval as a major step toward building Doropo into the company’s next core producing asset.

The post 2 Australian growth stocks supercharged to surge in 2026 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 positions in and has recommended DroneShield. 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.

ARB Corporation Ltd (ASX: ARB) shares had a bit of a shocker yesterday when the company reported its first-half results, and to be honest, the shares have had a pretty rough trot over the past 12 months.

ARB shares bounced back strongly today, up 12.9% to $24.12, but they are still 37.1% lower than a year ago and 24.4% lower than at the start of this calendar year.

The good news for investors is that three brokers who’ve had a look at the result all believe the company has a strong core business, and two have particularly bullish 12-month price targets on the stock.

More on that later, but let’s first have a look at what the company reported this week.

Soft profit result

ARB said in a statement to the ASX on Tuesday that sales revenue fell 1% in the first half to $357.9 million, while net profit was 17.2% lower at $42.2 million.

The company also kept its fully-franked dividend steady at 34 cents per share.

The company said sales to the Australian aftermarket fell 1.7%, “affected by lower new vehicle sales for ARB’s core model platforms and the ongoing shortage of accessory fitment resources”.

The company added:

Deliveries of vehicles core to ARB’s sales were flat in 1H FY2026. In particular, sales of a number of key new vehicle models declined such as the Ford Ranger (-1%), Ford Everest (-9%), Land Cruiser 70 Series (-12%) and Isuzu D Max (-13%). The LandCruiser Prado recorded a 67% increase in sales for the half, reflecting the significantly lower volumes in the prior period due to the model changeover.

Sales to export markets were 8.8% higher, the company said, driven by 26.1% growth in the US, offset by flat sales in the rest of the world.

The company added:

Sales growth in the United States continues to be well supported by the company’s strategic relationship with Toyota US, the strong performance of the US e-commerce platform launched in 2024, an accelerated new product programme led by a dedicated US engineering team and expanding wholesale channel activity.

ARB said it had launched a direct-to-consumer e-commerce site in February, which should also bolster sales.

In terms of the profit fall, the company said the strong Thai baht had an impact; however, the company had largely hedged its baht exposure for the second half of the year.

On the outlook, the company said it expected the Australian market to remain challenging, while the outlook for the offshore market “remains positive”.  

ARB shares looking cheap

The analyst teams at Morgans, UBS, and RBC Capital Markets all had a look at the result and are positive on the outlook for the company.

The UBS team said that while the Australian market did indeed look challenging, they believed the business’ fundamentals were strong.

They said:

We take a step back and look at the strength of the ARB brand. We don’t believe the brand/business is broken, we are excited by the expansion opportunity in the US and ARB has significantly derated. ARB’s share price has fallen 34% since mid Jan26 – We see this as an opportunity to buy a high-quality company on depressed earnings.

UBS has a price target of $25.50 on ARB shares.

RBC Capital Markets has a much more bullish price target of $45 on ARB Corporation shares, saying there were clear positives out of the result, including the US sales growth and “upbeat outlook commentary across the Aftermarket, Export and US supporting an improved FY26 outlook”.

Morgan Stanley, meanwhile, has a price target of $44 on ARB Corporation shares.

The post Brokers agree, ARB Corporation shares are looking seriously cheap appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why ARB, Austal, Mader, and Steadfast shares are dropping today
• ARB shares crash 15% after half-year earnings result disappoints investors
• ARB Corporation: Profit drops, but US growth accelerates
• Own ARB shares? Here’s the key dates to watch in 2026
• These 4 ASX 200 stocks could jump another 70% to 80% in 2026

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

Monadelphous Group Ltd (ASX: MND) shares have been on form this week.

Investors have been bidding the diversified services company’s shares higher after it released a strong half-year result.

For the six months ended 31 December, the ASX 200 stock reported a 52.6% increase in net profit after tax to $64.9 million.

The good news is that the company’s managing director, Zoran Bebic, believes this positive form can continue. He said:

Long-term demand in the resources and energy sectors is expected to continue, supported by an improved global economic growth outlook. Continued investment in new and existing operations in Western Australia’s iron ore sector is driving demand for both maintenance and construction services, with the energy sector to offer substantial prospects.

The even better news is that Bell Potter doesn’t believe it is too late to invest in this ASX 200 stock.

What is the broker saying?

Bell Potter has been impressed with Monadelphous’ performance in FY 2026 and notes that it is going “from good to great.” It highlights that the ASX 200 stock delivered a first-half result ahead of expectations. It said:

Group revenue (including JV sales) was $1,530m (BPe $1,502m), up 46% YoY, and in line with guidance. Engineering Construction division revenue was $678m (BPe $671m), up 67% YoY, reflecting significant growth in work delivered from contracts awarded over the past 18 months, greater activity at Zenviron and an expansion of end-to-end capabilities. Maintenance and Industrial Services revenue of $852m (BPe $835m) was a record and up 32% YoY, with growth driven by increased turnaround activity and brownfield energy work delivery, and sustained elevated demand from iron ore clients.

EBITDA margin of 7.6% was ahead of our 7.3% and consistent with the PcP. The stronger than expected EBITDA margin drove a 5% beat to our EBITDA forecast. NPAT of $64.9m (BPe $60.8m), was up 53% YoY. An interim fully franked dividend of 49cps was declared (BPe 46cps).

Should you invest?

In response to the results, Bell Potter has retained its buy rating on its shares with an improved price target of $37.00 (from $33.00).

Based on its current share price of $30.55, this implies potential upside of 21% for investors over the next 12 months. In addition, the broker is forecasting a 3.2% dividend yield over the period.

