Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) Short Interest Down 20.0% in December

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MBCN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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 note on Tuesday, November 12th.

Middlefield Banc Price Performance

Middlefield Banc stock opened at $25.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.42 million, a P/E ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 0.71. Middlefield Banc has a one year low of $20.61 and a one year high of $34.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.64.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last posted its 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 net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 6.86%. The company had revenue of $16.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.10 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Middlefield Banc will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Middlefield Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Middlefield Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.45%.

Institutional Trading of Middlefield Banc

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Middlefield Banc by 0.8% in 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 increased its stake in Middlefield Banc by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 102,516 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,952,000 after acquiring an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Middlefield Banc by 69.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,916 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 6,918 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Middlefield Banc by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,536 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings 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 worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 6,832 shares in the last quarter. 31.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.