Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) shares lost some ground in August.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) energy stock closed out July trading for $26.59. When the closing bell rang on 29 August, the last trading day of the month, shares were changing hands for $26.41 apiece, down 0.7%.
That trails the 2.6% gains posted by the ASX 200 over this same period.
But Woodside's underperformance over the past month is not as bad as it appears.
Here's what's been happening.
Woodside shares in focus following FY25 results
Material changes in the global oil price tend to result in significant moves in Woodside shares.
While the Brent crude oil price hit lows of around US$66 per barrel in the middle of August, the oil price started and ended the month trading for approximately US$69 per barrel.
So, rather than a shifting oil price, the biggest news for Woodside was the release of the company's half-year results on 19 August.
Woodside shares closed down 2.8% on the day after the company reported a 24% year-on-year decline in half-year underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) to $1.25 billion.
It wasn't all bad news, though.
Woodside achieved an 11% year-on-year increase to 548 thousand barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day, for a total of 99.2 million boe over the six months to 30 June.
And operating revenue of $6.60 billion was up 10% from H1 2024.
With profits slumping, however, Woodside's fully-franked interim dividend of 81.3 cents per share was down 20.3% from last year's final payout.
Still, if we add in the 84.9 cents per share final dividend, paid out on 2 April, Woodside trades on an attractive, fully franked 6.3% dividend yield.
Speaking of that interim dividend, Woodside traded ex-dividend on 28 August, meaning new investors were no longer eligible to receive that payout after the 27 August market close.
So, if we include the 81.3 cents interim dividend back into the closing share price of $26.41 on 29 August, then we see that the accumulated value of Woodside shares over the month actually gained 2.4%.
Where to now for the ASX 200 energy stock?
Halfway through the third trading day of September, shares are changing hands for $26.18 each, up 0.1% in intraday trading today.
But Family Financial Solutions' Jabin Hallihan believes that the current price significantly undervalues the ASX 200 oil and gas stock.
"Woodside maintains a robust balance sheet and was recently trading on a dividend yield above 6%," Hallihan said on The Bull.
Family Financial Solutions has a 12-month analyst valuation on Woodside shares of $34.38. That's more than 31% above current levels.
