Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) Stock

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "market perform" rating on the bank's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective would indicate a potential upside of 5.54% from the company's current price.

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Middlefield Banc from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th.

Middlefield Banc Stock Performance

MBCN traded down $0.95 during trading on Friday, hitting $30.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,896. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Middlefield Banc has a one year low of $22.29 and a one year high of $34.00. The firm has a market cap of $244.99 million, a PE ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 0.41. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $29.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.29.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $18.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.23 million. Middlefield Banc had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 7.69%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Middlefield Banc will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middlefield Banc

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Middlefield Banc by 3.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,863 shares of the bank's stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Middlefield Banc by 122.4% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,319 shares of the bank's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Middlefield Banc by 5.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,437 shares of the bank's stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Middlefield Banc by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 18,308 shares of the bank's stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. 31.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.