The Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price has descended slightly lower during the month of October.
Woolworths shares have shed 2.51% since market close on 30 September and are currently trading at $33.095 on the last day of October. At the time of writing, Woolworths shares are up around 1%.
Let's take a look at how October played out for the Woolworths share price
How did the month play out?
Woolworths' major competitor on the ASX has had a relatively flat month. Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) shares have fallen 0.3% since market close on 30 September. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) has also dropped 0.09% over the same time frame.
Woolworths shares dropped 3.15% on October 26. On this day, Woolworths highlighted challenges that may lay ahead for the company. Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci said:
As we move further into F23, we expect the operating environment to remain challenging but we are extremely focused on returning to consistently good customer and team experiences.
We are very conscious of the challenges of inflation and cost-of-living pressures for our customers.
Another notable event in October was news of a data breach impacting online retailer MyDeal. Woolworths acquired MyDeal in September. Data including names, email addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth of around 2.2 million customers were impacted.
However, no payment data, driver licence details, or passport numbers were affected. MyDeal also has a completely separate platform to other businesses within Woolworths.
Inflation worries and interest rate rises have also weighed on investors' minds during October.
Looking ahead, analysts at Wilsons have recently named Woolworths as one the 22 high-yield dividend shares it recommends.
Goldman Sachs analysts also placed a buy rating on the Woolworths share price in October with a $42.70 price target. Goldman is predicting Woolworths to pay fully franked dividends of $1.07 per share in FY 2023 and $1.16 in FY 2024.
Share price snapshot
The Woolworths share price has descended 13% in the past 12 months, losing that amount during the year to date.
For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) has lost about 9% in the past year.
Woolworths has a market capitalisation of more than $40 billion based on the current share price.
