Piper Jaffray Maintains Neutral on Medallion Financial

Piper Jaffray is out with its report today on Medallion Financial TAXI, maintaining Neutral. In a note to clients, Piper Jaffray writes, "We are updating our model following our review of TAXI's 1Q11 quarterly earnings release and 10-Q filing. TAXI reported 1Q11 GAAP EPS of $0.24, a penny above our estimate. Credit quality in both the bank and 'parent' company appears controlled. TAXI has increased its funding availability outside of the bank subsequent to the end of 1Q, however, we still expect the majority of future loan growth to be in its bank where TAXI can take advantage of cheaper deposit funding. We are raising our '11/'12 GAAP EPS estimates to $1.01/$1.07 from $0.97/$1.03 primarily due to a slightly higher net interest margin. TAXI raised its quarterly dividend by ~6% to $0.17 (a 7.3% yield). We are maintaining our Neutral rating and $9 target." Shares of TAXI closed Friday at $9.26, down 0.22% from Thursday's close.