Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

Medallion Financial Stock Up 4.3%

NASDAQ MFIN opened at $9.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $217.76 million, a PE ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 1.35. Medallion Financial has a fifty-two week low of $6.48 and a fifty-two week high of $10.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $9.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $75.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.73 million. Medallion Financial had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 8.70%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Medallion Financial will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medallion Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is a boost from Medallion Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Medallion Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 30.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medallion Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MFIN. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Medallion Financial by 1.0% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 126,625 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in Medallion Financial by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 11,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,256 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Medallion Financial by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 419,217 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,937,000 after buying an additional 2,261 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Medallion Financial by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,311 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 2,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Medallion Financial by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,842 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,461 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.56% of the company’s stock.

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.