Shares in Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) are falling today and now sit at $25.16 apiece.
The banking giant has been underperforming the other majors and is now 4.8% in the red this week.
ANZ shares are now down 10% in 2022 compared to a loss of 8% for the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) and 9% for the S&P 500 index (NYSE: SPX).
ANZ is the worst performer among the big four banks this year. The second worst performer is Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) down 8.7% year to date. The best performer is Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), up 1.5%.
Why is the ANZ share price tracking lower?
Market pundits have overlooked ANZ shares in favour of the other banks this year. Although, investors should note that ANZ is one of the only banks not to have reported its half-yearly accounts.
ASX banking shares took off in January amid talks of a shifting interest rates regime and hot-running inflation.
Now, with economic sanctions placed on some Eastern European banks due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there's nervousness in the global banking sector. This is reflected in the price movements of banking indices around the world.
Benchmark's tracking shows each of the Australian, American and European (shown by the German banking index) indexes falling into the red, as seen below.
In fact, the trend is quite clear when we look at the number of S&P 500 financial stocks that are above their 200-day moving average versus the number above their 50-day moving average.
For reference, if a stock is trading above either of these two averages, it tends to be considered in an uptrend.
Both have taken a big step backwards in the last month or so, however, the number of S&P 500 financials stocks trading above the 200-day is down 40% whereas the number below their 10-week average is 72%.
Check out the volatility of these numbers on the chart below to see how things have progressed for ASX financials over the past 12 months.
The market is continuing to digest the wave of macro-economic activity that's shaking up the financial system. This is most certainly impacting shares like ANZ.
Not everyone is as downbeat on ANZ
Analysts at JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs are both bullish on the bank and recommend it as a buy right now. Both brokers like ANZ's prospects for 2022. JP Morgan increased its net interest margin (NIM) forecasts by 3% for FY23/24 to reflect rate hikes this year.
Goldman thinks the bank is making good progress on its mortgage business to become more competitive. It has a target of almost $31 for the ANZ share price. JP Morgan values ANZ at a price of $30.50 per share. Both suggest more than 20% upside at the time of writing.
As The Motley Fool reported yesterday, about 60% of brokers have ANZ as a buy right now with a consensus price target of $29.13.
