Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares have once again proven that sometimes the most criticised stocks can also be the most rewarding.
Over the past 12 months, the country's largest bank has defied expectations and delivered another impressive return for shareholders. This is despite widespread warnings from brokers that it was overvalued.
Let's see just how much a $10,000 investment in CBA shares a year ago would be worth today.
Image source: Getty Images
$10,000 invested in CBA shares
One year ago, investors could have picked up CBA shares for $142.00 each. At that price, a $10,000 investment would have bought approximately 70 shares in the bank.
At the end of last week, CBA shares were trading at $168.32, marking a 19% gain over the 12-month period. That means those 70 shares are now worth approximately $11,782.40, delivering a capital gain of $1,782.40.
This is a remarkable result when you consider that 12 months ago many analysts were warning investors to stay away.
CBA was widely labelled as the world's most expensive bank, with several major brokers predicting a significant share price correction. Yet the stock has continued to climb, shrugging off valuation concerns and reaffirming its position as one of the ASX's most reliable wealth creators.
Don't forget the dividends
Of course, that's not the full story. CBA is one of the biggest dividend payers on the Australian share market.
And the good news for shareholders is that it continued to reward them with two attractive dividend payments during the year.
The bank paid a fully franked dividend of $2.25 per share in March, followed by a $2.60 per share final dividend in September. Together, that's $4.85 per share in dividends, which equates to $339.50 in dividend income for those same 70 shares.
When you add that to the capital gains, the total 12-month return comes to approximately $2,121.90, lifting the total value of the $10,000 investment to around $12,121.90.
That's a total return of roughly 21.2%, excluding the additional benefit of franking credits.
Foolish takeaway
One year ago, the consensus view was that CBA shares were overvalued. Yet, once again, the bank has proved doubters wrong.
A $10,000 investment made a year ago would now be worth around $12,121.90, even before factoring in franking credits.
That's comfortably ahead of the broader market's return over the same period and far better than what most savings accounts or term deposits could offer.
