Trexquant Investment LP Invests $1.82 Million in ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. $CNOB

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp, purchasing 74,810 shares valued at approximately $1,819,000 during the first quarter, amounting to 0.19% ownership of the company.
• Wall Street analysts have updated their ratings for ConnectOne Bancorp, with a consensus of a "Buy" rating and an average target price of $30.25.
• ConnectOne Bancorp announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, yielding 2.8%, with a payout ratio of 82.76%.

Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 74,810 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,819,000. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.19% of ConnectOne Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of CNOB. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 16.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,002 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Efficient Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $202,000. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $234,000. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $281,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $304,000. 67.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConnectOne Bancorp Price Performance

ConnectOne Bancorp stock traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.90. 219,155 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 255,999. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.52 and a 200 day moving average of $23.62. ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.61 and a 1-year high of $29.31. The company has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of 28.62 and a beta of 1.17.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $84.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.80 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.25.

Insider Transactions at ConnectOne Bancorp

In other ConnectOne Bancorp news, Director Stephen T. Boswell bought 6,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.23 per share, for a total transaction of $137,826.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 280,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,234,781.41. This trade represents a 2.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. O'donnell bought 2,691 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.30 per share, for a total transaction of $60,009.30. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $190,062.90. The trade was a 46.14% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 10,391 shares of company stock worth $231,210. Insiders own 6.24% of the company's stock.

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.