Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) Shares Pass Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $30.80 and traded as high as $34.40. Middlefield Banc shares last traded at $34.17, with a volume of 91,770 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MBCN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $35.00 price target (up from $32.00) on shares of Middlefield Banc in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised Middlefield Banc from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Middlefield Banc from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.00.

Middlefield Banc Stock Up 1.7%

The company has a market cap of $276.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.01. Middlefield Banc had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 18.39%.The business had revenue of $19.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.57 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Middlefield Banc Corp. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlefield Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Middlefield Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.18%.

Institutional Trading of Middlefield Banc

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MBCN. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Middlefield Banc by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 26,525 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $741,000 after buying an additional 2,216 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Middlefield Banc by 5.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,437 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Middlefield Banc during the first quarter valued at about $155,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Middlefield Banc in the first quarter valued at about $396,000. Finally, Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Middlefield Banc by 42.5% in the first quarter. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. now owns 27,731 shares of the bank’s stock worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 8,269 shares during the period. 31.72% of the stock is owned by 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.