ASX 200 mining shares like BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) arguably dominated investors' attention last year.
The explosive share price appreciation that we saw across the first half of 2021 enthralled ASX investors. As did the subsequent 'back to Earth' moves witnessed in the back half of the year.
For investors of gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM), the past year has been a one-way street. And not in the direction shareholders would have liked. At today's closing share price of $24.70, Newcrest Mining has gone backwards by a nasty 7.4% over the past 12 months.
It's likely that the rise of BHP and Fortescue last year was, in part, fuelled by the monstrous dividends those miners doled out. And with full franking credits, too.
Based on BHP's closing share price of $46.85 today, the 'big Australian' has an impressive trailing dividend yield of 8.59%. Fortescue has an eye-popping 16.73% trailing dividend yield, based on today's closing price of $21.40.
So, how does the Newcrest dividend compare to these astronomical metrics?
How does the Newcrest dividend stack up?
Well, unlike those big iron ore miners, Newcrest didn't enjoy a booming commodities market in 2021. As the largest gold miner on the ASX, Newcrest's ability to pay out dividends largely rests on the gold price itself. And that has been at a fairly consistent level over the past 12 months.
In 2021, Newcrest paid out two fully-franked dividends. The first was an interim payment of 19.31 cents per share. The second was a final dividend of 55.2 cents per share.
That total of 72.5 cents per share was a marked increase on the 2020 dividend of 35.7 cents. Even so, that tallies the Newcrest dividend yield at 2.9% (or 4.2% grossed up with full franking) based on today's closing price.
That's obviously not even in the same league as BHP or Fortescue. But it is the highest yield this gold miner has had on the table for years.
Remember, these numbers are all trailing, which means they reflect the past 12 months, not the future. Who knows what today's dramatically lower iron ore price will do to BHP and Fortescue's 2022 dividends.
At the current Newcrest share price, the ASX gold miner has a market capitalisation of $20.20 billion.
