Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) Cut to "Strong Sell" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to “strong sell” from “hold.” Weiss Ratings also lowered its rating, while the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold,” split between one Buy and one Sell rating.
• SMFG shares opened at $25.43, compared with a 52-week range of $15.18 to $27.61; the company has a market capitalization of approximately $161.1 billion.
• The bank reported quarterly revenue of $8.71 billion and EPS of $0.49, with a 16.24% net margin and 10.65% return on equity. Its CFO recently sold 4,000 shares, while several institutional investors increased their positions.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold".

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMFG opened at $25.43 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $25.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.66, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.44. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group has a one year low of $15.18 and a one year high of $27.61.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group news, CFO Kazuyuki Anchi sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.47, for a total transaction of $169,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 48,857 shares in the company, valued at $2,074,956.79. This trade represents a 7.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SMFG. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,090,741 shares of the bank's stock valued at $61,042,000 after purchasing an additional 217,929 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 20.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,846,335 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,465,000 after purchasing an additional 319,140 shares during the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group during the first quarter valued at about $33,801,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 17.9% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 1,615,819 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,912,000 after buying an additional 245,231 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its stake in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 37.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,083,145 shares of the bank's stock valued at $21,067,000 after buying an additional 296,280 shares during the last quarter. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Company Profile

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc NYSE: SMFG is a Japan-based financial services holding company headquartered in Tokyo. Through its subsidiaries, the group provides commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, payments, asset management, leasing, consumer finance and other related services to individuals, businesses, financial institutions and governments.

Its principal banking subsidiary is Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, which offers deposits, lending, foreign exchange, trade finance, capital markets services and wealth management.

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