Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com cut shares of Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

Middlefield Banc Trading Down 9.8 %

NASDAQ MBCN opened at $27.51 on Friday. Middlefield Banc has a 52 week low of $20.61 and a 52 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’s 50 day moving average price is $27.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The bank reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $27.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.80 million. Middlefield Banc had a net margin of 15.06% and a return on equity of 7.74%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Middlefield Banc will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlefield Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Middlefield Banc’s payout ratio is 39.02%.

Institutional Trading of Middlefield Banc

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Middlefield Banc by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 386,196 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,222,000 after purchasing an additional 3,782 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Middlefield Banc by 48.9% during the first 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 last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Middlefield Banc by 14.2% in the first quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 32,017 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $765,000 after acquiring an additional 3,989 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Middlefield Banc in the fourth quarter valued at $273,000. 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.