Like the rest of the big four banks, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares are a popular option for passive income.
The banking giant's shares feature heavily in income portfolios and superannuation funds across the country.
But for those that don't already own Westpac stock, is it a buy now, hold, or sell now following its update this month?
Let's see what analysts are saying about Australia's oldest bank.
Should you buy Westpac stock for passive income on the ASX?
The broker community remains divided on whether you should be buying Westpac shares following its quarterly update.
UBS and Morgan Stanley, for example, currently have the equivalent of sell ratings on its shares with price targets of $20.00 and $21.70, respectively.
Over at Goldman Sachs, Citi, and Morgans, its analysts have hold/neutral ratings with price targets ranging from $22.25 to $23.54.
Whereas Ord Minnett and Macquarie are currently the most positive brokers out there with the equivalent of buy ratings and price targets of $28.00 and $25.00, respectively. Though, it is worth noting that Westpac's shares have recently surpassed Macquarie's price target.
What about income?
One thing that the brokers do agree on is that Westpac is likely to provide investors with a decent source of passive income in the near term.
Analysts are forecasting fully franked dividends in the range of $1.42 to $1.46 per share in FY 2024. Based on the current Westpac share price of $26.20, this will mean dividend yields of 5.4% to 5.6%.
And in FY 2025, the forecast dividend widens to a range of $1.39 to $1.50 per share. This equates to yields of 5.3% to 5.7%.
This means that if you were to invest $10,000 into Westpac's ASX shares, you would expect to receive passive income in the region of $550 in both FY 2024 and FY 2025.