Bell Potter believes that the ASX 200 stock is positioned to sustain its strong operating momentum. It said:

Our Target Price lifts to $37.00/sh (previously $33.00/sh) given the more optimistic earnings growth outlook. We retain the Buy recommendation. We expect MND can sustain current strong operating momentum across the Group in the short-term given its contracted position and further work package awards likely to land in 2H FY26. MND’s increasing liquidity gives the company optionality to lean aggressively on M&A or return excess capital to shareholders.

The post Buy recommendation: Broker says this ASX 200 stock goes from ‘good to great’ 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
• Why Cedar Woods, Clearview, Emerald Resources, and Monadelphous shares are racing higher
• Monadelphous shares surge to a new record as profits trounce expectations
• Monadelphous Group posts record half-year result as new contracts boom

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.

If you have a higher-than-average tolerance for risk, it could be worth considering a little exposure to the small side of the market for a balanced portfolio.

Right now, the team at Bell Potter sees significant value on offer with the small-cap ASX share in this article.

Which small-cap ASX share?

The small-cap that Bell Potter is tipping as a buy is Praemium Ltd (ASX: PPS).

It is a growing investment platform and branded online portfolio administration service provider.

The broker notes that following the launch of Spectrum in 2024, the small-cap ASX share integrates heritage managed models with broader investment options for a complete high net worth value proposition.

Bell Potter was pleased with Praemium’s performance in the first half of FY 2026 and believes synergies are on the way. It said:

PPS delivered a strong result, consistent with prior aspiration for double digit revenue growth and slight operational leverage. PPS does not provide net inflow guidance but mentioned it expects meaningful flows to follow the recent client onboarding. Things generally sound better with PPS now on track to realise +$3m run-rate EBITDA from OV before incrementing. Levers to achieving this include the final FTE synergies, and ending of the TSA, completed in Feb’25, providing confidence in the target.

Commenting on the result, the broker adds:

Pro-forma revenue of $56.0m was up +5% on pcp against our $55.6m forecast with Platform revenue ex-churn from OV up +10% on pcp. […] EBITDA of $15.2m was up +18% on pcp. PPS continued to exercise measured cost growth around mid-single digits and captured some initial synergies, the net effect of this driving outperformance against our $14.8m forecast. Below EBITDA line, items were broadly in-line with our thinking, where NPAT of $8.7m was up +11% on pcp.

Big potential returns

The broker sees potential for Praemium’s shares to rise strongly from current levels. According to the note, it has retained its buy rating and $1.20 price target on its shares.

Based on its current share price of 71 cents, this implies potential upside of approximately 69% for investors over the next 12 months.

Overall, Bell Potter believes that things are looking up for this small-cap and is expecting double-digit revenue growth through to at least 2028. It concludes:

PPS offered little surprises and remains well placed to reinvigorate sales growth while making the operations leaner. Our Buy rating is unchanged and we continue to see an opening to achieve double digit revenue growth, amplified through cost-out measures.

The post Why this small-cap ASX share could rise 69% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• This ASX tech stock is rocketing 15% today. Here’s why
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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 positions in and has recommended Praemium. 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.

The Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) share price is charging higher today.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) iron ore giant closed trading yesterday for $20.20. As we head into the Wednesday lunch hour, shares are swapping hands for $20.67 apiece, up 2.3%.

That’s well ahead of the 0.9% gains posted by the ASX 200 at this same time.

Here’s what’s catching investor interest today.

Fortescue share price jumps on 23% profit improvement

Investors are bidding up the Fortescue share price following this morning’s release of the company’s half-year results (H1 FY 2026).

Highlights include record-high first-half iron ore shipments of 100.2 million tonnes. That’s up 3% from H1 FY 2025.

And revenue for the six months jumped 10% to US$8.4 billion. This was driven by higher sales volumes and an increase in the Hematite (iron ore) realised price to US$91 per dry metric tonne (dmt).

Pleasingly, costs were lower, with the miner reporting a Hematite C1 unit cost of US$18.64 per wet metric tonne (wmt). That’s down 3% year on year, with management crediting the improvement to an ongoing focus on operational efficiency and cost management.

In other strong growth metrics helping lift the Fortescue share price today, underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$4.5 billion was up 23% from H1 FY 2025.

And on the bottom line, Fortescue’s net profit after tax (NPAT) leapt 23% to US$1.9 billion.

In light of this strong performance, management rewarded passive income investors with a fully franked interim dividend of 62 Aussie cents per share. That’s up 24% from last year’s interim payout.

If you want to bank that Fortescue dividend, you’ll need to own shares at market close this Friday, 27 February. The ASX 200 miner trades ex-dividend on Monday. You can then expect to receive the latest passive income payout on 30 March.

Looking ahead, Fortescue provided full-year FY 2026 guidance for iron ore shipments in the range of 195 million to 205 million tonnes.

What did management say?

Commenting on the results helping boost the Fortescue share price today, Fortescue Metals and Operations CEO Dino Otranto said, “It’s been a standout first half of the financial year.”

And he pointed to Fortescue’s ongoing green energy push as a key driver of the strong results.

“We have the lowest operating cost in the industry, and decarbonisation is pushing that even lower,” Otranto said.

And, like its rival ASX 200 iron ore miners, Fortescue is actively expanding its copper footprint as demand for the red metal sends global copper prices to all-time highs.

“We expect to finalise shortly the acquisition of Alta Copper, strengthening our copper portfolio in Latin America,” Fortescue Growth and Energy CEO Gus Pichot said.

With today’s intraday gains factored in, the Fortescue share price is up 15% in 12 months, not including dividends.

The post Why is the Fortescue share price racing ahead of the benchmark on Wednesday? 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 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.