Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (up from $32.00) on shares of Middlefield Banc in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Middlefield Banc presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

Middlefield Banc Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of MBCN opened at $30.98 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $250.32 million, a P/E ratio of 13.77 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.68. Middlefield Banc has a twelve month low of $22.74 and a twelve month high of $34.00.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.19. Middlefield Banc had a return on equity of 8.54% and a net margin of 16.16%.The company had revenue of $20.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.30 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Middlefield Banc will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Middlefield Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Middlefield Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.33%.

Institutional Trading of Middlefield Banc

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its stake in shares of Middlefield Banc by 107.2% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 2,047 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Middlefield Banc by 650.4% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,769 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Middlefield Banc during the first quarter valued at about $155,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Middlefield Banc by 3,024.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,624 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 6,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Middlefield Banc during the second quarter valued at about $243,000. 31.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.