Zacks Research Upgrades Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) to Strong-Buy

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

MFIN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Medallion Financial from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Medallion Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Medallion Financial in a report on Friday, June 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $10.50 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.50.

Medallion Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFIN stock opened at $12.04 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $276.44 million, a P/E ratio of 9.05 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $11.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Medallion Financial has a 12 month low of $7.85 and a 12 month high of $12.26.

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $84.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.98 million. Medallion Financial had a return on equity of 7.11% and a net margin of 9.25%. Sell-side analysts predict that Medallion Financial will post 1.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Medallion Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Medallion Financial by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 78,555 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $802,000 after purchasing an additional 9,968 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Medallion Financial by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 26,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 2,749 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Medallion Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $620,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Medallion Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $190,000. Finally, PDT Partners LLC acquired a new position in Medallion Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $185,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.56% of the company’s stock.

About Medallion Financial

Medallion Financial Corporation is a specialty finance company that provides financing to individuals and businesses, with a historical focus on loans secured by taxicab medallions and related taxi assets. Through its lending subsidiaries, the company has supported taxi operators and medallion owners in major U.S. metropolitan areas.

In addition to taxi-medallion lending, Medallion Financial has expanded into other consumer and commercial finance activities. Its businesses have included recreational lending for products such as boats and recreational vehicles, as well as financing for home improvements and other consumer purposes.