Middleburg Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:MBRG)

marketprofile01 (61.62) Submitted: 3/11/2012 10:58:13 AM : Start Price: $15.22 MBRG Score: +4.44

Sokol play

joecourt (< 20) Submitted: 8/16/2011 9:56:47 PM : Start Price: $14.58 MBRG Score: -12.23

Maybe I just want to believe this is Sokol's Berkshire, and that it will perform as well as Buffet's.

MizzouFanVan (89.99) Submitted: 10/25/2010 2:09:41 PM : Start Price: $13.70 MBRG Score: -1.13

Stock Picker - 5 Star, Pays Dividend, Down at Least 20% over last 12 months

AriEagleye (< 20) Submitted: 4/28/2010 1:07:56 PM : Start Price: $16.60 MBRG Score: -24.59

going to hit high in 3yrs or so

JakilaTheHun (99.94) Submitted: 3/30/2010 8:07:43 AM : Start Price: $14.96 MBRG Score: -14.35

This isn't a high conviction pick for me. In fact, I'm not even totally sure I should be green thumbing this one. It is probably undervalued (like most commercial banks), but not significantly so. If earnings figures hold up, looks like it should be worth around $20 - $25.

There are, however, a few things that make this an intriguing pick:

(1) It is well capitalized
(2) Net interest margins are very strong
(3) It is headquartered in Northern Virginia; more in what-I-call the "retirement zone" area outside of the outer DC 'burbs
(4) It is still profitable even during one of the worst periods for small commercial banks, and
(5) David Sokol, who is potentially the next CEO of Berkshire Hathaway once Buffett steps down, seems to be buying into this thing like crazy

I have no idea what Sokol sees in Middleburg and Ravi Nagarajan's article on the issue is the only reason I ever noticed it:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/195892-why-is-david-sokol-so-interested-in-middleburg-financial

But I'll go ahead and go along for the ride. There's probably enough of a margin for error so that even if this isn't the growth bank of the century, I can still come out with a positive CAPS score.

Beebzer (95.91) Submitted: 3/29/2010 2:19:36 PM : Start Price: $14.37 MBRG Score: -9.58

Hey, I tried to add this stock to my Caps list on the basis of insider buying over a month ago, but it wouldn't let met. What gives??