Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

Medallion Financial Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ MFIN opened at $9.50 on Friday. Medallion Financial has a 52-week low of $6.48 and a 52-week high of $10.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $8.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.17 million, a P/E ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 2.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) last posted 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 return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 13.72%. The business had revenue of $77.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.88 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Medallion Financial will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Medallion Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date is 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 23.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 4,002 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 worth $3,394,000 after purchasing an additional 9,849 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Medallion Financial by 297.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 26,063 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 19,508 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in Medallion Financial in the third quarter valued at $117,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Medallion Financial by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 204,558 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,665,000 after buying an additional 1,333 shares in the last quarter. 40.56% of the stock is currently 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.