Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday morning.

Medallion Financial Price Performance

MFIN stock opened at $9.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $218.92 million, a PE ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 2.09. Medallion Financial has a 12 month low of $6.48 and a 12 month high of $10.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $9.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $77.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Medallion Financial will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Medallion Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This is an increase from Medallion Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Medallion Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medallion Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Medallion Financial by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 204,558 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,665,000 after acquiring an additional 1,333 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Medallion Financial by 52.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,820 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,656 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Medallion Financial by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,294 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $475,000 after buying an additional 4,002 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Medallion Financial by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 41,664 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 4,862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Medallion Financial by 2.4% during the third 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 during the period. 40.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.