ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) Stock Price Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB)’s share price passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $25.26 and traded as high as $27.09. ConnectOne Bancorp shares last traded at $26.9250, with a volume of 105,539 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConnectOne Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.50.

ConnectOne Bancorp Trading Down 0.3%

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 price of $25.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.71. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.62 and a beta of 1.15.

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

ConnectOne Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. ConnectOne Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 58.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConnectOne Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNOB. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in the third quarter worth $4,180,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC boosted its position in ConnectOne Bancorp by 1.6% during the third quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 438,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,876,000 after purchasing an additional 6,907 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 1.2% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 262,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,503,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in ConnectOne Bancorp by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 52,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 8,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in ConnectOne Bancorp by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,468 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 10,104 shares during the last quarter. 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.