Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Price Target Cut to $22.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its price objective decreased by Jefferies Financial Group from $24.00 to $22.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Associated Banc from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 report on Wednesday, April 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given 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 price target of $22.78.

Associated Banc Trading Down 1.4 %

ASB opened at $20.57 on Wednesday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.01. Associated Banc has a 1-year low of $15.16 and a 1-year high of $22.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share 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 business 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 posted $0.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Associated Banc will post 2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.28%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Associated Banc news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total value of $55,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,922 shares in the company, valued at $2,238,449.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Associated Banc news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total value of $55,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,922 shares in the company, valued at $2,238,449.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicole M. Kitowski sold 5,019 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 37,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,591.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Steph & Co. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 964 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 285.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 907 shares during the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 183.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,860 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 1,850 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

About Associated Banc

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.