Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Acquires 8,513 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 43.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,313 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,513 shares during the quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Interval Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 27.6% in the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 442,947 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,368,000 after acquiring an additional 95,928 shares in the last quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 20.2% in the second quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC now owns 11,900 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 1.3% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 50,680 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the second quarter worth $415,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter valued at $361,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In related news, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total value of $165,089.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 54,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,108,254.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total transaction of $165,089.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 54,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,108,254.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Randall J. Erickson sold 23,774 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total value of $546,564.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 128,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,958,353.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 33,835 shares of company stock worth $757,214. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Baird R W lowered shares of Associated Banc from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.78.

Associated Banc Trading Up 0.1 %

ASB stock opened at $20.66 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $21.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Associated Banc-Corp has a fifty-two week low of $15.16 and a fifty-two week high of $24.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.93.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. The company had revenue of $321.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.69 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.14% and a net margin of 7.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.89%.

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.