Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Reaffirms Outperform Rating for ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB)

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated their outperform rating on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) in a report issued on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $24.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $27.00.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $24.50.

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of ConnectOne Bancorp stock opened at $18.30 on Friday. ConnectOne Bancorp has a 52 week low of $13.11 and a 52 week high of $24.44. The company has a market capitalization of $701.44 million, a PE ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $19.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $66.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.50 million. ConnectOne Bancorp had a net margin of 15.29% and a return on equity of 7.41%. As a group, analysts expect that ConnectOne Bancorp will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This is a positive change from ConnectOne Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. ConnectOne Bancorp’s payout ratio is 35.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConnectOne Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 206.8% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $80,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $165,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $207,000. 67.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConnectOne Bancorp Company Profile

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for ConnectOne Bank that provides commercial banking products and services for small and mid-sized businesses, local professionals, and individuals in the New York Metropolitan area and South Florida market. The company offers personal and business checking, money market, and time and savings accounts; credit cards, wire transfers, safe deposit boxes, automated teller services and telephone, and internet and mobile banking.