Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Strong Sell

Zacks Research cut shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE SMFG opened at $21.32 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $18.79 and its 200 day moving average is $16.99. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group has a 52 week low of $11.83 and a 52 week high of $21.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The company has a market cap of $136.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.36.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.41 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisbourg Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 39,152 shares of the bank’s stock worth $757,000 after acquiring an additional 12,500 shares in the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC now owns 14,800 shares of the bank’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398 shares in the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 32,849 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 9,324 shares during the period. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group lifted its position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 23,141 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the period. 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.