The Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) share price has been a strong performer in 2021.
Since the start of the year, the banking giant's shares have risen a sizeable 21%.
Can the ANZ share price hit $35.00 by Christmas?
The good news for shareholders is that despite its strong gain so far this year, one leading broker appears to believe the ANZ share price has the potential to climb close to $35.00 by Christmas.
According to a note out of Morgans, its analysts have retained their add rating and $34.50 price target on the bank's shares.
Based on the current ANZ share price of $27.96, this implies potential upside of 23% before dividends.
Morgans has also pencilled in a $1.65 per share fully franked dividend in FY 2022. This represents a 5.9% yield at current prices. If you add this into the equation, the total potential return stretches to 29%.
Why does Morgans like ANZ?
Morgans believes the ANZ share price is attractive. In fact, it believes it offers the most value among the major banks right now.
In addition to this, the broker is a fan of the bank's cost reduction plans and the de-risking of its loan book.
The broker commented: "We believe ANZ is the most compelling of the major banks on a valuation basis. We expect ANZ to continue to focus on absolute cost reduction over the medium term. ANZ has de-risked its loan book over recent years – particularly its institutional loan book – such that the quality of its loan book has improved. While ANZ's Australian home loan book has been growing below system over recent months, we expect a disciplined margin performance from ANZ."
All in all, this could make the ANZ share price one to consider if you're looking for exposure to the banking sector.
