Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:MFG) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:MFG) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,950,000 shares, a growth of 53.5% from the February 28th total of 1,270,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,390,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Mizuho Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MFG traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $5.51. 1,778,242 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,354,074. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.95. Mizuho Financial Group has a 52 week low of $3.45 and a 52 week high of $6.08. The company has a market cap of $69.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.39.

Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE:MFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.05. Mizuho Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.56% and a net margin of 7.85%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mizuho Financial Group will post 0.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mizuho Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MFG. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Mizuho Financial Group by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 23,558,714 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $115,201,000 after buying an additional 8,329,657 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Mizuho Financial Group by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,622,960 shares of the bank’s stock worth $73,664,000 after purchasing an additional 4,167,234 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Mizuho Financial Group by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,121,663 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $78,835,000 after purchasing an additional 2,454,233 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Mizuho Financial Group by 86.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,743,983 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,648,000 after purchasing an additional 4,508,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mizuho Financial Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,430,732 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,776,000 after buying an additional 74,822 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

About Mizuho Financial Group

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in banking, trust, securities, and other businesses related to financial services in Japan, the Americas, Europe, Asia/Oceania, and internationally. It operates through Retail & Business Banking Company, Corporate & Institutional Company, Global Corporate Company, Global Markets Company, Asset Management Company, and Others segments.