ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) released its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $116.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.59 million. ConnectOne Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 11.83%.

Here are the key takeaways from ConnectOne Bancorp’s conference call:

• ConnectOne reported strong balance-sheet growth and lending momentum, with loans up ~$300M this quarter (annualized ~10%) and total assets scaled to nearly $15 billion.
• Net interest margin expanded to 3.39% (up 12 bps sequentially) and management reiterated a year-end spot margin target of ~3.50%, driven mainly by loan repricings and improving deposit costs.
• A rise in 30–59 day delinquencies was tied to one legacy relationship in the NYC rent‑stabilized multifamily sector; while management said it’s working the workout and has meaningful reserves, this remains a potential credit overhang.
• Capital and shareholder returns strengthened — tangible book rose to $23.93, the board raised the common dividend by 8.3%, the bank repurchased 90,000 shares (with >500,000 shares remaining authorized), and management said SBA sales and non‑interest income are accelerating.

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Up 3.3%

NASDAQ:CNOB traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $28.93. The stock had a trading volume of 109,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 318,050. ConnectOne Bancorp has a twelve month low of $21.79 and a twelve month high of $29.28. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35 and a beta of 1.08.

ConnectOne Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. ConnectOne Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConnectOne Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNOB. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 728.4% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in ConnectOne Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $73,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp by 791.0% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 4,042 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 707.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 5,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $210,000. 67.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNOB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Hovde Group lowered their price objective on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from $32.50 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a research note on Monday, March 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of ConnectOne Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ConnectOne Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on ConnectOne Bancorp from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConnectOne Bancorp has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $31.67.

About ConnectOne Bancorp

ConnectOne Bancorp is a New Jersey‐based bank holding company whose primary subsidiary, ConnectOne Bank, offers a suite of commercial banking services to small and medium‐sized businesses, professionals and individuals. Established in 2005 and headquartered in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, the company seeks to deliver customized lending and deposit solutions through a network of branches across northern New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area.

The company’s lending portfolio centers on commercial real estate financing, construction lending, owner‐occupied real estate loans and working capital lines of credit.