Insider Buying: ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) Director Buys 2,691 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director Susan C. O'donnell purchased 2,691 shares of ConnectOne Bancorp at an average price of $22.30, increasing her total holdings to 8,523 shares.
• ConnectOne Bancorp announced a dividend of $0.18 per share to be paid on September 2nd, representing a 3.2% yield based on an annual dividend payout of $0.72.
• The company's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, with an EPS of $0.55 against a consensus estimate of $0.52, along with reported revenue of $84.65 million.

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB - Get Free Report) Director Susan C. O'donnell acquired 2,691 shares of ConnectOne Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $22.30 per share, with a total value of $60,009.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 8,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $190,062.90. The trade was a 46.14% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CNOB traded up $0.04 on Friday, hitting $22.73. 13,847 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 239,616. The company's 50 day moving average price is $23.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $874.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.11 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $20.61 and a one year high of $29.31.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. ConnectOne Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.51% and a net margin of 6.85%. The firm had revenue of $84.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.80 million. Research 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 will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. ConnectOne Bancorp's payout ratio is 82.76%.

Institutional Trading of ConnectOne Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNOB. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,294,385 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $52,564,000 after purchasing an additional 8,595 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,186,965 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,165,000 after buying an additional 20,408 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 33.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,160,058 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,870,000 after buying an additional 288,530 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in ConnectOne Bancorp by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 826,463 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,934,000 after acquiring an additional 155,573 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in ConnectOne Bancorp by 2.3% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 789,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,199,000 after acquiring an additional 18,046 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CNOB. Wall Street Zen raised ConnectOne Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on ConnectOne Bancorp from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price target on ConnectOne Bancorp from $29.00 to $29.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th.

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.