BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) shares are a popular option for investors.
The mining giant features in countless portfolios across the country and is also likely to make up a large part of many superannuation accounts.
But have BHP shares been a good place to invest this year? Let's take a look and see what a $20,000 investment at the start of the year would be worth today.
Have BHP shares delivered the goods in 2023?
Firstly, the Big Australian's shares finished last year at $45.63.
Today, the miner's shares are currently fetching $45.40, which represents a small 0.5% decline year to date.
While this isn't a great start, it is worth remembering that the ASX 200 index has been out of form this year.
The benchmark index is currently down almost 1.5% in 2023, which means BHP shares are outperforming by approximately 1% this year.
In addition, BHP is traditionally one of the biggest dividend payers in the world and this has remained the case this year.
The miner paid the equivalent of a $1.364 per share fully franked dividend in March and then a $1.251 per share fully franked dividend in September. That's total dividends of $2.615, which equates to a generous yield of 5.75%.
This means that if you had invested $20,000 into BHP's shares at the start of the year, you would have received $1,150 in dividends.
If these dividends were reinvested, then our BHP investment would currently be worth $21,049 after accounting for the aforementioned year to date decline.
But the returns may not stop there. Morgans currently has an add rating and a $50 price target on its shares last month. This implies a 10% upside and would bring the value of our investment to $23,065.
