The Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) share price has stormed to incredible highs over the past few years. This can be related back to the company's world-class assets and investments in its lithium and iron ore mines.
Nonetheless, Mineral Resources has created wealth for investors who bought and hold their shares over the long term.
How is Mineral Resources shares tracking in 2021?
Since the beginning of the year, Mineral Resources shares have gained more than 60%, reflecting strong optimism from investors. The hype around lithium has picked up considerably as countries around the world push legislation to adopt cleaner energy. In addition, iron ore has also rallied in recent times due to China's insatiable demand for the steel making ingredient.
This has had a strong effect on Mineral Resources shares, cementing the company as the 5th biggest iron ore producer in the world.
What if you had invested $1,000 into Mineral Resources shares 10 years ago?
If you had invested $1,000 in Mineral Resources shares in 2011, you would have bought them for around $28.11 apiece. This equates to approximately 35 shares without reinvesting the dividends.
Fast-forward to today, the current Mineral Resources share price is at $61.52. This means that those 35 shares would be worth $2,153.20 (35 shares x $61.52). When looking at percentage terms, this is a 115% increase or an average yearly return of 7.97%. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has given back roughly 6.22% over the same timeframe.
Is Mineral Resources shares a buy?
A couple of brokers rated the company with similar price points following the release of its full-year results last week.
Investment house, JPMorgan cut its 12-month price target by 2.9% to $68 for Mineral Resources shares. The following day, Macquarie raised its rating by 1.4% to $74. This implies an upside of around 20% based on the current Mineral Resources share price of $61.52.
Mineral Resources presides a market capitalisation of roughly $11.6 billion, with more than 188.7 million shares on its books.
