Middlefield Banc’s (MBCN) Market Perform Rating Reiterated at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated their market perform rating on shares of Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $25.00 target price on the bank’s stock, down from their previous target price of $30.00.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Hovde Group lowered their target price on shares of Middlefield Banc from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Middlefield Banc from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Middlefield Banc Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MBCN traded up $0.59 on Thursday, hitting $23.19. The company had a trading volume of 3,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,943. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market cap of $187.14 million, a PE ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 0.65. Middlefield Banc has a 52-week low of $21.36 and a 52-week high of $37.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.27 and a 200 day moving average of $26.83.

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

Middlefield Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis 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 institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position 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 buying an additional 1,204 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Middlefield Banc during the third quarter worth about $116,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Middlefield Banc during the fourth quarter worth about $273,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Middlefield Banc in the 4th quarter worth about $290,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Middlefield Banc by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 32,017 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $765,000 after purchasing an additional 3,989 shares in the last quarter. 31.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.