ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $33.25.

Several brokerages have commented on CNOB. Hovde Group boosted their price target 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 reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target 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. Piper Sandler began 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 on the stock. 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConnectOne Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 700,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,385,000 after purchasing an additional 158,672 shares during the period. Endeavour Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $1,787,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $18,974,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,712,000. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 579.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 705,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,488,000 after buying an additional 601,310 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.70% of the company’s stock.

ConnectOne Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CNOB opened at $32.44 on Tuesday. ConnectOne Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $21.79 and a fifty-two week high of $33.12. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.79. 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 cap of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75 and a beta of 1.06.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.59 million. Equities analysts expect that ConnectOne Bancorp will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Increases Dividend

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

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.