The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price has been in fine form this week.
Since the start of the period, the mining giant's shares have risen approximately 5% to $40.66.
This has been driven by a positive reaction to the Big Australian's full year results for FY 2022.
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Can the BHP share price keep rising?
The good news for investors is that one leading broker believes the BHP share price can keep rising from here.
According to a note out of Morgans, its analysts have retained their add rating with a price target of $48.00.
Based on the current BHP share price, this implies potential upside of 18% for investors over the next 12 months.
And that's before dividends. Including the US$2.84 (A$4.11) per share fully franked dividend that Morgans is forecasting in FY 2023, the total potential return stretches to over 28%.
What did the broker say?
Morgans was impressed with BHP's performance in FY 2022 and particularly its strong free cash flow generation. Overall, it believes this justifies its decision to choose BHP over rival Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO). It also remains positive on its outlook and feels it has a stronger growth profile.
The broker commented:
A strong result from BHP, with earnings slightly ahead of expectations while positively surprising on both dividend and free cash flow (FCF) generation. The dividend surprise was the key highlight, which also drove a positive share price reaction on result day. BHP announced a US175 cent final dividend, ahead of both consensus US152 cents and MorgansE US136 cents.
Our long-term preference for BHP over RIO continues to pay dividends (literally), with BHP asserting itself as the better miner and with the stronger growth profile. We maintain our Add rating with an updated TP of A$48.00.
