ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) Short Interest Up 6.7% in January

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) saw a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 642,500 shares, a growth of 6.7% from the January 15th total of 602,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 214,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of ConnectOne Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNOB. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp in the third quarter worth $14,127,000. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp in the third quarter worth $6,488,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $18,934,000 after purchasing an additional 155,573 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 84,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 52.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 242,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,262,000 after purchasing an additional 83,950 shares in the last quarter. 67.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CNOB. StockNews.com upgraded ConnectOne Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on ConnectOne Bancorp from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of CNOB traded up $0.01 on Tuesday, reaching $26.87. 154,402 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 208,248. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.83. ConnectOne Bancorp has a 52-week low of $17.07 and a 52-week high of $29.31.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 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, analysts forecast that ConnectOne Bancorp will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. ConnectOne Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.68%.

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.