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.
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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.
