Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) Shares Bought by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,536 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 804 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Middlefield Banc were worth $476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Middlefield Banc by 48.9% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,668 shares of the bank’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Middlefield Banc by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 386,196 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,222,000 after purchasing an additional 3,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Middlefield Banc during the 3rd quarter worth $225,000. 31.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised Middlefield Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Middlefield Banc Price Performance

MBCN stock opened at $31.72 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $255.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02 and a beta of 0.69. Middlefield Banc Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $20.61 and a fifty-two week high of $37.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $29.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.78.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.18). Middlefield Banc had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 13.31%. The firm had revenue of $16.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.10 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Middlefield Banc Corp. will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlefield Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Middlefield Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.45%.

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.