9,393 Shares in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Bought by Kowal Investment Group LLC

Kowal Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 9,393 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WoodTrust Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Associated Banc by 6.4% during the first quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 16,311 shares of the bank’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 15.8% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,762 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 2,975 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 470.2% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 1,169 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 964 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,938 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,639,171 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $334,522,000 after acquiring an additional 184,813 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

NYSE ASB opened at $20.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $21.16 and a 200-day moving average of $21.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $15.16 and a 52-week high of $22.77.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. Associated Banc had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The company had revenue of $322.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $325.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. Associated Banc’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.11 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is 88.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total transaction of $55,450.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,238,449.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total transaction of $55,450.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,238,449.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicole M. Kitowski sold 5,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.23, for a total transaction of $106,553.37. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,993 shares in the company, valued at $806,591.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on ASB shares. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.88.

Associated Banc 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.