ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• ConnectOne Bancorp has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from five brokerages, with four Buy ratings and one Hold. The average price target is $35.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.79 per share versus the $0.73 estimate, though revenue came in slightly below forecasts. Analysts now expect full-year EPS of 3.28.
• ConnectOne Bancorp also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.195 per share from $0.18, implying an annualized yield of about 2.4%. The stock traded near $32.38, close to its 52-week high of $33.97.

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $35.00.

CNOB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on ConnectOne Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Hovde Group upped their price target on ConnectOne Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on ConnectOne Bancorp from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, July 1st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConnectOne Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 76.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,882,584 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $71,517,000 after buying an additional 1,252,614 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 579.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 705,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,488,000 after acquiring an additional 601,310 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $15,712,000. Algebris UK Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 846,865 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $22,215,000 after acquiring an additional 226,523 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,180,000. 67.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConnectOne Bancorp Price Performance

ConnectOne Bancorp stock traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $32.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 414,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 518,884. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72 and a beta of 1.05. ConnectOne Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $22.07 and a fifty-two week high of $33.97. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $31.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that ConnectOne Bancorp will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current 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 is a boost from ConnectOne Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. ConnectOne Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.09%.

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.

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