The Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price has gained 11% since early last week. What's been happening?

Fortescue counts among the top-10 dividend paying companies in the world.

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The Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) is marching higher today, up 0.5%.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) iron ore miner closed yesterday at $18.94 and are currently trading for $19.04.

That puts the Fortescue share price up 11% since the closing bell on 15 March.

So why is the miner having such a good run?

What's been piquing ASX 200 investor interest?

One of the tailwinds helping push the Fortescue share price sharply higher has been the rebound in iron ore prices.

The industrial metal is currently trading for US$146 per tonne, up from US$136 per tonne on 15 March.

That's also helped propel rival ASX 200 miners BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) to roughly 9% gains over the same period.

The Fortescue share price may have gotten an extra boost, as unlike its 2 major rivals, the miner is almost a pure iron ore play.

Income investors may also be attracted to the company after it made the list of top-10 dividend paying companies in the world earlier this month. (Full details here.)

At the current price, Fortescue pays a whopping trailing dividend yield of 15.6%.

Fortescue share price snapshot

Despite the big recent rally, the Fortescue share price has underperformed that of BHP and Rio Tinto in 2022.

Year-to-date, Fortescue shares are down 4.1%. By comparison BHP and Rio Tinto shares have both gained 17.1% over that same period.

Year-to-date the ASX 200 is down 2.2%.

The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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