With 68% ownership, ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) boasts of strong institutional backing

In this article:

Key Insights

  • Institutions' substantial holdings in ConnectOne Bancorp implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price

  • A total of 19 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership

  • Insiders have been selling lately

Every investor in ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNOB) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 68% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Since institutional have access to huge amounts of capital, their market moves tend to receive a lot of scrutiny by retail or individual investors. Therefore, a good portion of institutional money invested in the company is usually a huge vote of confidence on its future.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of ConnectOne Bancorp.

View our latest analysis for ConnectOne Bancorp

ownership-breakdown
ownership-breakdown

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About ConnectOne Bancorp?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

We can see that ConnectOne Bancorp does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at ConnectOne Bancorp's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

earnings-and-revenue-growth
earnings-and-revenue-growth

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Hedge funds don't have many shares in ConnectOne Bancorp. BlackRock, Inc. is currently the largest shareholder, with 8.1% of shares outstanding. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP is the second largest shareholder owning 6.8% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 5.2% of the company stock. Additionally, the company's CEO Frank Sorrentino directly holds 1.9% of the total shares outstanding.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 19 shareholders have a combined ownership of 51% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of ConnectOne Bancorp

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc.. As individuals, the insiders collectively own US$35m worth of the US$558m company. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 26% stake in ConnectOne Bancorp. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for ConnectOne Bancorp you should be aware of, and 1 of them makes us a bit uncomfortable.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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