ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

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

Institutional Trading of ConnectOne Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNOB. CSS LLC IL bought a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $399,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 60,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after acquiring an additional 8,349 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 78.2% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 22,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 10,033 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 39.8% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 44,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,009,000 after buying an additional 12,535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Institutional investors own 67.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CNOB. StockNews.com upgraded ConnectOne Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on ConnectOne Bancorp from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CNOB traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $23.77. 57,266 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 193,995. ConnectOne Bancorp has a 12 month low of $17.07 and a 12 month high of $29.31. The company has a market cap of $912.07 million, a PE ratio of 13.38 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.10.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that ConnectOne Bancorp will post 2.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. ConnectOne Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.68%.

About ConnectOne Bancorp

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.