Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE SMFG opened at $24.57 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market cap of $156.80 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $25.20 and its 200 day moving average is $22.82. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group has a 12 month low of $15.18 and a 12 month high of $26.67.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The firm had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter. Research analysts predict that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group will post 1.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group news, CFO Kazuyuki Anchi sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.47, for a total transaction of $169,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 48,857 shares in the company, valued at $2,074,956.79. This represents a 7.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 1.9% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $212,587,000 after buying an additional 161,026 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,743,128 shares of the bank’s stock worth $96,140,000 after acquiring an additional 147,963 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $61,042,000 after purchasing an additional 217,929 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,151,904 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,596,000 after acquiring an additional 19,520 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.85% of the company’s stock.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Company Profile

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.