Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday morning.

Middlefield Banc Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MBCN opened at $33.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $270.35 million, a PE ratio of 19.03 and a beta of 0.69. Middlefield Banc has a fifty-two week low of $20.61 and a fifty-two week high of $37.00. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $28.16 and a 200-day moving average of $25.04.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.18). Middlefield Banc had a return on equity of 6.90% and a net margin of 13.31%. The business had revenue of $16.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.10 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Middlefield Banc will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Middlefield Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Middlefield Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MBCN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Middlefield Banc by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 386,196 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,222,000 after buying an additional 3,782 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Middlefield Banc by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,536 shares of the bank’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Middlefield Banc in the 3rd quarter worth $225,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Middlefield Banc by 48.9% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,668 shares of the bank’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.