In late afternoon trade, the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is on course to end the week in the red.
At the time of writing, the banking giant's shares are down 0.8% to $21.16.
This latest decline means the Westpac share price is now down over 6% since the start of the month.
Should you buy the Westpac share price dip?
If the broker community is to be believed, this recent pullback could be a great buying opportunity for investors.
For example, analysts at Citi currently have a buy rating and $30.00 price target on the bank's shares. Based on the current Westpac share price, this implies potential upside of almost 42% for investors over the next 12 months.
In response to its first-quarter update, Citi said:
It is difficult to draw definitive conclusions from a Pillar 3 release, but we conclude that WBC is tracking broadly in-line with Citi's and consensus expectations.
Elsewhere, Goldman Sachs currently has a conviction buy rating and $27.74 price target on its shares. This suggests potential upside of 31% for investors. Goldman believes Westpac is well-placed for growth thanks to rising interest rates and its cost cutting. It said:
WBC's shorter-duration replicating portfolio, and current balance sheet performance, should see its NIM outperform peers, [and] despite WBC recently revising its FY24E cost target to A$8.6 bn (from A$8.0 bn), the bank's performance on cost management remains strong in this inflationary environment with a 9% step down in underlying costs expected over the next two years.
Finally, Morgans is positive and has an add rating and $25.80 price target, implying potential upside of 22%. It commented:
We view WBC as having the greatest potential for return on equity improvement amongst the major banks if its business transformation initiatives prove successful.
