ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $27.83 and last traded at $27.7850, with a volume of 89612 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNOB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a research note on Friday, November 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.50.

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.81 and a 200-day moving average of $24.37.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $110.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.20 million. ConnectOne Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 9.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. ConnectOne Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 58.06%.

Institutional Trading of ConnectOne Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CNOB. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,186,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,165,000 after acquiring an additional 20,408 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 21.9% in the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 59,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 10,643 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $8,311,000. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $281,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 789,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,199,000 after buying an additional 18,046 shares during the last quarter. 67.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.