Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Medallion Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:MFIN - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $8.47 and traded as high as $9.89. Medallion Financial shares last traded at $9.61, with a volume of 32,474 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Medallion Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 16th.

Medallion Financial Trading Up 1.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $225.61 million, a PE ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 2.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $77.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.88 million. Medallion Financial had a return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 13.72%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Medallion Financial Corp. will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medallion Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This is an increase from Medallion Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.50%. Medallion Financial's dividend payout ratio is 26.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medallion Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MFIN. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in Medallion Financial in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Medallion Financial by 52.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,820 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,656 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Medallion Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $117,000. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Medallion Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $165,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Medallion Financial by 2,306.5% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 24,185 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 23,180 shares during the period. 40.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.