ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) Director Michael Kempner Sells 67,800 Shares

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) Director Michael Kempner sold 67,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.75, for a total transaction of $1,000,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 214,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,161,957.50. The trade was a 24.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

ConnectOne Bancorp Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of CNOB stock opened at $26.21 on Friday. ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.61 and a 1 year high of $29.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.97. The company has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 17.47 and a beta of 1.13.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $114.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.80 million. ConnectOne Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 11.83%. Research analysts predict that ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. ConnectOne Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 48.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Hovde Group cut their target price on ConnectOne Bancorp from $32.50 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on ConnectOne Bancorp from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on ConnectOne Bancorp in a report on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ConnectOne Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConnectOne Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,914,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,412,000 after acquiring an additional 63,214 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 76.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,882,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252,614 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 33.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,160,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,870,000 after purchasing an additional 288,530 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 24.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 983,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,777,000 after purchasing an additional 193,692 shares during the period. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 863,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,654,000 after purchasing an additional 99,228 shares during the period. 67.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ConnectOne Bancorp Company Profile

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.