ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) Shares Down 7%

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB)’s stock price traded down 7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $18.34 and last traded at $18.34. 47,591 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 171,746 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James increased their price target on ConnectOne Bancorp from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on ConnectOne Bancorp from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com cut ConnectOne Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 target price (down previously from $27.00) on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.50.

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $701.44 million, a PE ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $66.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.50 million. ConnectOne Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.41% and a net margin of 15.29%. Research analysts expect that ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. 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 yield of 3.93%. ConnectOne Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.98%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 206.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $80,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $165,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $207,000. 67.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.