The ASX dividend stock Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF) could be one of the leading stocks to buy right now for passive income.

I like to buy businesses for less than they’re worth and to receive solid dividends from my investments, with the prospect of longer-term growth.

For me, Rural Funds ticks all of those boxes after the farmland real estate investment trust (REIT) reported a compelling set of numbers in the FY26 result.

Let’s get into why it seems so appealing.

Very undervalued

A REIT makes it quite easy to judge its value by regularly telling investors about its net asset value (NAV) or net tangible assets (NTA).

The NAV and NTA metrics tell investors what the net value is when you include the property valuations, the loans, cash and other assets and liabilities. If the business were to be shut down, the NAV should be what remains for distribution to shareholders.

REITs regularly independently value their assets to ensure that the NAV figure is realistic.

Rural Funds reports an adjusted NAV to the market, with the adjustment being to include the market value of the water entitlements. Rural Funds owns significant water entitlements, which can be used by farming tenants for their operations.

Other key assets in the Rural Funds portfolio include almond farms, cattle farms, macadamia farms, vineyards and cropping farms.

It recently reported that at 30 June 2026, it had an adjusted NAV of $3.22 – this was an increase of 4.5% year-over-year. At the time of writing, the Rural Funds unit price is trading at an approximate 40% discount to that adjusted NAV, which I’d describe as a significant discount.

The ASX dividend stock offers a good yield

The large discount means that Rural Funds offers a much larger distribution yield than it would if it were trading at the same value as its adjusted NAV.

Rural Funds has provided investors with an annual distribution per unit of 11.73 cents in the last few financial years. I think maintaining the payout has been impressive during these periods of higher interest rates.

It has provided guidance that it will pay an annual distribution of 11.73 cents per unit in FY27. That translates into a forward distribution yield of 6%.

Rental income is growing

I think one of the most important factors in deciding whether a REIT is attractive is its potential for rental income growth. That’s the best way to increase property value and fund higher future distributions.

The ASX dividend stock has a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of more than 14 years, meaning that rental income is locked in for a long time.

A significant portion of the REIT’s rental income is growing with fixed annual increases, while another large chunk of the revenue is growing because it’s linked to inflation.

I believe the ASX dividend stock is very undervalued, particularly for when interest rates start coming down again, whenever that is.

The post 1 ASX dividend stock down 39% I’d buy right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

On Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finished the week deep in the red. The benchmark index fell 0.9% to 8,741.2 points.

Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Monday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to rise

The Australian share market looks set for a decent start to the week following a good session on Wall Street on Friday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 18 points or 0.2% higher. In the United States, the Dow Jones was up 1%, the S&P 500 rose 0.85%, and the Nasdaq stormed 0.95% higher.

Oil prices fall

ASX 200 energy shares Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) will be on watch on Monday after oil prices pulled back on Friday night. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price was down 2.4% to US$100.05 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price was down 2.8% to US$104.61 a barrel. However, an escalation in the Middle East over the weekend could send oil prices higher when Asian markets open.

Buy NextDC shares

NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) shares could be worth a look according to Shaw and Partners. This morning, according to The Bull, its team has named the data centre operator as a buy. It said: “While investment spending remains elevated, management continues to secure long term customer contracts that provide earnings visibility. With structural growth tailwinds expected to persist for many years, NXT remains well positioned to deliver attractive long term shareholder returns.”

Gold price edges higher

It could be a mildly positive start to the week for ASX 200 gold shares Capricorn Metals Ltd (ASX: CMM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) after the gold price edged higher on Friday night. According to CNBC, the gold futures price was up slightly to US$4,408.9 an ounce. Traders were buying the dip despite increasing US rate hike bets.

ASX shares going ex-dividend

Another group of ASX shares are going ex-dividend this morning and could trade lower. Among them are debt collector Credit Corp Group Ltd (ASX: CCP), telco Chorus Ltd (ASX: CNU), travel and transport company Kelsian Group Ltd (ASX: KLS), and airline operator Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (ASX: VGN). The latter is paying a fully franked 7.6 cents per share dividend next month on 15 October.

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

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Nextdc and Woodside Energy Group Ltd. 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.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) dropped 3% to a 10-week low amid a 12% jump in the Brent crude oil price last week.

Oil prices surged as Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen moved closer to shutting down Saudi Arabia’s alternative oil export route.

Over the weekend, Iran said it would meet Gulf states in Oman to discuss the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blocked since March.

This led to an easing in the Brent crude oil price, down from nearly US$110 per barrel on Friday to US$104 per barrel on Sunday.

Let’s check out some new ratings on ASX 200 shares for the week (courtesy The Bull).  

NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

The NextDC share price fell 6.22% to $12.06 on Friday.

The ASX 200 tech share is down 29% over 12 months. 

James Bills from Shaw and Partners has a buy rating on NextDC shares.

Bills said: 

The company continues to benefit from strong demand for data centre infrastructure, driven by cloud computing, artificial intelligence and increasing digitalisation across the economy.

NXT is expanding capacity across key Australian markets and maintains a strong development pipeline to support future growth.

While investment spending remains elevated, management continues to secure long term customer contracts that provide earnings visibility.

With structural growth tailwinds expected to persist for many years, NXT remains well positioned to deliver attractive long term shareholder returns.

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

The South32 share price declined 3.82% to $5.02 on Friday.

The ASX 200 mining share is up 92% over 12 months. 

Joshua Baker from RaaS Group has a hold rating on South32 shares.

Baker said: 

South32 is a diversified miner with exposure to copper, aluminium, manganese, zinc, silver and lead. It recently announced the sale of its aluminium value chain assets to Alcoa for up to $US5.6 billion.

The company continues to invest in the Hermosa development to grow its future base metals production. A hold recommendation is driven by stronger commodity price outlooks in key metals, including zinc.

Consequently, this can support underlying earnings and operating cash flow growth to offset the expectation of higher investment levels to support a longer term strategic plan. Underlying EBITDA grew by 28 per cent in fiscal year 2026.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)

The CBA share price fell 3.88% to $154.19 on Friday.

The ASX 200 bank share has fallen 9% over 12 months.

Bills has a sell rating on CBA shares.

He explained: 

In our view, the stock trades at a significant premium to domestic peers and on historical valuations.

While the bank maintains a high quality franchise and strong market position, earnings growth is expected to remain modest amid competitive lending conditions and regulatory pressures.

Recent Federal Government initiatives aimed at increasing housing supply and improving affordability is likely to lead to intensifying competition across the mortgage market and place pressure on lending margins.

Current valuations leave limited scope for further earnings driven upside. Investors may wish to take profits and re-deploy capital into opportunities offering stronger risk-adjusted return potential.

The post Buy, hold, sell: NextDC, South32, CBA shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• 33 ASX shares going ex-dividend next week
• ASX 200 dives to a 6-week low. What’s behind today’s sell-off?

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen 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.