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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

Medallion Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MFIN opened at $7.91 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.28. Medallion Financial has a 1-year low of $6.28 and a 1-year high of $10.49. The stock has a market cap of $184.94 million, a PE ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 2.17.

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $71.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.39 million. Medallion Financial had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 14.97%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Medallion Financial will post 1.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medallion Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Medallion Financial’s payout ratio is 18.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medallion Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Denali Advisors LLC raised its stake in Medallion Financial by 100.4% in the 1st quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 44,700 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 22,400 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Medallion Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $161,000. AJOVista LLC bought a new stake in Medallion Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $90,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Medallion Financial by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 98,279 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $777,000 after acquiring an additional 3,125 shares during the period. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Medallion Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $169,000. 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.