StockNews.com Upgrades Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) to “Hold”

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Middlefield Banc Trading Down 2.9 %

NASDAQ MBCN traded down $0.94 on Tuesday, hitting $31.50. 11,478 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,521. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $28.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Middlefield Banc has a 52-week low of $20.61 and a 52-week high of $37.00. The company has a market capitalization of $254.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Institutional Trading of Middlefield Banc

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MBCN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Middlefield Banc by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 386,196 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,222,000 after purchasing an additional 3,782 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Middlefield Banc by 48.9% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,668 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Middlefield Banc during the third quarter worth $225,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Middlefield Banc by 5.1% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,536 shares of the bank’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. 31.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.