Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares have been incredibly choppy throughout the first six months of the year.
The banking giant's share price has swung wildly between $147.22 and $183.52 per share as it has endured multiple headwinds from rising inflation, higher interest rates, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and a reversal in investor confidence.
Analysts are pretty bearish about CBA's outlook, too. In fact, many have considered the banking giant's shares significantly overvalued relative to its peers for some time now.
TradingView data shows that 14 of 16 analysts have a sell or strong sell rating on CBA shares. The other two have a hold rating.
The average $126.36 target price implies a potential 23% downside ahead, at the time of writing. But some think the shares could crash up to 45% to as little as $90 each.
If analyst predictions are anything to go by, we can assume that the peak has passed for CBA shares.
It's not all about share price gains and losses, though. CBA is also a popular choice for income-seeking investors.
Here's why.
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CBA shares offer investors a great passive income opportunity
CBA is a cyclical stock, but has the added nuance of offering some strong defensive qualities. The banking giant is huge in scale and dominates the ASX banking sector.
At the time of writing, CBA is the largest bank listed on the ASX with a market capitalisation of around $278 billion. It is also the second-largest company listed overall, second only to BHP Group.
This market dominance means CBA can be more resistant in times of economic volatility versus some of its smaller mid-tier peers.
The scarcity of quality stocks on the ASX also means that worried investors sometimes place major companies like CBA on a pedestal.
The bank is also often viewed as a safe haven when markets soften overall. This is regardless of whether the business fundamentals support any sustained growth.
This is perhaps why CBA shares have remained relatively buoyant this year, despite broker analysis and forecasts of significant downside.
The advantage, of course, is that this buoyancy is fantastic news for investors earning a passive income from CBA shares.
What does CBA pay its shareholders?
CBA has a long history of paying regular fully-franked dividends twice per year alongside its financial results.
And it pays its shareholders a good rate, too.
It most recently paid a fully-franked interim dividend of $2.35 per share in late-March.
Looking ahead, the bank is forecast to pay a total dividend of $5.15 per share to shareholders in FY26. It is then expected to pay around $5.45 per share in FY27.
At the time of writing, this translates to a forward dividend yield of around 3.1% for FY26. For FY27, the forward dividend yield is about 3.3%.
