ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $33.72 and last traded at $33.5950, with a volume of 116140 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CNOB shares. Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on ConnectOne Bancorp from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded ConnectOne Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.00.

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $30.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80 and a beta of 1.05.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.06. ConnectOne Bancorp had a net margin of 13.21% and a return on equity of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $116.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.59 million. On average, analysts forecast that ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConnectOne Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 76.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,882,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,517,000 after buying an additional 1,252,614 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $18,974,000. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 579.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 705,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,488,000 after acquiring an additional 601,310 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $15,712,000. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. raised its position in ConnectOne Bancorp by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 846,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,215,000 after acquiring an additional 226,523 shares during the last quarter. 67.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.