Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Medallion Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MFIN opened at $7.76 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.69. The company has a market cap of $181.43 million, a PE ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 2.08. Medallion Financial has a 12-month low of $5.64 and a 12-month high of $10.49.

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The credit services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $52.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.89 million. Medallion Financial had a return on equity of 12.47% and a net margin of 17.96%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Medallion Financial will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Medallion Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.15%. Medallion Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medallion Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Medallion Financial by 1.3% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 94,804 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $666,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in Medallion Financial by 2.5% during the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 81,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Medallion Financial by 10.8% during the third quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 26,100 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 2,543 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in Medallion Financial by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 37,663 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 4,144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC bought a new stake in Medallion Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $57,000. 40.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Medallion Financial Company Profile

Medallion Financial Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty finance company in the United States. It operates in four segments: Recreation Lending, Home Improvement Lending, Commercial Lending, and Taxi Medallion Lending. The company offers loans that finance consumer purchases of recreational vehicles, boats, and other consumer recreational equipment; consumer financing for window, siding, and roof replacement, swimming pool installations, and other home improvement projects; senior and subordinated loans for the purchase of equipment and related assets necessary to open a new business, or purchase or improvement of an existing business; and taxi medallion loans to individuals and small to mid-size businesses.