Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Middlefield Banc Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of MBCN stock opened at $29.84 on Friday. Middlefield Banc has a 12-month low of $20.61 and a 12-month high of $37.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $28.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $240.84 million, a PE ratio of 16.95 and a beta of 0.69.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.29 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $16.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.10 million. As a group, analysts predict that Middlefield Banc will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Middlefield Banc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Middlefield Banc’s dividend payout ratio is 45.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MBCN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Middlefield Banc by 1.0% in the first 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 period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Middlefield Banc during the third quarter worth about $225,000. 31.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Middlefield Banc Company Profile

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.