Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) Rating Lowered 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 published on Tuesday.

Medallion Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ MFIN opened at $9.58 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $9.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.50. Medallion Financial has a 52-week low of $6.48 and a 52-week high of $10.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 2.11.

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $77.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.88 million. Medallion Financial had a return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 13.72%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Medallion Financial will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Medallion Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from Medallion Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.59%. Medallion Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medallion Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in Medallion Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,025,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Medallion Financial by 4.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 272,949 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,222,000 after purchasing an additional 10,974 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Medallion Financial by 52.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,820 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,656 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Medallion Financial by 60.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 140,794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after buying an additional 52,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 4,862 shares during 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.