ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.25.

A number of research firms have recently commented on CNOB. Piper Sandler began coverage on ConnectOne Bancorp in a research note on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on ConnectOne Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on ConnectOne Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded ConnectOne Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 27th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConnectOne Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 8,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 21,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 914 shares in the last quarter. EJF Capital LLC lifted its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 30,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $750,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 9,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. 67.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ConnectOne Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ CNOB opened at $32.45 on Tuesday. ConnectOne Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $21.79 and a fifty-two week high of $33.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $29.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76 and a beta of 1.06.

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

ConnectOne Bancorp Increases Dividend

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

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.