ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) shares hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $30.80 and last traded at $30.71, with a volume of 66916 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CNOB shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.25.

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Up 1.0%

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $28.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a PE ratio of 17.86 and a beta of 1.06.

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

ConnectOne Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.195 per share. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from ConnectOne Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. ConnectOne Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 195.6% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,566 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $73,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 129.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 1,958 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 791.0% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 4,042 shares during the period. 67.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.