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

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

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Medallion Financial in a report on Friday, June 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $10.50 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Medallion Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.25.

Medallion Financial Stock Up 1.3%

MFIN stock opened at $10.34 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $238.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.99 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Medallion Financial has a 12 month low of $7.85 and a 12 month high of $11.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.75.

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $79.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.15 million. Medallion Financial had a return on equity of 7.73% and a net margin of 10.35%. As a group, analysts forecast that Medallion Financial will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medallion Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.14 dividend. This is an increase from Medallion Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Medallion Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.84%.

Institutional Trading of Medallion Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MFIN. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Medallion Financial by 4.4% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 26,318 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 1,112 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Medallion Financial by 45.0% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,708 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Medallion Financial by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,672 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Medallion Financial by 6.7% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 29,712 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 1,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Medallion Financial by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 24,043 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 2,052 shares during the period. 40.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.