Rafferty Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) by 39.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,535 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp were worth $1,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $149,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, Serenus Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Hovde Group boosted their target price on ConnectOne Bancorp from $29.00 to $29.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

ConnectOne Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ CNOB opened at $22.91 on Thursday. ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.07 and a 52 week high of $29.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $881.35 million, a P/E ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $23.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.41.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.05. ConnectOne Bancorp had a net margin of 13.80% and a return on equity of 6.77%. The firm had revenue of $70.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.90 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. ConnectOne Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 38.92%.

ConnectOne Bancorp Company Profile

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.