Owners of Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares normally receive a pleasing level of dividend income each year. 2027 could be another rewarding year for the ASX bank share.
The largest Australian banks usually have generous dividend payout ratios, partly because they don't have many places to invest profit generated at a strong return. Plus, plenty of individual investors are looking for passive income (including the franking credits).
Let's take a look at what the ASX bank share is forecast to pay in 2027.
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Dividend forecast for Westpac shares
The company's dividend has grown in most of the years this decade and I'm sure shareholders are hoping for another increase in 2026.
The ASX bank share is facing economic volatility amid an elevated cost-of-living and higher interest rates. It'll be interesting to see how Westpac's financials handle the current situation.
We haven't seen the 2026 financial year annual dividend yet because the ASX bank share's FY26 only just finished at the end of September 2026, so we'll find out what those numbers are in the next few weeks when it reports.
According to the projection on CMC Invest, owners of Westpac shares are forecast to see a $1.55 dividend per share related to FY26.
Pleasingly, analysts are expecting a larger dividend for investors in the 2027 financial year. According to the forecast on CMC Invest, the business is forecast to grow its annual dividend by 1.6% to $1.575.
At the time of writing, that translates into a dividend yield of 4.7% excluding franking credits and 6.7% including franking credits. That's a solid dividend yield compared to the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO), which has a dividend yield of just over 3% (excluding franking credits).
If someone were to invest $6,000 in Westpac shares, they would unlock sizeable passive income, according to the projections.
At the time of writing, an investor would be able to buy 177 Westpac shares (with a little bit of cash left).
Excluding franking credits, 177 shares of the bank could deliver $278.78 of dividend cash. Including franking credits, it could be $398.25 of grossed-up dividend income.
Is this a good time to invest in Westpac shares?
According to CMC Invest, there have been eight ratings on the business. Of those ratings, one was a buy, two were a hold and five ratings were a sell. The average price target of those eight analysts is $34.23, suggesting a rise of around 1% over the next year (at the time of writing).
Therefore, it's not cheap and may not deliver market-beating returns. But, it could still deliver solid passive income.
