Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) Stock Rating Upgraded by 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 Wednesday.

Medallion Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFIN stock opened at $7.76 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $181.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 2.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.69. Medallion Financial has a 52 week low of $5.64 and a 52 week high of $10.49.

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The credit services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). Medallion Financial had a return on equity of 12.47% and a net margin of 17.96%. The company had revenue of $52.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.89 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Medallion Financial will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Medallion Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Medallion Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.87%.

Institutional Trading of Medallion Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC acquired a new stake in Medallion Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $57,000. AJOVista LLC acquired a new stake in Medallion Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $90,000. EAM Investors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Medallion Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $125,000. PAX Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Medallion Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $130,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Medallion Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $161,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.56% of the company’s stock.

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.