Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) Raised to “Buy” at 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 Medallion Financial stock opened at $7.97 on Wednesday. Medallion Financial has a 12 month low of $5.75 and a 12 month high of $10.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.34 million, a P/E ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 2.08. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.71.

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The credit services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). Medallion Financial had a return on equity of 12.47% and a net margin of 17.96%. The company had revenue of $52.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.89 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Medallion Financial will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medallion Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Medallion Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.87%.

Institutional Trading of Medallion Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MFIN. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Medallion Financial by 1.3% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 94,804 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $666,000 after buying an additional 1,213 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Medallion Financial by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 87,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $612,000 after acquiring an additional 17,472 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in Medallion Financial by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 81,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Medallion Financial by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 73,738 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 20,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its stake in shares of Medallion Financial by 395.0% in the third quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 59,361 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 47,368 shares during the last quarter. 40.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Medallion Financial

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.