Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

Separately, Hovde Group lowered their price objective on Middlefield Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Middlefield Banc Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of MBCN stock opened at $24.37 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Middlefield Banc has a 12 month low of $20.61 and a 12 month high of $34.00. The stock has a market cap of $196.93 million, a P/E ratio of 12.69 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.66.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Middlefield Banc will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Middlefield Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. This is an increase from Middlefield Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Middlefield Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middlefield Banc

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MBCN. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Middlefield Banc by 104.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Middlefield Banc by 122.4% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,319 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Middlefield Banc by 3,024.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,624 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 6,412 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Middlefield Banc by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 10,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 2,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Middlefield Banc by 127.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,180 shares of the bank’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 6,832 shares during the last quarter. 31.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.