ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) Shares Down 3.3%

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB)’s stock price traded down 3.3% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $18.59 and last traded at $18.59. 75,997 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 166,977 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNOB has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded ConnectOne Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective (down previously from $24.00) on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

ConnectOne Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $712.55 million, a P/E ratio of 9.84 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $18.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $64.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.93 million. ConnectOne Bancorp had a net margin of 15.29% and a return on equity of 7.39%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. This is a positive change from ConnectOne Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. ConnectOne Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 38.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConnectOne Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNOB. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 698.1% during the 1st quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 676,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,197,000 after purchasing an additional 591,995 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 118.2% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 246,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,641,000 after purchasing an additional 133,384 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,086,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,270,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,009,000 after acquiring an additional 58,277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,143,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,802,000 after acquiring an additional 53,563 shares during the last quarter. 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.