Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) Upgraded to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Medallion Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.00.

Medallion Financial Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of MFIN traded up $0.06 on Monday, reaching $9.48. 1,674 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 54,197. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.16 million, a P/E ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $9.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.84. Medallion Financial has a 12 month low of $7.85 and a 12 month high of $11.00.

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $55.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.20 million. Medallion Financial had a net margin of 12.18% and a return on equity of 9.38%. Research analysts anticipate that Medallion Financial will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Medallion Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 19th. Medallion Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medallion Financial

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Medallion Financial by 45.0% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,708 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Medallion Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new stake in Medallion Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Medallion Financial by 533.1% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,280 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 5,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Medallion Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Institutional investors own 40.56% of the company’s stock.

Medallion Financial Company Profile

Medallion Financial Corporation is a specialty finance company that provides asset-based lending solutions to small and mid-sized businesses in the United States. The company’s core business activities include secured loans collateralized by business assets such as insurance premiums, commercial real estate, maritime assets and portfolio receivables. Through its insurance premium finance division, Medallion offers short-term loans that allow policyholders to spread insurance costs over multiple payments, while its portfolio financing arm provides funding against a borrower’s existing asset portfolios.

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Medallion Financial originally established itself in the taxi medallion lending market, extending loans secured by New York City cab medallions.