The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price has registered modest gains over the past few years. This comes despite the world's second-largest miner suffering a few hiccups along the way.
Nonetheless, BHP shares have created wealth for investors who bought and held their shares over the long term.
What's happening with BHP in 2021?
Since the start of the year, the BHP share price has posted a return of just over 5%.
The mining giant's shares took a massive hit last week following the release of the company's full-year results, tanking 15%.
BHP recorded a strong underlying performance for the period. However, investors were unimpressed by the miner's scorecard and merger plans with Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL).
The hype around BHP shares quickly fell from a near-record high of $53 to a 6-month low of $43.88.
In addition, the spot price for iron ore fell heavily from mid-July to US$139.50 per tonne, adding to BHP's woes. Although, it's worth noting there has been an uptick in the steel-making ingredient prices over the last few days.
How much would you have if you invested $1,000 10 years ago?
If you invested $1,000 into BHP shares in 2011, you would have picked them up for approximately $35.47 apiece. This equates to about 28 shares without reinvesting the dividends.
Fast-forward to today, the closing BHP share price is at $44.70. This means those 28 shares would be worth $1,251.60 (28 shares x $44.70).
When looking at percentage terms, this is a 25.16% increase or an average yearly return of 2.27%. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has given back roughly 5.96% over the same timeframe.
Is the BHP share price a buy?
A couple of brokers rated the company with varying price points after providing its full-year results to the market.
Australian investment bank Macquarie cut its 12-month price target by 3.3% to $58 for BHP shares. This implies an upside of around 30% based on the current BHP share price of $44.70.
More in line with the present value of BHP shares, Morgans raised its rating by 0.9% to $45.90.
BHP commands a market capitalisation of roughly $132.3 billion, making it the third largest company on the ASX.
