Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) Shares Cross Below 50-Day Moving Average of $28.24

Shares of Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN – Get Rating) crossed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $28.24 and traded as low as $27.31. Middlefield Banc shares last traded at $27.57, with a volume of 6,710 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on MBCN shares. StockNews.com lowered Middlefield Banc from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 16th. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on Middlefield Banc in a report on Wednesday, December 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock.

Middlefield Banc Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $159.96 million, a P/E ratio of 9.54 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $28.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.58.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter. Middlefield Banc had a return on equity of 12.74% and a net margin of 29.67%. The business had revenue of $14.15 million for the quarter. Equities analysts anticipate that Middlefield Banc Corp. will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Middlefield Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 2nd were paid a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from Middlefield Banc’s previous None dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 1st. This represents a yield of 2.7%. Middlefield Banc’s payout ratio is presently 27.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middlefield Banc

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MBCN. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Middlefield Banc by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 170,434 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,022,000 after acquiring an additional 43,400 shares in the last quarter. Fundamentun LLC acquired a new stake in Middlefield Banc during the third quarter worth approximately $851,000. Fourthstone LLC grew its stake in Middlefield Banc by 55.4% during the first quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 50,375 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 17,950 shares during the period. Investment Partners LTD. acquired a new stake in Middlefield Banc during the third quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Middlefield Banc by 25.1% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 34,917 shares of the bank’s stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 6,995 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 38.43% of the company’s stock.

About Middlefield Banc

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Middlefield Banc Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of personal and commercial banking solutions. It offers checking, savings, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, money market accounts, time certificates of deposit, commercial loans, real estate loans, a variety of consumer loans, safe deposit facilities, and travelers’ checks services.