Rafferty Asset Management LLC Buys 12,535 Shares of ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB - Free Report) by 39.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,535 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.11% of ConnectOne Bancorp worth $1,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 792.3% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $149,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, Serenus Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Institutional investors own 67.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CNOB. Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from $29.00 to $29.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th.

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of ConnectOne Bancorp stock opened at $22.91 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $881.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 1.12. The firm's 50-day moving average is $23.03 and its 200 day moving average is $24.41. ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.07 and a 1 year high of $29.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $70.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $67.90 million. ConnectOne Bancorp had a net margin of 13.80% and a return on equity of 6.77%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. ConnectOne Bancorp's payout ratio is 38.92%.

About ConnectOne Bancorp

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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