Rafferty Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. $CNOB

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) by 74.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 51,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 22,117 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp were worth $1,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Endeavour Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $1,787,000. CenterBook Partners LP lifted its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 84.0% in the third quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 54,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,348,000 after acquiring an additional 24,813 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in ConnectOne Bancorp by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 88,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,189,000 after purchasing an additional 5,032 shares in the last quarter. Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 29.9% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 3,248 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.70% of the company’s stock.

ConnectOne Bancorp Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of ConnectOne Bancorp stock opened at $26.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.61 and a twelve month high of $29.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $27.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.92.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $114.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $114.80 million. ConnectOne Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 11.83%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. ConnectOne Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CNOB shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Hovde Group decreased their price objective on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from $32.50 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a research note on Friday, November 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on ConnectOne Bancorp from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, ConnectOne Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.67.

ConnectOne Bancorp Company Profile

ConnectOne Bancorp is a New Jersey‐based bank holding company whose primary subsidiary, ConnectOne Bank, offers a suite of commercial banking services to small and medium‐sized businesses, professionals and individuals. Established in 2005 and headquartered in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, the company seeks to deliver customized lending and deposit solutions through a network of branches across northern New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area.

The company’s lending portfolio centers on commercial real estate financing, construction lending, owner‐occupied real estate loans and working capital lines of credit.