Looking at ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) shares today, one metric will probably catch your eye. That would be this ASX 200 bank stock's hefty yield.
At the time of writing, ANZ shares are trading at $28.86, up 0.07% for the day thus far. At this price, this ASX bank share is seemingly trading on a sizeable dividend yield of 5.75%.
5.75% is well above what you can get from most other ASX bank shares. To illustrate, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) are currently trading on dividend yields of 4.85% and 4.58%, respectively. And Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) is dead in the water with its 2.7% yield right now.
That might lead one to think that ANZ's massive yield might be too good to be true. Well, let's dig into that accusation today.
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ANZ shares: Is the 5.75% dividend yield a trap for income investors?
A dividend trap occurs when an ASX share trades on a seemingly high yield, only for the stock to subsequently cut its dividend. That 'traps' in the capital of investors who bought in expecting a higher yield. If this does occur, the unlucky investor has to choose between copping the lower-than-expected income (if indeed any remains), or else sell out at a likely loss.
So is this a likely scenario with ANZ shares today?
Well, let's look at the numbers.
In ANZ's last earnings report earlier this month, the bank revealed that its basic earnings per share (EPS) were 122.5 cents, up 8% from last year's 113.5 cents per share.
ANZ then declared an interim dividend of 83 cents per share for the half. Since ANZ paid out 83 of those 122.5 cents in earnings, it had a payout ratio of 67.7% for this period. That was down from 73.3% over the same half in 2024.
That is actually a very low metric for an ASX bank. It is common to see payout ratios of 80% or even 90% of earnings from our banks. As such, this indicates that ANZ's dividend is not only stable, but unusually so for a bank.
As such, we can probably conclude that, barring some unforeseen financial crisis, ANZ shares are, in all likelihood, not a dividend trap today, and buying the bank's shares today should result in a sustainable yield going forward. Dividends are never a sure thing on the ASX. But given ANZ's long history of paying out large and steady dividends, there are certainly riskier stocks on the market when it comes to securing income.
But remember, ANZ's payouts, unlike almost every other ASX bank, don't come with full franking credits attached. The final dividend from December, as well as the interim dividend that will be doled out in July, will both be partially franked at 70%. That might explain why ANZ offers such a high yield compared with its peers today.
