The market may be sinking today but the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price has managed to avoid the selloff.
At the time of writing, the banking giant's shares are up ever so slightly to $21.56.
This compares favourably to a 1.1% decline by the ASX 200 index.
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Why is the Westpac share price outperforming the ASX 200?
The Westpac share price appears to be outperforming today thanks to a bullish broker note out of Citi this morning.
According to the note, the broker has reiterated its buy rating and lifted its price target on the bank's shares to $30.00. Based on the current Westpac share price, this implies potential upside of approximately 39% over the next 12 months.
And that's before dividends! If you include the $1.60 per share fully franked dividend that Citi expects Westpac to pay in FY 2023, the total potential return stretches to over 46%.
What did the broker say?
Citi is feeling positive about the Australian banking sector thanks to the unprecedented amount of excess liquidity that the banks are sitting on. It believes that this leaves them well-placed to benefit from higher rates and has upgraded sector earnings estimates in FY 2023 and FY 2024 to reflect this.
It isn't just the Westpac share price that the broker is bullish on. It has retained its buy rating and $29.00 price target on Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) shares and upgraded National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) shares to a buy rating with a $32.75 price target.
The only big four bank the broker isn't positive on is Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA). It continues to believe that its shares are expensive and has retained its sell rating with a $85.50 price target.
