Versor Investments LP Makes New $710,000 Investment in ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. $CNOB

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP acquired 29,200 shares of ConnectOne Bancorp valued at approximately $710,000, increasing institutional ownership to 67.70% of the company.
• ConnectOne Bancorp reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.55, exceeding estimates, with a return on equity of 7.12% and revenue of $84.65 million.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share on September 2nd, representing a 3.0% yield annually.

Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 29,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $710,000. Versor Investments LP owned 0.08% of ConnectOne Bancorp as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 792.3% in 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 during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,002 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. Efficient Advisors LLC bought a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $234,000. 67.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at ConnectOne Bancorp

In related news, Director Susan C. O'donnell purchased 2,691 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.30 per share, with a total value of $60,009.30. Following the acquisition, the director owned 8,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $190,062.90. This trade represents a 46.14% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen T. Boswell bought 6,200 shares of ConnectOne Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $22.23 per share, for a total transaction of $137,826.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 280,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,234,781.41. The trade was a 2.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 10,391 shares of company stock worth $231,210 over the last ninety days. 6.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

ConnectOne Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of ConnectOne Bancorp stock traded up $1.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $25.48. 681,969 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 338,535. The stock has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.29 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $23.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.69. ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.61 and a 12 month high of $29.31.

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

ConnectOne Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. ConnectOne Bancorp's payout ratio is 82.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.25.

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.