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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Medallion Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ MFIN opened at $9.58 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. Medallion Financial has a 1 year low of $6.48 and a 1 year high of $10.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.01 million, a PE ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 2.12.

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Medallion Financial had a return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 13.72%. The company had revenue of $77.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.48 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Medallion Financial will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medallion Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. This is a boost from Medallion Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Medallion Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 26.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medallion Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Medallion Financial by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 416,956 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,394,000 after buying an additional 9,849 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Medallion Financial by 4.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 272,949 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,222,000 after acquiring an additional 10,974 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Medallion Financial by 32.2% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 213,477 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,738,000 after purchasing an additional 51,941 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Medallion Financial by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 204,558 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,665,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Medallion Financial by 30.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 187,408 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 43,917 shares in the last quarter. 40.56% of the stock is currently owned by 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.