Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (NYSE:SMFG)’s share price 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 changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SMFG shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $25.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick 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 P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.42.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 16.24%.The business had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter. Analysts expect that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group news, CFO Kazuyuki Anchi sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SMFG. Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,042 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 26,726 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 613 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 2.5% during the first quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 25,274 shares of the bank’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Anchyra Partners LLC lifted its position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 4.5% during the first quarter. Anchyra Partners LLC now owns 14,329 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenspring Advisors LLC boosted its position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Greenspring Advisors LLC now owns 17,783 shares of the bank’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 3.85% of the company’s stock.

About Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

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.