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[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images The recent increases to dividend payments combined with billions of pounds in share buybacks has made Lloyds (LSE: LLOY) shares very popular with investors. The stock is regularly one of the most traded on the entire London Stock Exchange. But has such popularity been rewarding for those who owned the shares? How much would a £10,000 stake have earned? To start with, the dividend yield for someone who bought in January would have been around 6% over the year. This is above the FTSE 100 average and a figure that is rising. More impressively, the…

[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images The Vodafone (LSE:VOD) share price has enjoyed a stellar 2025. Up 44% in the last year, it has easily outperformed the broader FTSE 100. Yet at 96p, it’s still well below historical levels, which could mean the stock could jump even further next year. Based on my research, here’s my outlook for the stock. Building on a strong base First of all, we need to review why the share price has outperformed this year. It mostly stems from the large restructuring effort that has been underway for the past couple of years. It’s continuing to…

[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images For much of 2025 it looked like £1 might be a stretching target for the Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY) share price in 2026. But it’s already within a few pennies of that lofty goal. Some analysts are ruing the loss of Lloyds’ status as a passive income champion, now the 78% share gain in 2025 has knocked the forecast dividend yield down to just 3.4%. But those who see it that way… well, I think they have their short-term blinkers on. More to come? A consensus forecast suggests the Lloyds dividend should rise 35%…

[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images BT (LSE: BT.A) shares baffle me. The FTSE 100 telecoms group is burdened by an eye-watering £20.bn of net debt, and a top-heavy group pension scheme. The latter issue is easing with the pension deficit cut from £8bn in 2020 to £3.2bn today, but remains a drag. BT also operates in the brutally competitive telecoms market, where it battles Virgin Media O2, Vodafone, and a swarm of lower-cost challengers. That means constant pressure on pricing and customer retention, which squeezes margins and makes profitable growth hard work. Who would buy a company like this? Over the years,…

[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images While the hype train surrounding hydrogen stocks came to a crashing halt several years ago, ITM Power (LSE:ITM) shares have nonetheless enjoyed a pretty spectacular 2025. The hydrogen stock is up just shy of 80% since January, transforming a £5,000 initial investment into a whopping £8,971.50. But with industrial demand on the rise, could this be just the tip of the iceberg for investors? And if so, how much money could they make by this time next year? ITM Power’s second wind Back in 2021, when even unprofitable hydrogen stocks could do no wrong, ITM…

[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images Tough retail conditions haven’t clobbered FTSE 250 stock WH Smith (LSE:SMWH) in 2025. Instead, a major accounting error has sent the 233-year-old firm’s shares into freefall. Few things can shred investor confidence like irregularities in a company’s books. Unfortunately, a pre-Christmas update from the battered retailer suggested the intrigue will run into the New Year. But let’s pull back for a second. Having fallen 45% since 1 January, WH Smith shares now trade on a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 9.6 times. That’s below the bargain watermark of 10, and is so low I’m wondering…

[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images Barclays (LSE:BARC) shares are up 70% since the market closed for Christmas a year ago. That means £10,000 invested then would be worth £17,000 now. What’s more, the shares would have paid roughly £300 in dividends during the period. These results are incredibly strong and, it’s important to note, not common. Most novice investors will be looking to see their portfolio grow by around 8%-10% annually over the long run. So having a stock surging by 70% in a single year is something of an anomaly in the UK. Thankfully for me, Barclays has been…

[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images With a few days to go until the end of the year, Rolls-Royce Holdings (LSE: RR.) shares have climbed 105% in 2025. Reaching 2,000p would need another 70%. Is that too much? Some analysts are already talking about it. And it would pale compared to the Rolls share price climb of over 900% in five years, right? It’s not like this is a rocketing ‘jam tomorrow’ growth stock. A phenomenal performance lies behind it. How does the price look now? Here’s what I really find surprising when I check out the Rolls-Royce share valuation. It…

[ad_1] Image source: Ocado Group plc There’s an old saying that a picture paints a thousand words. I think this is particularly relevant when studying the five-year share price chart for Ocado Group (LSE:OCDO). Just look below — I don’t think I need to write anything. But is the stock now trading in bargain territory? Or is the writing on the wall? Let’s take a closer look at both sides of the debate. A bullish view Ocado has invested heavily in some very impressive technology. But like many pioneers, it sometimes takes longer than anticipated to deliver results. However, the…

[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images Let’s say I wanted to use dividend stocks to turn £20,000 in savings into a £5,000 yearly second income or more. Such a target would require a reliable 25% return year after year. Across the thousands of stocks across the London Stock Exchange, not one pays a dividend yield close to that figure. I should just pack my things and go home, shouldn’t I? Or should I? Snowball effect While it’s true that the highest dividends across the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 pay up to 13% or so – and rare for any stock…