ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 774,700 shares, an increase of 20.6% from the January 31st total of 642,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 199,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in ConnectOne Bancorp by 792.3% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $149,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Finally, Serenus Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Institutional investors own 67.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNOB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on ConnectOne Bancorp from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th.

ConnectOne Bancorp Price Performance

ConnectOne Bancorp stock traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $23.77. 57,266 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 193,995. The firm has a market cap of $912.07 million, a PE ratio of 13.38 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.10. ConnectOne Bancorp has a 12 month low of $17.07 and a 12 month high of $29.31.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.10. ConnectOne Bancorp had a net margin of 13.80% and a return on equity of 6.77%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ConnectOne Bancorp will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. ConnectOne Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.68%.

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.