ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) Short Interest Up 20.6% in February

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 774,700 shares, an increase of 20.6% from the January 31st total of 642,500 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 199,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on ConnectOne Bancorp from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised ConnectOne Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th.

ConnectOne Bancorp Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ CNOB opened at $23.98 on Friday. ConnectOne Bancorp has a 1-year low of $17.07 and a 1-year high of $29.31. 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 50-day moving average of $24.45 and a 200-day moving average of $25.10. The firm has a market cap of $920.21 million, a PE ratio of 13.55 and a beta of 1.30.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ConnectOne Bancorp will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. ConnectOne Bancorp’s payout ratio is 40.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in ConnectOne Bancorp by 792.3% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $149,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, Serenus Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Institutional investors 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.