ConnectOne Bancorp's (CNOB) "Outperform" Rating Reiterated at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued their outperform rating on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB - Free Report) in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $24.00 target price on the financial services provider's stock, down from their previous target price of $27.00.

CNOB has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ConnectOne Bancorp has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $24.50.

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of CNOB traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $18.30. The stock had a trading volume of 93,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 172,402. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.06. ConnectOne Bancorp has a 1-year low of $13.11 and a 1-year high of $24.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $701.44 million, a P/E ratio of 8.84 and a beta of 1.25.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $66.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $65.50 million. ConnectOne Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.14% and a net margin of 17.26%. Sell-side analysts predict that ConnectOne Bancorp will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a positive change from ConnectOne Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. ConnectOne Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConnectOne Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 206.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $80,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $165,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $207,000. 67.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.