ConnectOne Bancorp's (CNOB) "Hold (C)" Rating Reaffirmed at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• ConnectOne Bancorp has had its "hold (c)" rating reaffirmed by Weiss Ratings, while Wall Street Zen recently upgraded it from a "sell" to a "hold" rating.
• The company reported earnings of $0.55 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.52, with revenue of $84.65 million compared to the expected $72.80 million.
• Insiders have recently purchased shares of ConnectOne Bancorp, including significant acquisitions by directors Stephen T. Boswell and Susan C. O'Donnell, reflecting growing confidence in the company's stock.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating reissued by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded ConnectOne Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConnectOne Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.25.

ConnectOne Bancorp Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ CNOB traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $25.38. 183,652 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 332,603. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. ConnectOne Bancorp has a 52 week low of $20.61 and a 52 week high of $29.31. The stock has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 29.17 and a beta of 1.14.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. ConnectOne Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.12% and a net margin of 6.85%.The business had revenue of $84.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.80 million. Analysts forecast that ConnectOne Bancorp will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ConnectOne Bancorp news, Director Stephen T. Boswell acquired 6,200 shares of ConnectOne Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.23 per share, with a total value of $137,826.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 280,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,234,781.41. This represents a 2.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. O'donnell acquired 2,691 shares of ConnectOne Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $22.30 per share, with a total value of $60,009.30. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 8,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $190,062.90. This represents a 46.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 10,391 shares of company stock valued at $231,210 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.24% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConnectOne Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNOB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,186,965 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,165,000 after acquiring an additional 20,408 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 33.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,160,058 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,870,000 after buying an additional 288,530 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 193,692 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 52.6% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 641,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,587,000 after buying an additional 221,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 542,067 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,554,000 after buying an additional 19,085 shares in the last quarter. 67.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConnectOne Bancorp Company Profile

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for ConnectOne Bank that provides commercial banking products and services for small and mid-sized businesses, local professionals, and individuals in the New York Metropolitan area and South Florida market. The company offers personal and business checking, money market, and time and savings accounts; credit cards, wire transfers, safe deposit boxes, automated teller services and telephone, and internet and mobile banking.

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