ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $33.12 and last traded at $32.4750, with a volume of 204969 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $32.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on 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 boosted their price target on ConnectOne Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price target on ConnectOne Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, ConnectOne Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.25.

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.84.

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

ConnectOne Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.195 dividend. This is an increase from ConnectOne Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. ConnectOne Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 45.09%.

Institutional Trading of ConnectOne Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 195.6% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 728.4% in 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 last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $73,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 4,042 shares in the last quarter. 67.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.