Short Interest in ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) Rises By 20.6%

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) saw 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 trading volume of 199,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CNOB opened at $23.86 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.09. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $915.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.48 and a beta of 1.30. ConnectOne Bancorp has a one year low of $17.07 and a one year high of $29.31.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last issued its 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that ConnectOne Bancorp will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. ConnectOne Bancorp’s payout ratio is 40.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CNOB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised ConnectOne Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 792.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $149,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $205,000. Finally, Serenus Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $209,000. 67.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.