Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE:MFG) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:MFG) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $8.65 and last traded at $8.6350, with a volume of 392536 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $8.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Mizuho Financial Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Mizuho Financial Group Stock Up 1.6%

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.80. The firm has a market cap of $107.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE:MFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 28th. The bank reported ($1.61) EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $7.53 billion during the quarter. Mizuho Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 11.57%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mizuho Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in Mizuho Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $52,058,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in Mizuho Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $11,335,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mizuho Financial Group in the third quarter worth approximately $7,251,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mizuho Financial Group by 33.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,821,302 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,603,000 after buying an additional 961,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Mizuho Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,035,000. 3.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mizuho Financial Group Company Profile

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc is a major Japanese banking and financial services holding company headquartered in Tokyo. The group operates through a network of subsidiaries that provide a full range of retail, corporate and investment banking services. Its core businesses include deposit-taking and lending, transaction banking, cash management, trade finance and treasury services for both individual and institutional clients.

Beyond traditional commercial banking, Mizuho offers securities and capital markets services, investment banking, underwriting, M&A advisory, and asset management through its securities and trust banking arms.