Is Middlefield Banc Corp (NASDAQ:MBCN) the Best Financial Dividend Stock Insiders are Buying in 2024?

Insider Monkey has been scouring insider trades this year to see which stocks are seeing increased interest from corporate officers. Amid the market’s broader shift towards defensive, safe stocks that also pay dividends, we saw that insiders are flocking to buy financial and bank dividend stocks. We covered these transactions and some of the best financial dividend stocks insiders are buying recently in a separate article.

Middlefield Banc Corp (NASDAQ:MBCN), being an important regional bank, also saw insider buying and it deserves special attention and analysis.

Middlefield Banc Corp (NASDAQ:MBCN)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 2

Ohio-based Middlefield Banc Corp (NASDAQ:MBCN) is in the spotlight after the company on May 14 declared a $0.20 per share quarterly dividend, in-line with the previous dividend. The stock has a dividend yield of about 3.6%.

Middlefield is one of the stocks that saw insider buying activity recently. On May 9, Jennifer L. Moeller, a director at Middlefield Banc Corp (NASDAQ:MBCN), bought 250 shares of Middlefield Banc at $23.00 per share. The total value of this transaction was about $5,750.  On the same day, Thomas M. Wilson, an EVP at Middlefield Banc Corp (NASDAQ:MBCN), piled into 1,000 shares of Middlefield Banc Corp (NASDAQ:MBCN) at $22.38 per share. Since these two transactions, the stock price fell about 1.9%.

Middlefield Banc Corp. provides banking services to small- and medium-sized businesses, professionals, small business owners, and retail customers. The stock has lost about 29% in value so far this year. However, unlike   JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), it’s a small bank with low hedge fund sentiment.

Last month, the company posted Q1 results. GAAP EPS in the period came in at $0.51, while revenue totaled $16.77 million.

Middlefield also pleased investors back in November by announcing a special cash dividend of $0.05 per common share.

Despite this excellent track record, the stock begs the question: is it the best bank dividend stock insiders are buying in 2024? Does it make sense for individual investors to buy small-bank stocks or giants like   JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)?

The answer is no, based on Insider Monkey’s analysis.

Click to see 10 Best Financial Dividend Stocks with Insider Buying that are better than Middlefield.

Disclosure: None