The month of July certainly has been a great one so far for the Australian Stock Exchange and the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) in particular. As we just edge past the halfway point the benchmark index is up almost 4% month-to-date despite its slow start.
Whilst the index has benefitted from gains across the board, the banking sector has proven to be a top performer after it pushed into overdrive in the last week and a half.
The two standouts in the banking sector have been Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ). During this period the shares of these two banking giants have risen by a solid 5.5% and 6.2%, respectively.
But is there still value in their shares?
Personally, I'm not sure we can class Westpac Banking Corp as a bargain anymore following the strong gains recently. Its shares may be trading at a much lower share price than a year ago, but I wouldn't expect it to rise to that level for a long time to come.
Westpac shares are changing hands at 1.8x book value currently, which I would class as being about fair value.
ANZ on the other hand still remains reasonably cheap in my opinion, despite the 6.2% rise in its share price in the last week and a half. At just 1.3x book value I still see the potential for its shares to climb higher in the months ahead.
Considering at this price its shares are expected to provide an estimated fully franked 6.5% dividend this year according to CommSec, I see ANZ shares as a great option for income investors with little to no exposure to the banking sector already.
There are downside risks of course that investors must consider. A further capital raising in 2017 is without doubt the major one in many investors' eyes. But at this point in time this is purely speculation and the potential share price gains combined with its market-beating dividend are enough to offset this in my view.
