Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (NYSE:SMFG) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $25.82 and last traded at $25.9510, with a volume of 2620440 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $25.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on SMFG. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Stock Up 1.1%

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $167.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.42.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The bank reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 10.19%. The company had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter. Equities research analysts forecast that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 21,541,139 shares of the bank’s stock worth $416,390,000 after purchasing an additional 404,435 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,997,774 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $212,587,000 after purchasing an additional 161,026 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 2.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,743,128 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $96,140,000 after purchasing an additional 147,963 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 7.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,090,741 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,042,000 after purchasing an additional 217,929 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,151,904 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,596,000 after buying an additional 19,520 shares during the last quarter. 3.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.