While the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has had something of a rocky month, the Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) share price has been on fire. Over the past 4 weeks or so, Woodside shares have gained a very impressive 21.2%. That's including the pleasing 3.45% Woodside shares have added today so far. And that monthly performance included at least 8 instances when Woodside broke its previous 52-week high.
So what's been sparking this succession of new high watermarks?
Well, it's likely that rising energy prices are the culprit. Commodity and energy prices have soared over the past month, largely due to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, as well as inflationary pressures. At the start of 2022, Brent crude oil was going for under US$80 a barrel. Today, it's well over US$100 a barrel, close to a 10-year high. What's more, according to Bloomberg, Brent futures contracts are now pricing in Brent crude at over US$115 a barrel.
That's bad news for anyone filling up their car or truck at the bowser. But it happens to be very good news for an ASX 200 oil driller like Woodside.
What's next for the Woodside share price?
So now that we've seen such a robust rise in the Woodside share price, many investors might be wondering how much is left in the tank, pardon the pun. Well, let's see what an ASX broker reckons.
As my Fool colleague Tristan covered earlier this week, broker Morgans is bullish on Woodside shares. It recently rated Woodside as a 'buy'. But its 12-month share price target was $30.35. Now when this opinion was released, Woodside shares were well below that share price. But, they have subsequently blown through it. Then again, crude oil prices have also since spiked.
Remember, when Woodside reported its full-year earnings results last month, it revealed a realised price of $60.30 per barrel of oil equivalent compared to a unit production cost of $5.30 per barrel of oil equivalent. US$100 a barrel equates to around $137.15 on current exchange rates. So if these prices keep up, Woodside looks set for a very lucrative year indeed in 2022.
At the current Woodside share price, this ASX 200 energy share has a market capitalisation of $30.52 billion, with a dividend yield of 5.94%.
