[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images My fellow writers at The Motley Fool love National Grid (LSE: NG) shares. Loads of people love National Grid shares. So I feel like I’m trashing a national treasure when I say that I don’t love them. Right now, I wouldn’t go anywhere near them. What makes me say that? Maybe it’s a personal thing. I declined to buy the energy transmissions operator even when it looked worth buying. I’m talking about three or four years ago, when the shares routinely traded at a fair value price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 15, and yielded an apparently…
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[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images The Associated British Foods (LSE: ABF) share price plunged 14% on 8 January, following a shock profit warning based in estimates sales figures. And it’s been in decline since early summer 2024. But it edged up a bit Thursday morning (22 January) on the back of a fuller trading update for the 16 weeks to 3 January. The problems stem from a poor Christmas trading period. CEO George Weston initially said: “Primark has had a challenging start to the financial year, with a mixed performance.” And Primark really has been the jewel in the crown…
[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images The Aviva (LSE: AV) share price has been a thing of wonder. The dividend has been pretty nifty too. Investors who held the FTSE 100 insurer and asset manager over the last five years will be delighted with their total return. So how long can the fun continue? Over the last 12 months, Aviva shares have climbed 34.3%. Add in the trailing dividend yield of 5.4% and the total return hits 39.7%. That would have turned a £10,000 investment into £13,970, which isn’t bad in my book. And it isn’t a one-off. Aviva shares are…
[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images Since this time in January 2024, Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY) shares have soared 147% as I write on 22 January. That means £10,000 invested back then would have climbed to £24,700 on the share price alone — and that’s without including any dividends. At the time, our ten grand would have been enough to hoover up approximately 24,300 shares. And by today, they’d have added a fraction over £1,500 in dividend cash to the pot. So that’s a total of £26,200. After that kind of gain in such a short period, it must be…
[ad_1] Image source: Rolls-Royce Holdings plc Rolls-Royce‘s (LSE:RR.) stunning share price run has continued into 2026. At £12.55 per share, the FTSE 100 stock’s now 113% more expensive than it was 12 months ago. If City forecasts are accurate, Rolls shares are about to scale even greater peaks. One analyst thinks they’ll reach £16.25 within the next 12 months. That represents a 29% premium from current levels. Okay, that’s far lower than the return investors have enjoyed in recent years. But with dividends factored in, it still suggests a total return of 30%. That’s certainly not to be sniffed at…
[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images How much passive income could £5,000 turn into? Like most folk looking to make the best possible investments, I’d hope to get the most bang for my buck out of my yearly ISA allowance. And that means looking at the best and brightest across the London Stock Exchange. My first thought could be to sort by the largest dividend yields. A quick search reveals companies offering 11%-13% at the moment. That could mean a £550-£650 yearly payout on that five grand I’ve got laying around. Time to shove the money in and cross my fingers?…
[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images The FTSE 250 is home to a vast array of differnt type of businesses. Even though the index as a whole has done well over the past year, some companies could outperform in the coming year. Based on forecasts from analysts at banks and brokers, here are a couple of potential winners poised to surge. Ready for departure The first one is Trainline (LSE:TRN). The stock is down 45% over the past year, which will alarm some investors. Part of this revolves around worries with the UK government’s plan to launch a state-backed rail ticketing…
[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images Prices of UK shares soared last year, but eagle-eyed investors can still pick up lots of bargains. Indeed, some top-quality shares have dropped sharply over the past 12 months, leaving them trading at dirt-cheap prices. Take the following FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 stocks: Forterra (LSE:FORT), Auto Trader (LSE:AUTO), and Greeencoat UK Wind (LSE:UKW). They fell heavily in 2025, but City analysts are expecting them to rebound spectacularly during the next year. But the question is: are their share price forecasts achievable, or are they just fantasy? Too bearish Forterra shares slumped in 2025 on…
[ad_1] Image source: Rolls-Royce plc Rolls-Royce (LSE: RR.) shares once again smashed a new record high above 1,300p on 13 January. But after soaring 1,000% and delivering one of the FTSE 100‘s most compelling recovery narratives in five years, the aerospace and defence engineer now faces a critical question: can it justify its elevated valuation in 2026? Its metrics scream ‘overvalued’ but some industry experts think it can still climb higher. I decided to take a closer look at the growth story that just won’t end. An undeniably stellar performance Rolls-Royce has become the go-to stock when discussing the UK…
[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images When hunting for stocks to buy for passive income, I try not to look at yield alone. Yes, it’s the most direct metric that determines how much I could earn, but it shouldn’t be relied upon alone. Often, high yields are unsustainable and end up leading investors into a dreaded ‘dividend trap’. Soon after purchase, the company slashes dividends and the investor’s left with a bag of worthless shares. So when I see companies with yields of 8% or more, I first take a closer look. And it pays off because, on a few rare…