Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN)

Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,500 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,002 shares during the quarter. Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.46% of Middlefield Banc worth $1,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in Middlefield Banc by 104.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Middlefield Banc by 127.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,180 shares of the bank’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 6,832 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Middlefield Banc by 5.1% in the third 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 period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Middlefield Banc by 69.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,916 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 6,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 963 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 31.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MBCN shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Middlefield Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Middlefield Banc from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Hovde Group dropped their target price on shares of Middlefield Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Middlefield Banc Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of MBCN opened at $25.68 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Middlefield Banc Corp. has a 12-month low of $20.61 and a 12-month high of $34.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $26.46 and its 200 day moving average is $27.90. The company has a market capitalization of $207.23 million, a PE ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 0.70.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.14. Middlefield Banc had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 7.47%. Research analysts expect that Middlefield Banc Corp. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlefield Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase from Middlefield Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Middlefield Banc’s payout ratio is currently 43.75%.

Middlefield Banc 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.