Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Sunday.

Middlefield Banc Stock Performance

Shares of MBCN stock opened at $28.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. Middlefield Banc has a 52 week low of $20.61 and a 52 week high of $37.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $27.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.88. The company has a market capitalization of $232.50 million, a P/E ratio of 16.37 and a beta of 0.69.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.18). The company 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%. On average, analysts expect that Middlefield Banc will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlefield Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Middlefield Banc’s payout ratio is presently 45.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middlefield Banc

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MBCN. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Middlefield Banc in the third quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Middlefield Banc by 48.9% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,668 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 31.72% of the company’s stock.

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.