Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (NYSE:SMFG) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $19.85 and last traded at $19.8350, with a volume of 300163 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.45.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Stock Up 2.2%

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 50 day simple moving average of $17.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.36.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 14th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.19. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 13.80%.The firm had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.41 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 221,149 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,342,000 after purchasing an additional 26,173 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 0.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,271,361 shares of the bank’s stock worth $174,255,000 after buying an additional 53,612 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $290,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 846.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 548,474 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,465,000 after acquiring an additional 490,506 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.85% of the company’s stock.

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.