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 report released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $12.00 price objective on the credit services provider's stock.

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

Medallion Financial Price Performance

MFIN traded down $0.07 during trading on Thursday, reaching $10.14. 67,640 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,741. The company's 50-day moving average is $9.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.05. The company has a market cap of $235.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.33. 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 has a 12-month low of $7.21 and a 12-month high of $10.75.

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

Medallion Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Medallion Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medallion Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFIN. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Medallion Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $877,000. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Medallion Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $483,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Medallion Financial by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 132,143 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,241,000 after purchasing an additional 35,917 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Medallion Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $164,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of Medallion Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $161,000. 40.56% of the stock is currently owned by 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.