Michael Kempner Sells 67,800 Shares of ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) Stock

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) Director Michael Kempner sold 67,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.75, for a total value of $1,000,050.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 214,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,161,957.50. This trade represents a 24.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

ConnectOne Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CNOB opened at $25.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.61 and a 1-year high of $29.28. The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.97.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $114.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.80 million. ConnectOne Bancorp had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 9.33%. Research analysts expect that ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. ConnectOne Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNOB. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 195.6% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 728.4% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 107.9% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. Institutional investors own 67.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on ConnectOne Bancorp from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Hovde Group cut their target price on ConnectOne Bancorp from $32.50 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on ConnectOne Bancorp in a research note on Monday, March 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded ConnectOne Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConnectOne Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $31.67.

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.