ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) Short Interest Down 17.2% in June

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 844,400 shares, a drop of 17.2% from the June 15th total of 1,020,000 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 152,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.5 days.

ConnectOne Bancorp Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ CNOB traded down $0.21 on Friday, hitting $19.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 189,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 188,405. ConnectOne Bancorp has a 52-week low of $14.51 and a 52-week high of $24.44. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.88. The firm has a market cap of $763.53 million, a P/E ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 1.27.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.01). ConnectOne Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.39% and a net margin of 15.29%. The business had revenue of $64.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.93 million. Research analysts predict that ConnectOne Bancorp will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. This is a positive change from ConnectOne Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. ConnectOne Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CNOB shares. StockNews.com raised ConnectOne Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $22.00 price target (down previously from $24.00) on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 206.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $80,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $165,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $207,000. Institutional investors own 67.70% of the company’s stock.

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.