ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of 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 traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $942.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $24.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.03.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last posted its 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, Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. ConnectOne Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 40.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConnectOne Bancorp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNOB. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $14,127,000. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. raised its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 96.2% during the 4th quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 508,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,644,000 after buying an additional 249,265 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 826,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,934,000 after acquiring an additional 155,573 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 42.4% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 282,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,466,000 after acquiring an additional 84,028 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 52.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 242,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,262,000 after acquiring an additional 83,950 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.70% of the company’s stock.

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.