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

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

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

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Stock Performance

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group stock opened at $20.91 on Friday. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group has a 52 week low of $11.83 and a 52 week high of $21.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market cap of $134.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $19.21 and a 200-day moving average of $17.19.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 24,316 shares of the bank’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 9,566 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 24,656 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 47.8% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 150,140 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,902,000 after purchasing an additional 48,569 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC increased its stake in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 70,655 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after purchasing an additional 10,558 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 127,652 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,468,000 after buying an additional 1,458 shares during the last quarter. 3.85% of the stock is currently 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.