State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Cuts Holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its stake in ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 78,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,060 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned 0.20% of ConnectOne Bancorp worth $1,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CNOB. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $14,127,000. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $6,488,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 52.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 242,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,262,000 after purchasing an additional 83,950 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of ConnectOne Bancorp by 52.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 114,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,874,000 after purchasing an additional 39,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in ConnectOne Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $743,000. 67.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNOB has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised ConnectOne Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on ConnectOne Bancorp from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

ConnectOne Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of CNOB opened at $25.16 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.99. The firm has a market cap of $965.39 million, a PE ratio of 14.21 and a beta of 1.30. ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.07 and a 12-month high of $29.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts predict that ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

ConnectOne Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. ConnectOne Bancorp’s payout ratio is 40.68%.

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.