By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB – Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.00.
ASB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st.
Get Our Latest Research Report on ASB
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total value of $460,674.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,423,934.76. This trade represents a 15.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total value of $810,172.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,021 shares in the company, valued at $2,222,406.03. The trade was a 26.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASB. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 221.6% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 163,003 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,511,000 after purchasing an additional 112,323 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 3.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,230,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $177,282,000 after buying an additional 261,877 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 11,595.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 76,370 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after buying an additional 75,717 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 315.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 540,057 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,907,000 after buying an additional 410,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 114.6% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 96,752 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,084,000 after buying an additional 51,672 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.
Associated Banc Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $25.17 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Associated Banc has a 12-month low of $19.40 and a 12-month high of $28.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $25.35 and a 200 day moving average of $23.30.
Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The firm had revenue of $607.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Associated Banc will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.
Associated Banc Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. This is a boost from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is 76.67%.
Associated Banc Company Profile
Associated Banc-Corp, a bank holding company, provides various banking and nonbanking products to individuals and businesses in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. The company offers lending solutions, including commercial loans and lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, construction loans, letters of credit, leasing, asset based lending and equipment finance, loan syndications products, residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, personal and installment loans, auto finance and business loans, and business lines of credit.
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