ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 642,500 shares, a growth of 6.7% from the January 15th total of 602,000 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 214,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConnectOne Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNOB. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 792.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $62,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $149,000. Finally, Palouse Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 25.1% during the third quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.70% of the company’s stock.

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CNOB traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $26.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 154,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 208,248. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.83. ConnectOne Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $17.07 and a fifty-two week high of $29.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.10. ConnectOne Bancorp had a net margin of 13.80% and a return on equity of 6.77%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that ConnectOne Bancorp will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. ConnectOne Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 40.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised ConnectOne Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target 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.

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.