ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on ConnectOne Bancorp from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on ConnectOne Bancorp from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $25.25.

ConnectOne Bancorp Price Performance

CNOB opened at $19.73 on Wednesday. ConnectOne Bancorp has a 52-week low of $13.11 and a 52-week high of $24.44. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $756.25 million, a P/E ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 1.25.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $66.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.50 million. ConnectOne Bancorp had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 8.14%. As a group, analysts predict that ConnectOne Bancorp will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConnectOne Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC grew its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 27.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,500,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,414,000 after purchasing an additional 743,209 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,270,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,009,000 after buying an additional 58,277 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 0.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,045,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,473,000 after buying an additional 14,564 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 438,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,039,000 after acquiring an additional 41,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 118.2% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 246,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,641,000 after acquiring an additional 133,384 shares during the period. 67.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.