ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) Reaches New 1-Year High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $29.50 and last traded at $29.0890, with a volume of 59108 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.93.

The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.06. ConnectOne Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 11.83%.The business had revenue of $116.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.59 million.

ConnectOne Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.195 per share. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This is a positive change from ConnectOne Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. ConnectOne Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 48.00%.

ConnectOne Bancorp News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting ConnectOne Bancorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Hovde Group raised its price target to $34 and maintained an “outperform” rating, signaling analyst conviction and providing upside potential versus the stock’s current level.
• Positive Sentiment: The board raised the quarterly common dividend to $0.195 (an 8.3% increase, ~2.7% yield) with a record/ex?dividend date of May 15 and payment on June 1 — a shareholder?friendly action that supports income investors and can boost sentiment. Dividend Article
• Positive Sentiment: Business performance highlights: net interest margin widened ~12 bps, the company reported ~10% annualized loan growth and tangible book value per share rose — operational trends that investors generally view positively. Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported earnings: company press materials and multiple outlets report Q1 EPS of $0.79, which beats consensus (~$0.73); however, revenue of $116.6M missed the ~$119.6M estimate — mixed top? and bottom?line signals for analysts and quant models. Q1 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Conflicting earnings figures surfaced: an earnings call transcript posted by InsiderMonkey records EPS of $0.72 (slightly below the $0.73 consensus), creating short?term confusion/volatility as investors reconcile different reported metrics. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly net income to common declined modestly sequentially ($36.3M vs. $38.0M in Q4), which tempers the upbeat operating metrics and could concern shorter?term traders focused on quarter?over?quarter momentum. Press Release

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CNOB shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on ConnectOne Bancorp in a report on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on ConnectOne Bancorp from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Hovde Group increased their price objective on ConnectOne Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen cut ConnectOne Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNOB. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 74,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,800,000 after purchasing an additional 5,205 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 21,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 374.7% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 64,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,569,000 after purchasing an additional 50,942 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 32.7% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 13,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 3,379 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 111,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,575,000 after purchasing an additional 13,729 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.70% of the company’s stock.

ConnectOne Bancorp Trading Up 0.2%

The company has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.36.

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.