Today is a good day to own BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) shares for a couple of reasons.
The first reason is that the mining giant's shares are on course to end the shortened week in a positive fashion.
At the time of writing, the Big Australian's shares are up almost 2% to $44.48.
This follows a strong showing for BHP's US listed shares on the New York Stock Exchange despite a pullback in iron ore prices.
Why else is it a great day to own BHP shares?
The other reason it is a great day to have BHP shares in your portfolio is that today is pay day for shareholders.
Last month, BHP released its half-year results and reported a 6% increase in revenue to US$27.2 billion and flat underlying earnings of US$6.6 billion for the half.
This allowed the miner to declare an interim dividend of 72 US cents (A$1.10) per share, which represents a total payout of US$3.6 billion and a payout ratio of 56%.
Today is the day that the Big Australian is paying eligible shareholders this dividend, much to their delight.
Especially given that at yesterday's close price, this interim dividend equates to a very attractive 2.5% dividend yield.
What's next for the BHP dividend?
According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts expect a similar dividend to be paid for the second half of FY 2024.
The broker has pencilled in a fully franked final dividend of 73 US cents (111.7 Australian cents) per share. This will mean another 2.5% dividend yield for shareholders.
Looking further ahead, Goldman expects the BHP dividend to come in at US$1.28 (A$1.96) per share in FY 2025 and US$1.25 (A$1.91) per share in FY 2026. Based on where BHP shares currently trade, this will mean yields of 4.5% and 4.4%, respectively.
