Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Shares of Medallion Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:MFIN - Get Free Report) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $9.01 and traded as high as $9.58. Medallion Financial shares last traded at $9.29, with a volume of 31,975 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Medallion Financial from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday.

Medallion Financial Stock Up 1.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $222.64 million, a PE ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 1.33. The company's fifty day moving average price is $9.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.01. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $75.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $51.73 million. Medallion Financial had a return on equity of 8.70% and a net margin of 11.96%. Analysts forecast that Medallion Financial Corp. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Medallion Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.01%. This is a boost from Medallion Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. 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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tieton Capital Management LLC raised its position in Medallion Financial by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Tieton Capital Management LLC now owns 987,098 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $9,269,000 after acquiring an additional 184,172 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Medallion Financial by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 419,217 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,937,000 after acquiring an additional 2,261 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Medallion Financial by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 148,666 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,396,000 after acquiring an additional 6,553 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Medallion Financial by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 134,584 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,264,000 after acquiring an additional 7,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Medallion Financial by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 132,143 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,241,000 after purchasing an additional 35,917 shares in the last quarter. 40.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Medallion Financial

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.