As an ASX 200 bank share, ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) undeniably has a reputation as a heavy hitter when it comes to dividend income.
A look at ANZ shares today will do nothing to hinder that reputation. Right now, ANZ leads the big four ASX banks when it comes to dividend yield. Right now, the ANZ share price gives the company a monstrous trailing dividend yield of 6.16%.
Of course, that comes fully franked as well, so we are looking at an ASX bank share with a grossed-up dividend yield of 8.8% right now.
That comes out on top of both Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), and National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) shares today. These banks currently offer a dividend yield of 6.1% and 5.68% at present.
It also blows away Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)'s current dividend yield of 4.34%.
So would today be a good opportunity to buy ANZ shares for some opportunistic dividend income?
Are ANZ shares a buy for massive dividends today?
Well, right off the bat, a 6.16% yield is certainly attractive from a passive income perspective.
Not only does that kind of dividend yield (even disregarding the franking) come out on top of what most ASX 200 shares are capable of offering, but it also handily exceeds any yield that you can get from other asset classes right now, such as cash term deposits or government bonds.
Not only that, but at least one ASX broker reckons ANZ will be able to keep these kinds of dividends at least constant going forward. As we covered last week, ASX broker Goldman Sachs has pencilled in a total of $1.62 per share in dividends from ANZ over FY2023, as well as over FY2024.
If Goldman is on the money here, ANZ shares would be offering a head-turning forward dividend yield of 6.45% right now.
However, before you rush out and buy ANZ shares for this rather attractive dividend income potential, it is worth pointing out some hard truths.
I personally regard ANZ as one of the ASX's worst-performing bank shares. In my view, it simply can't match CBA's scale or quality. And I don't hold the bank's leadership team in as high a regard as that of the Ross McEwan-helmed NAB.
The ANZ share price history doesn't fill me with confidence either. As it stands today, ANZ shares simply haven't gone anywhere for decades.
This bank remains down by more than 16% over the past five years, and down by around 14% over the past ten. Indeed, if an investor picked up ANZ shares way back in March 2006, they could sell them today and get almost exactly what they paid for them back then, as you can see below:
Not exactly confidence-inspiring stuff.
Foolish takeaway
So in conclusion, I would be happy to recommend ANZ shares and their 6.17% dividend yield for opportunistic dividend income today to an investor who relies on dividend income to fund their living costs. A retiree, for example.
But for any investor who is looking to achieve the best possible returns that they can, and is ambivalent about maximising pure dividend income, I think there are better options elsewhere.
