ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $32.38 and last traded at $31.95, with a volume of 460658 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on CNOB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on ConnectOne Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 27th. Piper Sandler began coverage on ConnectOne Bancorp in a report on Monday, March 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Hovde Group raised their price target on ConnectOne Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded ConnectOne Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $33.25.

ConnectOne Bancorp Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $29.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.06. ConnectOne Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.17% and a net margin of 13.21%.The business had revenue of $116.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.59 million. On average, analysts expect that ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.195 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from ConnectOne Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. ConnectOne Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 45.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConnectOne Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 195.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 728.4% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 129.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 1,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 791.0% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 4,042 shares during the last quarter. 67.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About ConnectOne Bancorp

ConnectOne Bancorp is a New Jersey‐based bank holding company whose primary subsidiary, ConnectOne Bank, offers a suite of commercial banking services to small and medium‐sized businesses, professionals and individuals. Established in 2005 and headquartered in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, the company seeks to deliver customized lending and deposit solutions through a network of branches across northern New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area.

The company’s lending portfolio centers on commercial real estate financing, construction lending, owner‐occupied real estate loans and working capital lines of credit.