Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) PT Lowered to $23.00 at Hovde Group

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) had its price target trimmed by Hovde Group from $25.00 to $23.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the bank’s stock.

Middlefield Banc Price Performance

Middlefield Banc stock opened at $23.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $187.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.82. Middlefield Banc has a 1 year low of $21.36 and a 1 year high of $37.00.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.09. Middlefield Banc had a return on equity of 8.33% and a net margin of 16.41%. The company had revenue of $26.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.10 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Middlefield Banc will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Middlefield Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Middlefield Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.02%.

Institutional Trading of Middlefield Banc

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MBCN. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Middlefield Banc by 48.9% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,668 shares of the bank’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Middlefield Banc during the third quarter worth $116,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Middlefield Banc in the fourth quarter valued at $273,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in Middlefield Banc in the fourth quarter valued at $290,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Middlefield Banc by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 32,017 shares of the bank’s stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 3,989 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.72% of the company’s stock.

About Middlefield Banc

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.