Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) Upgraded 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 report report published on Monday.

Medallion Financial Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ MFIN opened at $9.46 on Monday. Medallion Financial has a one year low of $6.48 and a one year high of $10.14. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.05. The firm has a market cap of $219.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. Medallion Financial had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The company had revenue of $77.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Medallion Financial will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medallion Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.65%. This is a positive change from Medallion Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Medallion Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medallion Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MFIN. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Medallion Financial by 30.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 187,408 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,439,000 after acquiring an additional 43,917 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Medallion Financial by 60.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 140,794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 52,857 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Medallion Financial by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 98,279 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 3,125 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Medallion Financial during the second quarter worth $462,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Medallion Financial by 100.4% in the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 44,700 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 22,400 shares during the last quarter. 40.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.