ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) shares were in fine form in April.
During the month, the banking giant's shares rose a sizeable 6.2%.
As well as being far stronger than the ASX 200 index at its 1.8% gain, it also smashed what the other big four banks recorded.
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Why did ANZ shares outperform other ASX 200 banks in April?
It remains unclear exactly why investors had a preference for ANZ shares last month.
In fact, the bank was actually dealt a blow in April when the ACCC revealed that it had concerns over the proposed acquisition of the banking operations of Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN).
The ACCC's preliminary view is that the areas of competition between ANZ and Suncorp Bank that have the most potential to raise competition concerns stem from the activities in which they overlap, including: the supply of agribusiness banking, small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) banking, home loans and retail deposits (including transactions and savings accounts and term deposits). The ACCC also considers there is a higher degree of geographic overlap between ANZ and Suncorp Bank in Queensland and northern New South Wales.
However, it is worth noting that a couple of brokers spoke very positively about the bank in April. This could have given the buy-side of the equation a boost, lifting its shares in the process.
What were the brokers saying?
One of those brokers was Macquarie, which retained its outperform rating and $26.00 price target on the bank's shares.
It believes ANZ is well-placed to benefit from improving margins and market income. It expects mortgage margin pressures to be offset by slower deposit re-pricing and a more favourable lending mix.
Over at Citi, its analysts continue to rate ANZ shares as a buy with a $27.25 price target. This suggests almost 12% upside despite last month's gains. It commented:
ANZ remains our top pick in the sector, and we expect the lending momentum, particularly in institutional, to continue to differentiate vs peers.
