BHP share price in focus
BHP Group (formerly BHP Billiton) is a diversified natural resources company founded in 1885 that produces commodities for energy use and manufacturing, and is moving into fertilisers.
BHP’s principal business lines are mineral exploration and production. BHP’s assets, operations and interests are separated into three focus areas: copper and related minerals (e.g. gold, uranium, silver, zinc, etc.); iron ore; and coal (i.e. metallurgical and energy).
BHP shares are often seen as a reliable dividend-paying investment and are a common constituent of an ASX share portfolio. If you own a popular ETF or LIC, or invest with Industry Super, chances are you have some exposure to BHP shares already.
Since we consider BHP Group Ltd to be a blue chip stock, or a mature business, we like to look at things like return on invested capital (ROIC) and revenue growth as signs of sustainability. In FY23, BHP Group Ltd had an ROIC of 30.30% and revenue has compounded at -0.7% in recent years. Anything over 10% ROIC is pretty good for a mature-style business, since its cost of capital is likely below that level, so BHP Group Ltd crosses this hurdle.
WES shares
Founded in 1914, Wesfarmers is an Australian conglomerate headquartered in Perth. Its main operations span Australia and New Zealand and include retail, chemical, fertiliser, industrial and safety brands and products.
Wesfarmers is a bit like a publicly listed private equity company. It has a long history of buying businesses, benefitting from their cash flow, re-investing in them and then selling them for a more attractive price. A good example of this might be Coles Group, which it bought in 2007 and spun out in 2018. However, by far (over 50%) of the company’s operating profit comes from Bunnings, the #1 hardware and home improvement business in Australia. Wesfarmers originally invested in Bunnings in 1987, buying the final 52% in 1994 for $594 million.
Wesfarmers has long been considered a leading blue chip stock on the ASX and is known for paying a consistent dividend. Other household names owned by Wesfarmers include Blackwoods, Kmart, Target, Officeworks, and Priceline Pharmacy.
BHP share price valuation
One way to have a ‘fast read’ of where the BHP share price is could be to study something like dividend yield through time. Remember, the dividend yield is effectively the ‘cash flow’ to a shareholder, but it can fluctuate year-to-year or between payments. Currently, BHP Group Ltd shares have a dividend yield of around 4.88%, compared to its 5-year average of 6.86%. Put simply, BHP shares are trading below their historical average dividend yield. Be careful how you interpret this information though – it could mean that dividends have fallen, or that the share price is increasing, or both. In the case of BHP, last year’s dividend was less than the 3-year average, so the dividend has been falling.
WES is offering a historical dividend yield of around 2.88%, which compares to its 5-year average of 3.36%.The Rask websites offer free online investing courses, created by analysts explaining things like Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) and Dividend Discount Models (DDM). They even include free valuation spreadsheets. Both of these models would be a better way to value the WES share price.”)
