ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) Short Interest Down 19.5% in October

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) saw a large drop in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 493,300 shares, a drop of 19.5% from the October 15th total of 612,900 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 206,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Performance

CNOB traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $27.09. 183,703 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 242,055. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. ConnectOne Bancorp has a 12 month low of $17.07 and a 12 month high of $29.02.

ConnectOne Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. ConnectOne Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 41.38%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNOB. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 196.1% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 60,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 40,334 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,143,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,802,000 after buying an additional 53,563 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans purchased a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $1,648,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 111.1% in the second quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 55,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 29,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 19.8% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 48,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $946,000 after acquiring an additional 8,026 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNOB has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded ConnectOne Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $26.00 price target (up from $22.00) on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on ConnectOne Bancorp from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

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.