ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) Share Price Crosses Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB)’s stock price passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.24 and traded as high as $27.91. ConnectOne Bancorp shares last traded at $27.75, with a volume of 256,705 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Performance

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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $27.24 and its 200 day moving average is $25.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50 and a beta of 1.15.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.09. ConnectOne Bancorp had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 9.59%. The company had revenue of $114.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.80 million. On average, analysts predict that ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. ConnectOne Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 48.00%.

Institutional Trading of ConnectOne Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Algebris UK Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $15,379,000. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $2,205,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 623.5% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 306,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,095,000 after purchasing an additional 264,016 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 28.6% during the second quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 90,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,103,000 after purchasing an additional 20,200 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 24.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 983,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,777,000 after purchasing an additional 193,692 shares during the last quarter. 67.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.