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

Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN – Get Rating) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 39,300 shares, a decline of 46.0% from the April 30th total of 72,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 15,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on Middlefield Banc in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “sell” rating for the company.

Middlefield Banc Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of MBCN stock opened at $23.36 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $26.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.44. Middlefield Banc has a twelve month low of $22.09 and a twelve month high of $30.00. The company has a market capitalization of $188.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $21.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.50 million. Middlefield Banc had a net margin of 23.92% and a return on equity of 11.45%. Research analysts forecast that Middlefield Banc will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlefield Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 1st. Middlefield Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Middlefield Banc by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 25,646 shares of the bank’s stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Middlefield Banc in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $104,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Middlefield Banc by 0.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 96,410 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,393,000 after buying an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC grew its position in shares of Middlefield Banc by 55.4% during the first quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 50,375 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,250,000 after buying an additional 17,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Middlefield Banc by 8.1% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,700 shares of the bank’s stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 1,323 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.43% of the company’s stock.

Middlefield Banc Company Profile

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Middlefield Banc Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of personal and commercial banking solutions. It offers checking, savings, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, money market accounts, time certificates of deposit, commercial loans, real estate loans, a variety of consumer loans, safe deposit facilities, and travelers’ checks services.