Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (NYSE:SMFG) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $24.89 and last traded at $24.5960, with a volume of 2884841 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMFG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Zacks Research upgraded Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy”.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Stock Up 1.8%

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.43.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The bank reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 15.68%. As a group, analysts forecast that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMFG. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 26.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 177,249 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,740,000 after purchasing an additional 36,522 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 40.5% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 18,253 shares of the bank’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 5,258 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 41.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,163 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 336.4% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 39,574 shares of the bank’s stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 30,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 43.9% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 32,398 shares of the bank’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 9,876 shares in the last quarter. 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.