Well, if you can believe it, we're only a few days away from the start of December 2021. Amid the market gyrations that seem to have kicked off this week, it might be a good time to see how some of the ASX's blue-chip shares typically travel during the silly season. So today, we're checking out the Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price, and how it has performed in Decembers' past.
Wesfarmers is one of the oldest blue-chip shares on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). It has been around in some form since 1914. Today, it can be called a conglomerate, considering its ownership of such a wide stable of retailing brands. It owns the Bunnings Warehouse chain of course, but also has Target, OfficeWorks, Geeks2U and Kmart. And that's just its retailing side. Wesfarmers also continues to run its mining, gas and chemical manufacturing divisions, as well as its own clothing line (Workwear).
Last year in 2020, Wesfarmers indeed had a very pleasing Christmas run. It started December last year at roughly $49.45 a share, but by Christmas Eve, it had finished up at $51.10 a share, a rise of 3.34%.
So, do we see this pattern extend to just beyond 2020?
Wesfarmers share price: A Christmas journey
Well, not exactly. Back in late 2019, Wesfarmers shares started December at $42.41 each. But by Christmas Eve 2019, the shares had slipped slightly to $41.79 – a fall of 1.46%.
The prior year in 2018 saw a different outcome again. That year saw Wesfarmers start December at a share price of $31.59 a share… exactly where it ended up on Christmas Eve. So a very flat buildup to Christmas indeed for that year.
Going back to 2017 now (seems like a long time ago these days), and we see a different pattern play out yet again. That year had Wesfarmers begin the silly season at approximately $31.37 a share. By the 'night before Christmas', the shares had closed at $31.58. That's a small gain of 0.67%.
So long story short, there doesn't seem to be a consistent trading pattern for Wesfarmers shares in the leadup to Christmas. Last year we had a solid gain, the year before a solid loss, then a flat year, preceded by a small gain before that.
Perhaps the lesson we can take here is that no one knows what Wesfarmers shares will do this Christmas. Humans are always good at finding patterns, even when they don't exist. Wesfarmers' annual Christmas pilgrimage is a great example.
Wesfarmers is (at the time of writing) trading at a share price of $58.63 a share, up 0.09% for the day so far. At that Wesfarmers share price, this ASX 200 blue chip has a market capitalisation of $66.47 billion, with a dividend yield of 3.04%.
