The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price finished May in the green.
Barely.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) mining giant closed out April trading for $38.19. On Friday, the last trading day of May, shares ended the day changing hands for $38.25 apiece.
This put the BHP share price up a slender 0.2% for the month just past, trailing the 3.8% gains posted by the ASX 200 over this same period.
Here's what ASX investors were considering over the month.
Image source: Getty Images
What moved the BHP share price in May?
When looking at headwinds or tailwinds for the BHP share price, you'll want to see what's been happening with iron ore and copper prices.
Iron ore, BHP's top revenue earner, was in the spotlight amid forecasts of a looming steel surplus, alongside the ongoing trade dispute between the United States and China.
Still, iron ore prices traded in the high US$90 per tonne range for most of the month. But with the majority of analysts still expecting the iron ore price to fall another 10% or more from current levels, investors may have been reluctant to buy the ASX 200 mining stock in May.
Although the Labor election victory could offer the BHP share price some welcome tailwinds. According to the analysts at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG), BHP could stand to benefit from the $1 billion credits for green iron production pledged by the Labor government.
As for copper, BHP's number two revenue earner (and growing), the copper price edged up 1.5% in May, ending the month at US$9,498 per tonne. Copper prices are widely forecast for further gains over the medium to long term amid growing demand for the energy transition critical metal.
ASX 200 miner gets a broker boost
The BHP share price also looks to have gotten support in May from a positive recommendation by Goldman Sachs.
The broker was optimistic about BHP's growing copper exposure. Goldman also highlighted BHP's strong free cash flow generation and the below-average multiples the miner's shares currently trade for.
"BHP is currently trading at ~0.8x NAV and ~6x NTM EBITDA, below the 25-yr average EV/EBITDA of 6.5-7x," the broker stated. And the broker expects BHP stock to trade on a fully franked trailing dividend yield of 4.0% in FY 2025, and 3.7% in FY 2026.
Goldman Sachs has a buy rating on the miner, with a $45.10 target for the BHP share price.
That represents a potential 18% upside from May's closing price.
