StockNews.com Upgrades Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on ASB. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays decreased their price target on 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. Stephens reissued 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, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $22.88.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $20.87 on Tuesday. Associated Banc has a 1-year low of $15.16 and a 1-year high of $22.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $21.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 21.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.03. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 6.86%. The firm had revenue of $322.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $325.00 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Associated Banc will post 2.11 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,639,171 shares of the bank’s stock worth $334,522,000 after purchasing an additional 184,813 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,835,562 shares of the bank’s stock worth $231,776,000 after purchasing an additional 229,552 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 43.3% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,050,813 shares of the bank’s stock worth $87,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,216 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,254,457 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,223,000 after purchasing an additional 40,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 50.2% during the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,181,042 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,652,000 after purchasing an additional 728,555 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.