ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) Short Interest Up 5.5% in March

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,340,000 shares, an increase of 5.5% from the March 15th total of 1,270,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 182,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.3 days. Approximately 3.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CNOB opened at $17.91 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.48 and a 200-day moving average of $20.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. ConnectOne Bancorp has a one year low of $13.11 and a one year high of $24.44. The stock has a market cap of $686.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.65 and a beta of 1.25.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. ConnectOne Bancorp had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 8.14%. The business had revenue of $66.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.50 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that ConnectOne Bancorp will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. ConnectOne Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on ConnectOne Bancorp from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on ConnectOne Bancorp from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on ConnectOne Bancorp from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConnectOne Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.25.

Institutional Trading of ConnectOne Bancorp

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 206.8% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in ConnectOne Bancorp by 98.6% during the second quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Group One Trading L.P. bought a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 315.3% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 11,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 8,497 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.70% of the company’s stock.

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.