How is the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price performing against the banking sector?

The big four bank share is on fire in 2021.

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The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price has been on a strong run of late.

Shares in the Aussie big four bank have climbed 19.5% in 2021 and are outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) by some margin.

However, the ASX banking sector has had a strong year. How does NAB's performance stack up against its bank peers?

How does the NAB share price stack up against its peers?

As it stands, NAB is Australia's third-largest bank by market capitalisation. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) is the largest at $177.7 billion with Westpac Banking Corporation Ltd (ASX: WBC) in second at $94.6 billion.

NAB and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) round out the top four with valuations of $90.3 billion and $80.6 billion, respectively.

The NAB share price has now rocketed 56.2% higher in the past 12 months. That's better than ANZ (+55.5%), CBA (+45.3%) and Westpac (+50.7%).

Recent share price performance is not the only thing to consider when evaluating the NAB share price. NAB is currently trading at a price to earnings (P/E) ratio of 21.0 times with a 3.3% dividend yield.

In terms of the P/E ratio, that puts it in the middle of the pack compared to ANZ (17.2 times), CBA (21.3 times) and Westpac (22.1 times). But this is not the only metric investors would be looking at when comparing ASX bank shares against one another.

Different dividend yields are also important in evaluating the NAB share price performance. Westpac and CBA (both 3.5%), as well as ANZ (3.7%), all offer higher yields at their current prices.

Foolish takeaway

The NAB share price has been performing strongly in 2021. In fact, on share price performance alone, the Aussie bank has outperformed its big four peers in the past 12 months.

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Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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 Bruce Jackson.

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