Choosing ASX dividend shares gets harder when the cash rate is looking like increasing.

All four major banks now expect the Reserve Bank to tighten again this year.

A term deposit paying close to 5% becomes a competitor for income money.

The three companies below each deal with that problem in different ways.

1. Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG)

Macquarie Group is the one of the few companies that benefits from higher rates.

The company earns on client cash balances, and its markets businesses tend to do better when volatility rises.

FY26 net profit rose 30% to $4.85 billion and earnings per share climbed 30% to $12.77.

Return on equity recovered to 14.0% and assets under management reached $748 billion.

The full-year dividend was $7.00 per share, though franked at only 35%.

Today, the shares trade on a price-to-earnings ratio near 19.9 with a 2.78% yield.

The trade-off is a dividend that grows with earnings.

2. Transurban Group (ASX: TCL)

Transurban Group is the classic rate-sensitive income stock, and it has been treated accordingly.

The shares closed at $13.63, within a few cents of a 52-week low, and are down 4.82% over twelve months.

The trailing yield is 5.01%.

Despite all of this, the company’s operating result was solid.

Proportional toll revenue rose 6.7% to $3,982 million and proportional EBITDA rose 7.5% to $3,063 million.

Free cash increased 5.1% to $2,111 million.

The FY26 distribution was 69.0 cents per security, up 6.2%, and management has guided to 72 cents in FY27.

Proportional drawn debt sits at $27.1 billion with gearing of 37.4%.

The weighted average cost of Australian dollar debt is 4.8% and 87.8% of debt is hedged.

That hedging is what buys the company time if rates keep climbing.

Toll escalation is linked to inflation, so the same forces pushing rates higher also lift Transurban’s revenue.

Chief executive Michelle Jablko noted that despite the macroeconomic backdrop the group’s roads proved relatively resilient through the year.

3. APA Group (ASX: APA)

APA Group has been the best performer of the three, rising 22.23% over twelve months to $10.83.

The company’s dividend yield is 5.32%, though franked at only about 31%.

FY26 underlying EBITDA rose 8.3% to $2,183 million, above the midpoint of guidance.

Free cash flow rose 3.2% to $1,118 million and the distribution lifted 1.8% to 58.0 cents per security.

FY27 guidance calls for EBITDA of $2,260 million to $2,340 million and a 59.0 cent distribution.

The organic growth pipeline has expanded to roughly $3.5 billion.

Chief executive Adam Watson summed it up.

Our underlying earnings were up 8.3% and above the mid-point of guidance, supported by new assets and ongoing strong operational performance.

The catch is the price.

Brokers are split between hold and sell ratings, with an average target below the current share price.

Foolish takeaway

The instinct when rates rise is to sell every yield stock in sight.

That is too blunt, because these three respond to the same cash rate in opposite directions.

I would rather own a 5% distribution that grows with inflation than a term deposit that does not.

Transurban is the ASX dividend shares idea I find most interesting today, purely because the market has already marked it down.

Macquarie is the one I would be happiest holding if the Reserve Bank continues to look to increase rates.

The post Top 3 ASX dividend shares to buy if interest rates go up appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mark Verhoeven 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 and Transurban Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Apa Group and Transurban 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.

Fresh commentary from the team at Morgans has identified an exciting exploration-stage mining growth stock investors should be adding to their watchlist. 

The company in question is G50 Corp Ltd (ASX: G50). 

Company overview

G50 Corp was established to identify and advance opportunities involving economically viable precious metal deposits across the United States.

The Company’s flagship Golconda Project, situated in northwestern Arizona, represents its most advanced exploration asset. The project encompasses a number of historically worked, small-scale precious and polymetallic mines, positioned directly southeast of a significant porphyry copper-molybdenum system.

In central Nevada, Gold 50 holds the Spitfire, Broken Hills, Top Gun and Caisson Projects, each offering further exploration potential.

Despite limited modern exploration across these properties, all four projects exhibit evidence of gold mineralisation at surface. In particular, the Spitfire Project has recorded exceptionally high-grade, or “bonanza-grade,” gold and silver mineralisation.

