Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 95,500 shares, a decline of 14.1% from the November 30th total of 111,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 10,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.8 days.

Middlefield Banc Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ MBCN traded up $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.12. 800 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,443. The firm has a market cap of $226.96 million, a P/E ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $30.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Middlefield Banc has a 12-month low of $20.61 and a 12-month high of $34.00.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $16.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.10 million. Middlefield Banc had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 13.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Middlefield Banc will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Middlefield Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. Middlefield Banc’s payout ratio is currently 45.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middlefield Banc

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MBCN. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Middlefield Banc by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,355 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,763,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Middlefield Banc by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 102,516 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,952,000 after purchasing an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Middlefield Banc by 69.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,916 shares of the bank’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 6,918 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position 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 worth $476,000 after buying an additional 804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Middlefield Banc by 127.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,180 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 6,832 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MBCN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Middlefield Banc from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Middlefield Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th.

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.