Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Raises Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) Price Target to $32.00

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "market perform" rating on the bank's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price target suggests a potential upside of 5.16% from the stock's current price.

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

Middlefield Banc Trading Up 0.4%

MBCN traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $30.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,869. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $29.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $245.87 million, a PE ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.41. Middlefield Banc has a twelve month low of $22.32 and a twelve month high of $34.00.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.12. Middlefield Banc had a return on equity of 7.69% and a net margin of 14.78%. The business had revenue of $18.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.23 million. On average, analysts expect that Middlefield Banc will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased 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 worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Middlefield Banc by 122.4% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,319 shares of the bank's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Middlefield Banc by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,437 shares of the bank's stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Middlefield Banc by 1.5% in 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. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position 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 buying 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.