Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• SMFG shares crossed above their 200-day moving average, reaching $25.46 and last trading near $25.45, compared with a 200-day average of $23.74.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive but has softened: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with one Buy and one Hold rating after recent downgrades from Zacks Research and Weiss Ratings.
• The bank reported quarterly EPS of $0.49 on $8.71 billion in revenue, while institutional investors increased holdings; hedge funds and other institutions own 3.85% of the stock.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (NYSE:SMFG - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $23.74 and traded as high as $25.46. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group shares last traded at $25.4450, with a volume of 1,751,250 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SMFG shares. Zacks Research lowered Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $161.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.44. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $25.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.74.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 10.65%. Sell-side analysts expect that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

In other news, CFO Kazuyuki Anchi sold 4,000 shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.47, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 7.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,997,774 shares of the bank's stock worth $212,587,000 after acquiring an additional 161,026 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 7.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,090,741 shares of the bank's stock worth $61,042,000 after acquiring an additional 217,929 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 20.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,846,335 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,465,000 after acquiring an additional 319,140 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group during the first quarter valued at about $33,801,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 1,615,819 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,912,000 after purchasing an additional 245,231 shares during the last quarter. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

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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