ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $33.14 and last traded at $33.08, with a volume of 371997 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $32.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNOB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 27th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, ConnectOne Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $33.25.

ConnectOne Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.32 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.13.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $116.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.59 million. ConnectOne Bancorp had a net margin of 13.21% and a return on equity of 10.17%. Sell-side analysts forecast that ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.195 dividend. This is a boost from ConnectOne Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. ConnectOne Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.09%.

Institutional Trading of ConnectOne Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 195.6% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 728.4% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $73,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 129.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 1,958 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 791.0% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 4,042 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.70% of the company’s stock.

About ConnectOne Bancorp

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.