Strs Ohio Takes Position in ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. $CNOB

Key Points

• Strs Ohio recently established a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp, purchasing 25,700 shares valued at approximately $625,000.
• Institutional investors control 67.70% of ConnectOne Bancorp's stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the financial services provider.
• ConnectOne Bancorp's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $0.55, exceeding expectations, with revenue of $84.65 million.

Strs Ohio bought a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 25,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $625,000. Strs Ohio owned about 0.07% of ConnectOne Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNOB. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 64.8% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 28,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 11,200 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,623 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $503,000. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $234,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 78.2% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 22,858 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 10,033 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at ConnectOne Bancorp

In other news, EVP Joseph T. Javitz sold 1,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.46, for a total transaction of $43,282.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $538,377.16. This represents a 7.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen T. Boswell bought 6,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 280,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,234,781.41. The trade was a 2.26% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 10,391 shares of company stock valued at $231,210 over the last three months. 6.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:CNOB traded down $0.26 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $25.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 74,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 249,843. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.61 and a fifty-two week high of $29.31. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $24.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.64. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09 and a beta of 1.17.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.80 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. ConnectOne Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 82.76%.

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.