Shares in the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) have outperformed all other S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) banks this week. At the time of writing, the ANZ share price has gained 2% since last Friday's close and is trading at $27.97.
In comparison, the ASX 200 has gained 0.25% in the same time frame.
The other big ASX 200 banks are on ANZ's tail today. Shares in Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) are closing in with a gain of 1.69% across the course of the week. While National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares are up 0.74% and 1.06% respectively.
Other ASX 200 banks posting share price gains this week include Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN). It's up 0.59%. While shares in the Bank of Queensland Ltd (ASX: BOQ) have fallen 0.91%.
Let's take a look at the ANZ share price performance lately.
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Leader of the pack
This week has been volatile for the ASX 200, and the ANZ share price wasn't immune to the madness. But, despite the volatility, the ANZ share price recorded a strong gain, helped by a few key pieces of good news.
The Motley Fool Australia reported on Monday that Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) analysts have pegged ANZ as potentially the better big bank to buy shares in.
According to Macquarie, ANZ was the only bank that didn't experience a revenue (excluding markets income) decline in its half-year results.
Its analysts stated the bank has continued to be better value compared to others and opted to maintain its $30.50 target price.
Also making news throughout the week was the expectation that ASX bank's dividends may soon return to pre-COVID-19 normal.
On Wednesday, The Motley Fool Australia reported that co-portfolio manager of the Investors Mutual Australian Share Fund Daniel Moore believes 2021 will be a great year for banking dividends. Moore was quoted by the Australian Financial Review (AFR) as saying:
We now have a strong platform going forward for economic activity and company earnings. All this indicates that the outlook for dividends in 2021 and beyond is strong, and payout ratios are likely to improve.
ANZ share price snapshot
The ANZ share price having more than a great week on the ASX.
Currently, the ANZ share price is 21.05% higher than it was at the start of 2021. It's also gained 81.22% since this time last year.
The bank has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 16.50. Its market capitalisation is around $79 billion, with approximately 2.8 billion shares outstanding.
