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

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Thursday,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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:SMFG opened at $21.32 on Thursday. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $11.83 and a fifty-two 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.99. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.41 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SMFG. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 2.6% in 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 raised its holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 0.3% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,886,033 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,312,000 after purchasing an additional 9,022 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 19.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,302,411 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,789,000 after purchasing an additional 378,909 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 16.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,036,709 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,095,000 after purchasing an additional 294,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 4.4% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,921,712 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,037,000 after buying an additional 81,103 shares in the last quarter. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.