Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) Increases Dividend to $0.21 Per Share

Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 11th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of 0.21 per share by the bank on Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Middlefield Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20.

Middlefield Banc has raised its dividend payment by an average of 7.2% annually over the last three years. Middlefield Banc has a dividend payout ratio of 38.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Middlefield Banc to earn $2.12 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.7%.

Middlefield Banc Price Performance

MBCN traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.61. 2,005 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,414. Middlefield Banc has a one year low of $20.61 and a one year high of $34.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.14. Middlefield Banc had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 14.31%. As a group, research analysts predict that Middlefield Banc will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MBCN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Middlefield Banc from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Hovde Group dropped their price objective on shares of Middlefield Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Middlefield Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

Middlefield Banc Company Profile

Middlefield Banc Corp. operates as the bank holding company for The Middlefield Banking Company that provides various commercial banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, small business owners, and retail customers in northeastern and central Ohio. It offers checking, savings, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, money market accounts, time certificates of deposit, commercial loans, real estate loans, various consumer loans, safe deposit facilities, and travelers' checks.