Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) Upgraded at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

Key Points

Error: Response status code does not indicate success: 429 (Too Many Requests).

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $12.00 price objective on the credit services provider's stock.

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Medallion Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th.

Medallion Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ MFIN traded up $0.69 on Thursday, hitting $10.83. The stock had a trading volume of 79,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,228. Medallion Financial has a 52-week low of $7.21 and a 52-week high of $10.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $251.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.53 and a 200-day moving average of $9.05.

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.16. Medallion Financial had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 9.51%. The business had revenue of $53.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $52.07 million. Equities analysts expect that Medallion Financial will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Medallion Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Medallion Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medallion Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MFIN. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Medallion Financial by 62.0% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,018 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 3,452 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Medallion Financial in the 4th quarter worth $92,000. D Orazio & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Medallion Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $95,000. Baron Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Medallion Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $103,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Medallion Financial by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 11,554 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,256 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.