As is typical with small-cap shares, it has experienced volatility in 2026. 

At the time of writing, its share price is down 35% year to date. 

For comparison, the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries (ASX: XSO) index is down 8% in the same period, while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 2%.

However, Morgans is bullish this exciting growth stock could be set to explode. 

Strong momentum

According to Morgans, G50 is making progress across its projects. 

Recent exploration has expanded the Golconda mineral system and identified high-grade gold at White Caps. 

The Company is also exploring ways to develop and potentially generate revenue from its gallium resources, which could benefit from growing demand for critical minerals.

G50 recently raised additional funding through a placement led by Hancock. 

This gives the Company the money it needs to increase exploration, develop its gallium opportunities and continue work on the larger Golconda project, including future funding and permitting requirements.

G50 continues to unlock value across its asset base, with recent activity extending the Golconda system, delivering a high-grade gold discovery at White Caps, and advancing potential gallium development pathways amid an increasingly supportive backdrop for critical minerals.

Big upside for this growth stock

Based on this guidance, Morgans has a $1.94 price target and speculative buy recommendation on G50 shares. 

From current levels, this indicates an upside of 321%. 

Following the recent Hancock-cornerstoned placement, the Company is well funded to accelerate exploration and advance potential gallium monetisation pathways, supporting early cash flow, financing and permitting for the broader Golconda deposit. We maintain our SPECULATIVE BUY rating with a target price of A$1.94ps.

The post Could this exciting growth stock be set to triple? Morgans thinks it can 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.

June 3 would have been an excellent day to channel your inner Warren Buffett and buy CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) shares.

Of the many investment quotes Buffett is famous for, perhaps the best known is, “Be greedy when others are fearful.”

Indeed, on 3 June, a lot of investors were fearful about buying the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) biotech giant, after it closed at a more than nine-year low.

Why did CSL shares crash to a multi-year low?

The CSL share price decline began in mid-2024 and ran for roughly two years.

Over this time the company issued a number of earnings downgrades, partly driven by lower than forecast plasma demand.

Vaccine uptakes in the United States also slumped, right about when management announced their plan to spin off the CSL Seqirus segment, its influenza vaccine business, into a separate ASX-listed company. (That plan remains on hold at the moment.)

Investors also reacted negatively to former CSL CEO Paul McKenzie’s unexpected exit in February this year.

Which brings us back to the closing bell on June 3, when you could have picked up CSL for just $92.24 a share.

Investing $10,000 into the ASX 200 healthcare share

If you’d embraced your inner Warren Buffett and invested $10,000 in the ASX 200 biotech stock on 3 June, you could have picked up 108 shares with a bit of pocket money left over.

On Tuesday, CSL shares were trading for $171.66 apiece. And if you held the stock through to market close, you’d also have received the final CSL dividend of $2.277 a share.

The stock is trading ex-dividend today.

So, if we add that passive income payout back into the recent share price, then the accumulated value of the shares you picked up for $92.24 on June 3 works out to (a rounded) $173.94 each.

Meaning the 108 shares you acquired for $10,000 just over three months ago would be worth $18,786 today.

Or a gain of 87.9%.

What’s sent the CSL shares rocketing?

By 17 August, shares in the ASX 200 healthcare stock had recovered to $134.60 as investors began to bet on the success of the company’s ‘reset’ process.

Then on 18 August, CSL shares rocketed 17.3% following the release of the company’s full-year FY 2026 results.

While revenue declined 1% year on year and CSL reported a net loss after tax of US$2.6 billion, the company forecast steady revenue in FY 2027 and underlying NPAT growth of around 5%.

“FY26 has been a year of reset. We have taken decisive action and created a clear path to return to sustainable growth,” CSL interim CEO Gordon Naylor said on the day of the results release.

The post $10,000 invested in CSL shares in June is now worth… 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 positions in and has recommended CSL. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended CSL. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.