Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Middlefield Banc Corp. $MBCN

Key Points

• Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. has increased its stake in Middlefield Banc Corp. by 42.5%, now holding 27,731 shares valued at approximately $775,000.
• Middlefield Banc reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.76, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.57, with a net margin of 16.16%.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, yielding 2.7%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 29th.

Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN - Free Report) by 42.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,731 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 8,269 shares during the quarter. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. owned approximately 0.34% of Middlefield Banc worth $775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citadel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Middlefield Banc by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 18,608 shares of the bank's stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 1,827 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Middlefield Banc by 9.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 26,525 shares of the bank's stock valued at $741,000 after buying an additional 2,216 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Middlefield Banc by 3,024.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,624 shares of the bank's stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 6,412 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Middlefield Banc by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 10,174 shares of the bank's stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 2,310 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Middlefield Banc by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 80,885 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,269,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares during the period. 31.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $33.00 price objective (up from $32.00) on shares of Middlefield Banc in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.00.

Middlefield Banc Price Performance

NASDAQ MBCN opened at $31.16 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $29.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Middlefield Banc Corp. has a 12-month low of $22.74 and a 12-month high of $34.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $251.77 million, a P/E ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 0.47.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.19. Middlefield Banc had a net margin of 16.16% and a return on equity of 8.54%. The business had revenue of $20.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.30 million. Analysts forecast that Middlefield Banc Corp. will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlefield Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Middlefield Banc's payout ratio is 37.33%.

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.

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