Bought $10,000 of Woodside shares 5 years ago? Here's how much passive income you've already earned

There are good reasons that Woodside shares are popular with passive income investors.

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If you took the plunge and bought $10,000 worth of Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) shares five years ago, you'd be sitting on some tidy gains today.

First, you would have seen the share price gains delivered by Woodside stock smash the gains delivered by the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) over this time.

Second, you would have banked a significant cash pile from the regular passive income stream the oil and gas giant has paid out over the five years as well. (Assuming you cashed out your Woodside dividends, rather than reinvesting them in the company.)

As for those capital gains, five years ago you could have picked up Woodside stock for $22.34 a share. Meaning your $10,000 investment would have netted you 447 shares, with enough change left over for a burger.

Now, in late afternoon trading on Wednesday, the ASX 200 energy stock was trading for $31.58. So, the 447 shares you bought five years ago would now be worth (a rounded) $14,116.

That's a gain of more than 41%, well ahead of the 19% five-year gains posted by the benchmark index.

So, how about that passive income?

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Image source: Getty Images

Tapping into Woodside shares for passive income

If you bought shares in the ASX 200 oil and gas giant five years ago, you'd have received the past 10 fully franked dividend payments by now.

The most recent final dividend of 83.5 cents a share would have landed in your bank account on 27 March.

If we add that into the other nine dividend payments, then you would have received a total of $11.31 a share in passive income since your purchase,

That means the 447 Woodside shares you bought on 23 July 2021 would have returned a total of $5,056 in fully franked dividends by now. Or more than half of your initial investment.

Now remember, on Wednesday those 447 shares were worth $14,116. So if we add that passive income payout back in, then the accumulated value of the Woodside stock you bought five years ago for $10,000 would now be worth $19,172.

What's the latest from the ASX 200 energy stock?

Woodside released its March quarterly update on 29 April.

Highlight for the three months included a 7% quarter-on-quarter increase in operating revenue to US$3.26 billion.

The revenue boost was fuelled by an 11% quarter-on-quarter increase in the average realised price Woodside received for its oil and gas, which rose to US$63 per barrel of oil equivalent (boe).

Woodside shares closed up 2.0% on the day of the results release.

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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