Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) Increases Dividend to $0.21 Per Share

Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, February 10th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of 0.21 per share by the bank on Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Middlefield Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20.

Middlefield Banc has increased its dividend by an average of 7.2% per year over the last three years. Middlefield Banc has a dividend payout ratio of 38.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Middlefield Banc to earn $2.12 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.7%.

Middlefield Banc Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ MBCN traded down $0.78 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.00. The company had a trading volume of 12,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,807. The stock has a market cap of $201.75 million, a PE ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Middlefield Banc has a 12-month low of $20.61 and a 12-month high of $34.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $27.58 and its 200 day moving average is $27.83.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.14. Middlefield Banc had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 14.31%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Middlefield Banc will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MBCN. Hovde Group lowered their target price on Middlefield Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Middlefield Banc from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Middlefield Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

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.