I think it is fair to say that the month of May was not kind to the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price.
As we covered here, during the month, the banking giant's shares lost 8% of their value.
This was significantly worse that the performance of the ASX 200 index, which fell 3% over the period.
Image source: Getty Imgaes
Will June be better for the Westpac share price?
Unfortunately, after just over a week, things are not looking good for the Westpac share price and they are down 3% month-to-date.
This weakness has been driven partly by the Reserve Bank's decision to raise the cash rate and concerns that a recession could be coming.
Though, it is worth highlighting that I'm not aware of a single broker that has a price target lower than where its shares currently trade.
For example, the least positive broker that I've seen is Morgan Stanley, which has an equal-weight rating and $21.00 price target. This implies potential upside of 5% from current levels. There's also a 7% dividend yield coming in FY 2023 and FY 2024 according to the broker, lifting the total potential return to 12%.
On the other side of the coin, you have analysts at Goldman Sachs and Morgans, which have the equivalent of buy ratings on its shares with price targets of $24.67 and $24.22, respectively.
This implies potential upside of over 20% for investors. Both brokers also agree that a fully franked dividend yield of at least 7% is coming this year and next.
This could be a sign that when sentiment finally shifts, the Westpac share price could launch materially higher.
But when will that happen? That's the million-dollar question. I suspect when the cash rate finally reaches its peak, investors may come back to the banking sector. But time will tell if that is the case.
