ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $23.73, but opened at $24.37. ConnectOne Bancorp shares last traded at $24.65, with a volume of 91,401 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded ConnectOne Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $31.00 to $32.00 in a report on Wednesday.

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $940.55 million, a PE ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $24.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.02.

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

ConnectOne Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. ConnectOne Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.68%.

Institutional Trading of ConnectOne Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 52.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 114,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,874,000 after purchasing an additional 39,249 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $743,000. Salzhauer Michael lifted its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 76,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,753,000 after purchasing an additional 10,236 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in ConnectOne Bancorp by 4.0% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 91,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,296,000 after purchasing an additional 3,565 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 52,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 2,780 shares during the last quarter. 67.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConnectOne Bancorp Company Profile

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.