ConnectOne Bancorp (CNOB) Could Be a Great Choice

All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. 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.ConnectOne Bancorp in FocusHeadquartered in Englewood Cliffs, ConnectOne Bancorp (CNOB) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of 4.8% so far this year. The holding company for ConnectOne Bank is paying out a dividend of $0.18 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 3% compared to the Banks - Northeast industry's yield of 2.89% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.56%.Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $0.72 is up 1.4% 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 19.41%. Any future dividend growth will depend on both earnings growth and the company's payout ratio; a payout ratio is the proportion of a firm's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. ConnectOne's current payout ratio is 40%. This means it paid out 40% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Looking at this fiscal year, CNOB expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $2.33 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 28.02%.Bottom LineInvestors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide a quarterly payout.Big, established firms that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options, but it's fairly uncommon to see high-growth businesses or tech start-ups offer their stockholders a dividend. Income investors must be conscious of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that CNOB is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (CNOB): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks