On Monday the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price drifted to a 52-week low of $29.40 after events at the Royal Commission weighed heavily on the banking sector.
While the banking giant's shares managed to rebound slightly on Tuesday, they are still within a whisker of that low.
Are Westpac's shares in the bargain bin?
I think at the current level Westpac's shares could be classed as being in bargain territory right now.
After all, at just under 13x trailing earnings and 1.6x book value, its shares are trading at some of the most attractive levels in recent years.
Furthermore, at the current price Westpac's shares offer investors a trailing fully franked 6.3% dividend. As a comparison, the current market average dividend yield is approximately 4%.
Should you buy them now?
But while I do think they could be a good buy, I don't believe investors necessarily need to rush in and snap them up immediately.
The same applies to the shares of its banking rivals Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), and National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB).
This is because, although I don't expect any real skeletons to emerge from any of the banks' closets during the Royal Commission, I do believe it has the potential to continue to weigh on investor sentiment for the next few weeks as the initial hearings are held.
In light of this, investors may want to consider holding fire on buying Westpac shares until it has taken to the stand in the coming days.
In the meantime, income investors might want to look at top dividend shares such as Dicker Data Ltd (ASX: DDR) and Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1) instead. I think these two shares are also trading at attractive prices and provide generous yield, but, importantly, they don't have a Royal Commission hanging over them.
