It's been a happy Friday session for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and many ASX 200 shares so far today. At the time of writing, the index has gained a healthy 0.35% and is back over 8,070 points. But let's talk about ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) shares.
Although the ASX 200 is having a good day, it's been a great day for the ANZ share price so far this session. ANZ shares closed at $30.04 each yesterday afternoon. But this morning, those same shares opened at $30.20 before pushing up to a high of $30.27.
That's a new 52-week high for ANZ. It's also the highest this ASX 200 bank stock has traded at in more than seven years. Yep, you'd have to go back to May 2017 to find the last time ANZ touched this pricing.
At the time of writing, the shares have cooled off a little and are going for $30.13 each, still up 0.3% for the day thus far.
Check this all out for yourself below:
To be fair, it's been a great day for ASX banks all around. Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares have also hit a new 52-week high today. And both National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) are very close to their own (very recent) highs.
But let's focus on ANZ shares today. Although this bank has clocked a new high, it still trades at the lowest earnings multiple and highest dividend yield of the big four.
So, are ANZ shares still a buy today despite this Friday's new 52-week high?
Are ANZ shares a buy at a new 52-week high?
Well, ASX brokers have mixed feelings.
Last week, my Fool colleague James covered the views of two ASX brokers on ANZ shares – Goldman Sachs and UBS.
As we discussed at the time, Goldman liked what it saw in ANZ's recent quarterly update. The broker noted that the bank's "asset quality… remains remain better than 2020 levels across a number of metrics" and that "ANZ's balance sheet continues to grow".
However, although Goldman gave ANZ a buy rating, it also gave its shares a 12-month price target of $29.48, which is obviously below where they trade today.
UBS was a little more bullish. Following that quarterly update, it also gave ANZ a buy rating but a price target of $32, implying there's still some upside to be squeezed out of the bank.
But there's another ASX broker who is telling investors to look for their next buy elsewhere. This week, my Fool colleague Bronwyn looked at Macquarie's views. Macquarie isn't impressed with ANZ or any of the major banks right now.
It gave ANZ a share price target of just $26.50, implying that the bank will fall more than 12% from its current position over the coming 12 months.
It seems the ASX broker community has mixed opinions on ANZ shares right now. Only some of them will end up being right, so stay tuned. Nevertheless, no one can take away the fact that ANZ shares have risen by 20.4% over the past 12 months.
