Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (NYSE:SMFG) Short Interest Up 47.0% in March

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (NYSE:SMFG) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 6,088,105 shares, an increase of 47.0% from the February 26th total of 4,141,499 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,720,547 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. PFS Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 76.8% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayban acquired a new position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 3.85% of the company’s stock.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SMFG traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $19.06. 1,920,551 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,439,940. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $21.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.93. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group has a 1-year low of $11.83 and a 1-year high of $24.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.24). Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 9.38%. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.93 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on SMFG. Zacks Research upgraded Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.