Why is the ANZ share price tumbling on Wednesday?

Is CBA dragging down the ANZ share price today?

Sebastian Bowen

Author Bio Sebastian Bowen has been a Motley Fool contributor since late 2018. Sebastian found his passion for writing and educating others about shares and all things finance after completing his studies in political, economic and social science and enjoys bringing this passion to life at the Fool. His investment philosophy is a simple one – buying high-quality companies at prices that make sense. When he’s not researching his next investment at all hours of the morning, Sebastian enjoys classic movies and likes to unwind with a good book, newspaper or record. Areas of Expertise Dividend investing ETFs Education Bachelor of Political, Economic, and Social Sciences (Government and International Relations), University of Sydney Social Media X/Twitter Favorite Investment Quote "In the short run, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run, it is a weighing machine." – Benjamin Graham

Published February 15, 2023 12:13 pm AEDT

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is taking another turn for the worse so far this Wednesday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has lost a disappointing 0.7%, putting the index down to around 7,380 points. But the ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price is faring even worse.

ANZ shares are having a clanger today. The ASX 200 bank share has tumbled by a nasty 2.3% and is back down to $25.14 a share. This latest drop means that ANZ stock has now fallen close to 3% since last Thursday:

So what's going on with this big four bank today that has ANZ shares so vastly underperforming the broader market?

Well, there are a few things that could be contributing to these losses.

A man holds his hand under his chin as he concentrates on his laptop screen and reads about the ANZ share price — Image source: Getty Images

Why is the ANZ share price having such a woeful Wednesday?

Firstly, most ASX 200 bank shares are down today, so it's not just ANZ shares feeling the pain.

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) shares are down by 2.34% at present. The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is down by 2.9%, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) has lost a notable 3.35%.

On the latter, CBA actually reported its half-year results for the six months ending 31 December 2022 this morning.

As we covered at the time, CBA reported a 12% rise in operating income to $13.59 billion, while cash net profits rose 9% to $5.15 billion. Commonwealth Bank also reported an 18 basis point lift to its net interest margin, bringing it to 2.1%.

This enabled CBA to announce a $1 billion increase to its share buyback program, as well as a 20% hike to its interim dividend to $2.10 per share.

But investors must have been hoping to see better numbers. As my Fool colleague posited this morning, perhaps investors are concerned that CBA's net interest margins have already peaked.

So with such a negative reaction from the markets to CBA's numbers this morning, it was always going to be hard for ANZ shares to eke out a gain today.

We also had some news out of ANZ itself which could be playing a role here too. The bank announced a new capital notes offer this morning, with the intention of raising $1 billion to "help meet its capital requirements"

So it's likely that a combination of these events is responsible for the disappointing ANZ share price performance we are seeing this Wednesday. Even so, this big four bank remains up by a healthy 8.9% in 2023 so far.

At the current ANZ share price, this ASX 200 bank share has a trailing dividend yield of 5.8%.

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