BHP share price in focus
BHP Group (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is a diversified natural resources company founded in 1885 that produces commodities for energy use and manufacturing.
BHP’s core 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). While these categories make up the bulk of revenue and profit, the company is also diversifying into other areas such as fertiliser.
BHP shares have long been viewed as a reliable dividend-paying investment and are a common member of Australian share portfolios. It’s also one of the largest companies in Australia so if you own an ASX 200 ETF or LIC, or even have money in superannuation, chances are you already have some exposure to BHP shares.
XRO shares
Xero founder Rod Drury started the company in 2006 in Wellington, New Zealand. He led the company until 2018 and remained on the board until 2023. Today, Xero helps millions of people and businesses manage their accounting and tax obligations across the globe.
The cloud-based accounting software developed by Xero is primarily for accountants and bookkeepers to better service their small business customers.
Through Xero, small business owners and their advisors have access to real-time financial data on any device. Xero provides its core cloud accounting software to customers in New Zealand, Australia, the UK and, over the last few years has been working hard to break into the US market.
BHP & XRO 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 over time. This can give us a sense of the stability of the company and whether they can consistently pay out a percentage of profits.
Remember, the dividend yield is basically 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 3.62%, compared to its 5-year average of 6.86%. In other words, BHP shares are trading lower than 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, we can see that last year’s dividend was less than the 3-year average, so the dividend has been falling.
Since XRO is more of a ‘growth’ company than an established blue chip, a price-sales ratio might be a more appropriate assessment. This ratio gives us an idea of how the company has historically been valued relative to its earnings, which can indicate if the company is over or undervalued today.
The XRO share price currently trades at a price-sales ratio of 8.66x, which compares to its 5-year long-term average of 18.65x. So, XRO shares are trading lower than their historical average.
Don’t forget, a simple multiple like this should only be the start of your research. 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! It’s a good idea to use multiple valuation methods to value a share like Xero Ltd.
