Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Medallion Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:MFIN) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $10.04 and traded as high as $10.59. Medallion Financial shares last traded at $10.53, with a volume of 23,959 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MFIN. Zacks Research cut Medallion Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Medallion Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Medallion Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.00.

Medallion Financial Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $245.14 million, a PE ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.17. Medallion Financial had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 12.12%.The company had revenue of $55.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $53.76 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Medallion Financial Corp. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Medallion Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. Medallion Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medallion Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Medallion Financial by 10.8% during the third quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 156,909 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,585,000 after buying an additional 15,272 shares in the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP increased its position in Medallion Financial by 19.5% during the second quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 123,757 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,181,000 after buying an additional 20,212 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Medallion Financial by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 118,321 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 14,557 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in shares of Medallion Financial by 43.1% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 86,634 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $875,000 after buying an additional 26,091 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Medallion Financial by 10.5% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 83,844 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $847,000 after purchasing an additional 7,978 shares during the last quarter. 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 asset-based lending solutions to small and mid-sized businesses in the United States. The company’s core business activities include secured loans collateralized by business assets such as insurance premiums, commercial real estate, maritime assets and portfolio receivables. Through its insurance premium finance division, Medallion offers short-term loans that allow policyholders to spread insurance costs over multiple payments, while its portfolio financing arm provides funding against a borrower’s existing asset portfolios.

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Medallion Financial originally established itself in the taxi medallion lending market, extending loans secured by New York City cab medallions.