Raymond James analyst William J. Wallace IV on Monday downgraded shares of ConnectOne Bancorp to outperform from strong buy and trimmed his price estimate by $2 to $38 a share following the company’s fourth-quarter results. “Assuming net interest margin has likely peaked, it will become a headwind as the Fed starts rising rates when the bulk of the industry anticipates margin tailwinds as we head into a rising rate environment,” Wallace said. “We anticipate investors may struggle to get comfortable investing aggressively in a bank that is facing pressure where most are experiencing tailwind.” On the plus side, ConnectOne’s fee income could allow it to offset pressure on net interest margin, he said. Shares of ConnectOne fell 3% on Monday, compared to a rise of 0.7% by the S&P 500.
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