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

Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in 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 daily trading volume, of 11,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.8 days.

Middlefield Banc Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of MBCN traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $25.09. The stock had a trading volume of 2,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,186. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.61. The firm has a market cap of $202.48 million, a P/E ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 0.71. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $20.61 and a fifty-two week 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). Middlefield Banc had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 13.31%. The business had revenue of $16.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.10 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Middlefield Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Trading of Middlefield Banc

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in Middlefield Banc by 104.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Middlefield Banc by 5.1% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,536 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 804 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Middlefield Banc by 0.9% during 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Middlefield Banc by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,355 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,763,000 after acquiring an additional 1,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Middlefield Banc by 127.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,180 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 6,832 shares during the period. 31.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.