Is ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. a Buy?

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (CNOB) serves as the holding company for ConnectOne Bank, a financial institution providing a comprehensive array of commercial banking products and services. The bank caters to small and medium-sized businesses, local professionals, and individual clients across its operating regions, which include Northern New Jersey, the greater New York Metropolitan area, and the South Florida market. Its offerings include a variety of deposit accounts such as personal and business checking, retirement plans, money market accounts, and both time and savings deposits. ConnectOne Bank extends diverse credit facilities, encompassing secured and unsecured consumer and commercial business loans, revolving lines of credit, commercial mortgage loans, residential mortgages for primary and secondary residences, home equity loans, bridge loans, other personal purpose loans, and financing for commercial construction and real estate projects. Beyond lending and deposits, the company provides essential banking services such as check cards, ATM cards, credit cards, wire transfers, automated teller machine access, online banking platforms, treasury direct services, Automated Clearing House (ACH) origination, mobile banking via phone, secure safe deposit boxes, and remote deposit capture capabilities. The bank maintains an extensive physical presence, operating eight branches in Bergen County, five in Union County, and one each in Morris, Essex, Hudson, and Monmouth Counties in New Jersey. In New York, it has an office in Manhattan, one in Nassau County on Long Island, another in Astoria, and five additional branches situated throughout the Hudson Valley. Furthermore, it operates a financial center in West Palm Beach, Florida. Originally incorporated in 1982 as Center Bancorp, Inc., the company adopted its current name, ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc., in July 2014. Its corporate headquarters are located in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.