Hsbc Holdings PLC Lowers Holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. $CNOB

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 47.9%, now owning 10,666 shares worth approximately $259,000.
• Investment analysts have upgraded ConnectOne Bancorp's rating from "sell" to "hold" and the stock has a consensus "Buy" rating with an average target price of $30.25.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.8%, and insiders have recently purchased over 10,000 shares of the stock.

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB - Free Report) by 47.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,666 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,801 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp were worth $259,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 16.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,002 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Efficient Advisors LLC bought a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp in the first quarter worth approximately $202,000. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $234,000. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp in the first quarter worth approximately $281,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp in the first quarter worth approximately $304,000. Institutional investors own 67.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConnectOne Bancorp

In other ConnectOne Bancorp news, Director Stephen T. Boswell purchased 6,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.23 per share, with a total value of $137,826.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 280,467 shares in the company, valued at $6,234,781.41. This trade represents a 2.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joseph T. Javitz sold 1,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.46, for a total transaction of $43,282.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $538,377.16. The trade was a 7.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 10,391 shares of company stock valued at $231,210. 6.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of CNOB traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $24.90. 219,155 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 255,999. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.62 and a beta of 1.17. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.61 and a 12-month high of $29.31. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $24.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.62.

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

ConnectOne Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. ConnectOne Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $30.25.

ConnectOne Bancorp 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.