Last updated: July 4th, 2024
The financial sector dominates the top end of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), with the Big Four banks being some of the most commonly held shares in Aussies’ portfolios.
As one of Australia’s oldest and most prosperous banks — founded by the government in 1911 and privatised in the 90s — Commonwealth Bank shares are considered a blue chip investment.
Is now the time to add Commbank shares to your portfolio? Discover more about the stock’s performance, share price predictions and how to invest in Australia.
Above: CBA stock has beaten the All Ordinaries index over the past 5 years, but fell well short of the S&P500. Zoom out for better historical context.
How Has CBA Stock Performed?
Commbank has been a public company for more than 30 years. It was first listed on the ASX in April 1991 under the ticker CBA, and shares were issued at AU$5.40 per share.
At the time of writing, shares are valued at over $125, an all-time high for the stock.
(Related: How To Invest In Gold In Australia).
Commbank is Australia’s second-largest company, with a market capitalisation of AU$210 billion.
While a surging share price is positive news for current shareholders, it’s less clear whether the stock represents a good opportunity for new investors.
Whether the rally can continue is doubtful, as CBA’s surging share price is somewhat inexplicable. CBA is drawing investor interest even though:
- Most analysts have a ‘hold’ recommendation and average 12-month price targets at below the current share value, at around AU$94-$96.
- Its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is much higher than the average for the banking sector.
- Dividend yields are below the rate of inflation at 3.63% annually.
Several pundits point out that institutions have been buying CBA stock, more so than retail investors —driven by inflows into passive index funds in recent years.
Important!
Given CBA makes up over 7% of the Australian market by weight, reflecting the index means stocking up on CBA shares.
CBA Stock Performance Metrics.
Consider these vital metrics we derived from the ASX and Yahoo Finance about Commbank’s stock:
| P/E Ratio | 21.68 |
| PEGY Ratio | – |
| Return on equity (ROE) | 13.46% |
| Shares Outstanding | 1.67B |
| 90-Day Average Volume | 2,033,091 |
Frequently Asked Questions About CBA Shares.
Here are some facts every CBA investor should be aware of.
1. What ASX-Listed ETFs Hold CBA?
Popular exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) that include CBA shares in their holdings include:
- SPDR S&P/ASX 200 ETF (STW).
- Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (VAS).
- Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (VHY).
- iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF (IOZ).
- VanEck Australian Equal Weight ETF (MVW).
- Betashares Australia 200 ETF (A200).
2. Which Indices Is CBA Part Of?
Because it is Australia’s second-largest listed company, Commbank is included on major ASX indices used to benchmark share market performance, such as:
- S&P ASX 50 Index.
- S&P ASX 200 Index.
- ASX All Ordinaries.
3. Does Netflix Pay Dividends?
Commonwealth Bank pays cash dividends twice yearly, usually in March ad September.
CBA offers fully franked dividends that entitle shareholders to receive tax credits/refunds that can reduce their payable income tax.
Important!
The bank also has a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRP) that lets you automatically reinvest your dividends to acquire additional CBA shares without incurring transaction fees, which you can apply to all or part of your shareholding.
4. Has CBA Had A Stock Split?
Commbank has completed four stock splits in the past: in 1993, 1996 and two splits in 1999.
How To Buy CBA Shares In 3 Steps.
It’s easy to invest in CBA shares in Australia. You can do so via a full service stockbroking firm or an online share trading platform.
1. Create A Solid Investing Plan.
Make sure that owning CBA shares right now aligns with your investing goals, risk tolerance and investing timeframe. You risk losing your capital anytime you invest—it’s risky.
Important!
If you’re not certain that investing in Commbank will help you reach your financial goals, consider paying for professional financial advice.
2. Pick A Reliable Share Trading Platform.
Research is needed to find the ideal brokerage app, because they vary considerably in terms of their pricing structures, usability and in-built features.
If you’re new to investing, you might prioritise low fees over a platform with all the bells and whistles designed to help you research trades.
The best stockbroking apps in Australia are ASIC-registered brokers that protect your consumer rights.
You can find the app’s Australian Financial Services (AFS) Licence number on their website, and verify it via ASIC Connect.
The process to sign-up for an account includes some additional KYC (Know Your Customer) details.
You’ll be requested to share:
- Your name, personal contact details and date of birth.
- Your tax file number (TFN).
- A verifiable form of identification.
- Your bank account number for transferring funds in and out of your account.
3. Add Funds And Execute Your Order.
From within your online brokerage account, you can now buy CBA shares as follows:
- Add money into your account from a linked bank account or credit/debit card.
- Use the search bar to find ‘CBA’ or the ticker symbol of the ETF/fund you want to purchase.
- Enter the number of shares or amount you’ll spend, assuming you’re happy with the CBA share price listed.
- Define your order type. To buy at the current market price, choose a market order. To buy only when CBA shares hit a certain value, you can use a limit or stop-loss order.
- Execute the purchase. It can take up to two days for the transaction to be settled.
Will The CBA Share Price Keep Rising?
Recent analysis by Rask Media finds Commbank is above the sector average on a number of fundamentals such as:
- Better-than-average net interest margin, reflecting return from lending to borrowers.
- Return on equity higher than peers. While down from 2023, CBA’s ROE beats the average.
- A higher-than-average CET1 ratio (Common equity tier one), aka the bank’s liquid cash buffer.
Economic conditions don’t look great. Hoped-for cash rate cuts that could stimulate growth in borrowing have been being pushed back.
Important!
The bank has posted disappointing earnings results in 2024 — with its first-half report showing a 3% decline in net profit, and a dip in third-quarter earnings indicating modest growth for the year ending June 30.
But Commbank’s rising valuation this year hasn’t followed logic.
So, if demand-side pressure continues from both ordinary investors and institutions rebalancing passive funds, CBA’s share price could keep rising.
Returning profits to shareholders through cash payments has always been part of Commbank’s DNA —consistently aiming to return up to 80% of profits to shareholders as fully franked dividends.
Having said that, other Big Four banks like NAB and Westpac are trading at much cheaper prices and are currently delivering dividend yields of 4.79% and 6.04% respectively (both are 100% franked).
Is CBA Stock A Solid Investment?
Commbank is a quality stock, but it’s generally viewed as overvalued.
An expensive stock may still be worth buying if it has strong growth prospects, but few analysts are bullish on CBA’s earnings and dividend payout ratios rising significantly in the near-term.
Then again, as Australia’s largest bank, Commbank’s considerable profits and long-standing stability may continue to attract long-term investment if passive investing continues to grow and financial conditions appear shakier both locally and abroad.
Jody
Nelson says:
I attempted to use the “hack” to dodge conversion fees, but sadly after converting AUD to USD on a Wise account, there doesn’t seem to be a way to deposit that money into eToro; i.e. eToro recently disabled Wire transfers and Wise doesn’t support SWIFT transfers for sending USD to a bank in the US?
John Keys says:
CMC Invest are an abysmal in turning around new accounts.
Over 1 month to setup up an account with an investment trust, and still waiting. I was promised 5 business days.
Reg Watson says:
Given that China’s economy is going down the toilet how the heck do we expect an appreciation of the Aussie in 2024 ? We are tied to China.