Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold”.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SMFG opened at $20.91 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.19. The stock has a market cap of $134.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $11.83 and a fifty-two week high of $21.54.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The bank reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.41 billion. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group had a net margin of 13.80% and a return on equity of 9.14%. Equities analysts expect that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group will post 0.39 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SMFG. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 177,249 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after buying an additional 36,522 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 40.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 18,253 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 5,258 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 41.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,163 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 336.4% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 39,574 shares of the bank’s stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 30,506 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 43.9% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 32,398 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 9,876 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.85% of the company’s stock.

About Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc (SMFG) is a Tokyo-based financial holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial services through a network of domestic and international subsidiaries. Established in 2002 as a holding company for the Sumitomo Mitsui banking operations, SMFG’s core banking business is conducted primarily through its main operating bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), alongside other affiliates covering trust banking, securities, leasing and consumer finance.

The group’s product and service mix spans corporate and commercial banking, retail deposit and loan services, trade and project finance, cash management, syndicated lending, foreign exchange and treasury services, and capital markets and investment banking activities through its securities arm.