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

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,970,000 shares, a growth of 43.8% from the September 30th total of 1,370,000 shares. Approximately 4.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 302,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.5 days. Based on an average daily volume of 302,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.5 days. Approximately 4.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConnectOne Bancorp

In other news, EVP Joseph T. Javitz sold 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.46, for a total value of $43,282.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,146 shares in the company, valued at $538,377.16. This represents a 7.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 6.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of ConnectOne Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 275.3% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 728.4% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 107.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 67.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ CNOB opened at $24.06 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 27.66 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $25.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.02. ConnectOne Bancorp has a 52-week low of $20.61 and a 52-week high of $29.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. ConnectOne Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.12% and a net margin of 6.85%.The business had revenue of $110.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.20 million. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. ConnectOne Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 58.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised ConnectOne Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.25.

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.