Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• SMFG shares rose 3.9%, opening at $26.47 versus a prior close of $25.51 and trading above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive: Zacks downgraded the stock to “hold,” while Weiss Ratings upgraded it to “buy,” resulting in a “Moderate Buy” consensus.
• The bank reported quarterly earnings of $0.49 per share on $8.71 billion in revenue, with a 16.24% net margin and 10.65% return on equity; institutional investors increased several positions, while the CFO sold 4,000 shares.

Shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (NYSE:SMFG - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Friday. The stock had previously closed at $25.51, but opened at $26.47. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group shares last traded at $26.4690, with a volume of 109,295 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SMFG. Zacks Research lowered shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Trading Up 3.9%

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $25.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The company has a market capitalization of $167.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.42.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share 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 for the quarter. Research analysts forecast that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group news, CFO Kazuyuki Anchi sold 4,000 shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,074,956.79. The trade was a 7.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SMFG. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 18.3% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 408,740 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,638,000 after purchasing an additional 63,087 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 13,845 shares of the bank's stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 1,835 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $531,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 1,036.6% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,911 shares of the bank's stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 9,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. increased its stake in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 21,215 shares of the bank's stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 2,941 shares in 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 (SMFG) is a Japanese financial services holding company and the parent organization of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). The group provides a broad range of financial products and services to individuals, businesses, institutional clients and public-sector organizations.

Its principal activities include commercial and investment banking, retail banking, corporate lending, deposits, payments, foreign exchange and trade finance. Through affiliated companies, SMFG also offers securities brokerage and underwriting, asset management, leasing, credit cards, consumer finance and other specialized financial services.

SMFG traces its heritage to the historical Sumitomo and Mitsui banking businesses.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.