Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) Share Price Passes Below Fifty Day Moving Average of $22.19

Shares of Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) passed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $22.19 and traded as low as $21.63. Middlefield Banc shares last traded at $24.05, with a volume of 58,739 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MBCN shares. Hovde Group lowered their target price on shares of Middlefield Banc from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $25.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of Middlefield Banc in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Middlefield Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th.

Middlefield Banc Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.29. 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 firm has a market cap of $194.08 million, a P/E ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 0.65.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.09. Middlefield Banc had a net margin of 16.41% and a return on equity of 8.25%. The company had revenue of $26.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.10 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Middlefield Banc Corp. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Middlefield Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. Middlefield Banc’s payout ratio is currently 39.02%.

Institutional Trading of Middlefield Banc

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MBCN. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,782 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Middlefield Banc by 48.9% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Middlefield Banc by 14.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Middlefield Banc during the 4th quarter valued at about $273,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in Middlefield Banc during the 4th quarter valued at about $290,000. 31.72% of the stock is currently 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.