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 report report published on Friday morning.

Medallion Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ MFIN opened at $7.74 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $8.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.60. The company has a market capitalization of $181.74 million, a PE ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 2.06. Medallion Financial has a 1 year low of $5.64 and a 1 year high of $10.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). Medallion Financial had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 14.02%. The business had revenue of $52.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.89 million. As a group, analysts expect that Medallion Financial will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Medallion Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.17%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Medallion Financial’s payout ratio is 16.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medallion Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA grew its holdings in shares of Medallion Financial by 1,917.1% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 3,066 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 2,914 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Medallion Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC acquired a new stake in Medallion Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $50,000. Barclays PLC purchased a new position in Medallion Financial during the third quarter worth $57,000. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Medallion Financial by 420.9% in the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 8,089 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 6,536 shares during the last quarter. 40.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Medallion Financial Company Profile

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.