Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (NYSE:SMFG) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $16.57, but opened at $17.09. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group shares last traded at $17.3960, with a volume of 675,118 shares.

The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.19. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 11.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SMFG shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Institutional Trading of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 0.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,271,361 shares of the bank’s stock worth $174,255,000 after purchasing an additional 53,612 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 6,496,260 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $100,432,000 after buying an additional 111,952 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,188,817 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $80,219,000 after buying an additional 159,320 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,886,033 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,312,000 after buying an additional 9,022 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 19.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,302,411 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,789,000 after buying an additional 378,909 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.85% of the company’s stock.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Stock Up 5.6%

The stock has a market cap of $112.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $16.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

About Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides banking, leasing, securities, credit card, and consumer finance services in Japan, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Oceania. It operates through Wholesale Business Unit, Retail Business Unit, Global Business Unit, and Global Markets Business Unit segments.