Shares in banking giant Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) closed the session less than 1% in the red yesterday at $27.82 apiece.
December has been a kind one for ANZ shareholders as Santa Claus appeared to have come early for the bank and its share price.
Since the beginning of the month, shares have climbed off a base of $26.64 to close as high as $27.88 on Wednesday. Although this is still within the bounds of a sideways channel that ANZ has been trading in over the last 12 months or so. Here are the details.
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Why did the ANZ share price charge higher in December?
This month has been a quiet one out of ANZ's camp, with no price-sensitive announcements linking back to share price movements in December.
However, the recent pullback in the bank's share price has caught the attention of several leading brokers who are constructive on the Australian banking sector and specific names within the domain.
For instance, Morgans is bullish on ANZ and rates it as a buy with a $31 price target in a recent note out to clients. Morgans likes ANZ's dividend prospects and thinks the sector as a whole will perform well into the coming years.
The broker is forecasting a juicy circa 8% dividend yield for investors to sink their teeth into in FY22, language that undoubtedly has investors taking close notice.
Bell Potter is equally as bullish on ANZ and valued the company at $30 per share in a recent note. It too is forecasting a respectable dividend yield of more than 5% for ANZ in the coming year.
Not to mention that ANZ has its place in many large, institutional investment portfolios as a long-term compounder and for those managers chasing the bank's hefty dividend that's trading on a 5% trailing yield.
Moreover, as previously reported by Tony Yoo of The Motley Fool, 9 out of the 14 analysts covering the stock have it as a buy in some respect.
So even though price-sensitive news out of ANZ's camp has been light this month, the spate of analyst activity is undoubtedly keeping the bank's share price in the spotlight as we roll on into the new year.
And with more analysts jumping on the gravy train recommending it as a buy, ANZ is reclaiming losses suffered in the final months of 2021.
ANZ share price summary
The ANZ share price has climbed more than 22% in the last 12 months after jumping another 22% this year to date.
In the past month, it has gained another 4.5% and is in the green across the previous 5 days of trading.
Each of these returns has outpaced the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)'s return across these time frames.
