ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. $CNOB Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 0.9%, owning approximately 5.68% of the company, valued at $53.17 million after buying an additional 20,408 shares.
• ConnectOne Bancorp reported earnings of $0.55 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, and announced a $0.18 quarterly dividend to be paid on September 2nd, with an annual yield of 2.9%.
• Wall Street analysts have upgraded ConnectOne Bancorp's rating from "sell" to "hold", with an average target price of $30.25 and several analysts rating it as a "buy".

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB - Free Report) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,186,965 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,408 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 5.68% of ConnectOne Bancorp worth $53,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 16.8% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Efficient Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $202,000. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $234,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $304,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at ConnectOne Bancorp

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

ConnectOne Bancorp Price Performance

CNOB stock traded up $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $25.60. 229,202 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 243,364. The company has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.43 and a beta of 1.17. ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.61 and a 52-week high of $29.31. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $24.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.69. 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 (NASDAQ:CNOB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $84.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.80 million. ConnectOne Bancorp had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 7.12%. As a group, analysts predict that ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

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.