Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

Medallion Financial Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of MFIN stock opened at $9.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. Medallion Financial has a one year low of $6.48 and a one year high of $10.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $9.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.51. The company has a market capitalization of $223.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 2.11.

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $52.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Medallion Financial will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medallion Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.11 dividend. 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 yield of 4.55%. Medallion Financial’s payout ratio is currently 26.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medallion Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Medallion Financial during the second quarter worth $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Medallion Financial by 52.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,820 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,656 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Medallion Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $117,000. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Medallion Financial during the third quarter valued at about $165,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Medallion Financial by 2,306.5% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 24,185 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 23,180 shares during the last quarter. 40.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.