Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) Short Interest Update

Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 76,400 shares, a decline of 20.0% from the December 15th total of 95,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middlefield Banc

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Middlefield Banc during the third quarter worth about $225,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Middlefield Banc by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,536 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Middlefield Banc by 104.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Middlefield Banc by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 102,516 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,952,000 after buying an additional 963 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Middlefield Banc by 69.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,916 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 6,918 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.72% of the company’s stock.

Middlefield Banc Trading Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ MBCN traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $25.09. 2,022 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,186. Middlefield Banc has a 1-year low of $20.61 and a 1-year high of $34.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.61. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $202.48 million, a PE ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 0.71.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.18). Middlefield Banc had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 13.31%. The company had revenue of $16.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.10 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Middlefield Banc will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlefield Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Middlefield Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Middlefield Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Middlefield Banc from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

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.