ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a report on Friday, November 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ConnectOne Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.50.

ConnectOne Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of ConnectOne Bancorp stock opened at $26.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.78. ConnectOne Bancorp has a 12 month low of $20.61 and a 12 month high of $28.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. ConnectOne Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 9.90%.The firm had revenue of $110.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.20 million. As a group, analysts predict that ConnectOne Bancorp will post 2.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. ConnectOne Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 58.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in ConnectOne Bancorp by 76.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,882,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,517,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252,614 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 33.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,160,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,870,000 after purchasing an additional 288,530 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 24.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 983,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,777,000 after purchasing an additional 193,692 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $18,974,000. Finally, Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 29.3% during the third quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 700,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,385,000 after buying an additional 158,672 shares during the period. 67.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConnectOne Bancorp Company Profile

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.