StockNews.com Upgrades Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) to “Buy”

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Medallion Financial Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of MFIN opened at $7.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. Medallion Financial has a one year low of $5.75 and a one year high of $10.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 2.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $7.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.68.

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The credit services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). Medallion Financial had a return on equity of 12.47% and a net margin of 17.96%. The firm had revenue of $52.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.89 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Medallion Financial will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medallion Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFIN. Citigroup Inc. acquired a new position in Medallion Financial during the third quarter worth $375,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its stake in Medallion Financial by 395.0% during the third quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 59,361 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 47,368 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Medallion Financial by 100.4% during the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 44,700 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 22,400 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Medallion Financial by 37.8% during the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 73,738 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 20,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PAX Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Medallion Financial during the third quarter worth $130,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.