Middlefield Banc Corp. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.20 (NASDAQ:MBCN)

Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, November 18th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of 0.20 per share by the bank on Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th.

Middlefield Banc has increased its dividend by an average of 10.1% annually over the last three years. Middlefield Banc has a dividend payout ratio of 44.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Middlefield Banc to earn $1.86 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 43.0%.

Middlefield Banc Stock Performance

Shares of MBCN opened at $31.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $250.65 million, a P/E ratio of 17.65 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s fifty day moving average is $29.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.93. Middlefield Banc has a 1 year low of $20.61 and a 1 year high of $37.00.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $16.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.10 million. Middlefield Banc had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 6.86%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Middlefield Banc will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Middlefield Banc Company Profile

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.