The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price reached a high of $33.09 earlier today, despite experiencing some share price wobbles through the session so far.
That puts the big bank at levels not seen since late April 2017, almost five years ago. It also sees the NAB share price up 23.3% since this time last year.
And that doesn't include dividends, mind you.
At the current price, the bank pays a trailing dividend yield of 3.8%, fully franked. Investors who bought at a lower NAB share price will be enjoying an even higher yield.
Image source: Getty Images
Why is the NAB share price outperforming?
Over the past month, NAB shares have gained 8.7%. That's roughly twice the 4.4% gains posted by the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) during that same period.
One of the drivers helping support all of the banks is the outlook for rising interest rates. While higher rates may cause some headwinds for their mortgage books, analysts broadly agree this will be more than offset by the higher margins banks will enjoy with rate hikes.
What happened over the past month?
Among the highlights of the month gone by, the bank completed its $2.5 billion on-market share buyback and reported it would undertake an additional on-market buyback of up to $2.5 billion.
While that didn't boost the NAB share price on the day, it certainly drew plenty of investor attention.
Commenting on the buyback on the day, NAB CEO Ross McEwan said, "The further $2.5 billion on-market buyback announced today supports our ambition to reduce the share count and increase sustainable ROE [return on equity] benefits for our shareholders."
National Australia Bank also received some positive broker coverage following the buyback announcement.
Bell Potter retained its buy rating and lifted its target for the NAB share price to $34.50. That's 4.6% above the current price and would represent more than 5-year highs.
The bank also pays a 3.9% trailing dividend yield, fully franked.
