ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 642,500 shares, an increase of 6.7% from the January 15th total of 602,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 214,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ:CNOB traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $26.87. 154,402 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 208,248. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $24.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. ConnectOne Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $17.07 and a fifty-two week high of $29.31. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 1.30.

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

ConnectOne Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. ConnectOne Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConnectOne Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CNOB. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 792.3% in the fourth 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. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in the third quarter worth $53,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $62,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $149,000. Finally, Palouse Capital Management Inc. increased its position in ConnectOne Bancorp by 25.1% during the third quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 1,607 shares during the last quarter. 67.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

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.