Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday.

ASB has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Baird R W downgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.89.

Associated Banc Price Performance

NYSE ASB opened at $23.56 on Thursday. Associated Banc has a 12-month low of $16.19 and a 12-month high of $24.31. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.91.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%. The firm had revenue of $607.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. Analysts forecast that Associated Banc will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a boost from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.33%.

Insider Activity

In other Associated Banc news, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,204 shares in the company, valued at $2,423,934.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.78, for a total value of $45,560.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 99,637 shares in the company, valued at $2,269,730.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,105 shares of company stock valued at $671,324 in the last three months. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 907 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 82.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Associated Banc during the 1st quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the second quarter worth $93,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.