Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) Declares $0.17 Quarterly Dividend

Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN – Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 10th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.17 per share by the bank on Wednesday, June 15th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 2nd.

Middlefield Banc has decreased its dividend by an average of 16.1% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 1 years. Middlefield Banc has a payout ratio of 26.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Middlefield Banc to earn $2.58 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.4%.

NASDAQ MBCN traded down $0.33 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.87. 1 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,583. The company has a market cap of $152.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.70 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. Middlefield Banc has a 1-year low of $22.57 and a 1-year high of $30.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $25.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.47.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.03. Middlefield Banc had a return on equity of 12.55% and a net margin of 31.63%. Equities research analysts expect that Middlefield Banc will post 2.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Several research analysts have recently commented on MBCN shares. Zacks Investment Research raised Middlefield Banc from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 28th. StockNews.com started coverage on Middlefield Banc in a report on Thursday, May 5th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock.

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MBCN. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Middlefield Banc by 229.6% in the 2nd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,037 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in Middlefield Banc by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,977 shares of the bank’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Middlefield Banc by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 94,212 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,336,000 after purchasing an additional 13,487 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Middlefield Banc by 230.3% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,309 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Middlefield Banc by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,377 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.84% of the company’s stock.

About Middlefield Banc (Get Rating)

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 provides 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.

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