Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Monday,Zacks reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on MFIN. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Medallion Financial in a report on Friday, June 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $10.50 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Medallion Financial in a report on Thursday, July 9th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Medallion Financial from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.50.

Medallion Financial Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ MFIN opened at $12.04 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $11.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.12. The company has a market capitalization of $276.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05 and a beta of 0.81. Medallion Financial has a 12 month low of $7.85 and a 12 month high of $12.26.

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.02. Medallion Financial had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 7.11%. The firm had revenue of $84.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.98 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Medallion Financial will post 1.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medallion Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Medallion Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medallion Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in Medallion Financial by 14.5% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 78,555 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $802,000 after purchasing an additional 9,968 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Medallion Financial by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 26,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 2,749 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Medallion Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $620,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Medallion Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $190,000. Finally, PDT Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Medallion Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $185,000. 40.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Medallion Financial

Medallion Financial Corporation is a specialty finance company that provides financing to individuals and businesses, with a historical focus on loans secured by taxicab medallions and related taxi assets. Through its lending subsidiaries, the company has supported taxi operators and medallion owners in major U.S. metropolitan areas.

In addition to taxi-medallion lending, Medallion Financial has expanded into other consumer and commercial finance activities. Its businesses have included recreational lending for products such as boats and recreational vehicles, as well as financing for home improvements and other consumer purposes.