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ConnectOne Bancorp (CNOB) Could Be a Great Choice

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Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. But when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.

While cash flow can come from bond interest or interest from other types of investments, income investors hone in on dividends. A dividend is that coveted distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders, and investors often view it by its dividend yield, a metric that measures the dividend as a percent of the current stock price. Many academic studies show that dividends make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.

Headquartered in Englewood Cliffs, ConnectOne Bancorp (CNOB - Free Report) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of 11.86% so far this year. The holding company for ConnectOne Bank is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.19 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.66%. This compares to the Banks - Northeast industry's yield of 2.29% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.43%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.78 is up 8.3% from last year. Over the last 5 years, ConnectOne Bancorp has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 17.00%. Looking ahead, future dividend growth will be dependent on earnings growth and payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. ConnectOne's current payout ratio is 25%, meaning it paid out 25% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

CNOB is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $3.30 per share, with earnings expected to increase 25.00% from the year ago period.

Investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons, from tax advantages and decreasing overall portfolio risk to considerably improving stock investing profits. However, not all companies offer a quarterly payout.

For instance, it's a rare occurrence when a tech start-up or big growth business offers its shareholders a dividend. It's more common to see larger companies with more established profits give out dividends. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, CNOB presents a compelling investment opportunity; it's not only an attractive dividend play, but the stock also boasts a strong Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

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