Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $26.00.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

NYSE ASB opened at $25.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $25.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.18. Associated Banc has a 1 year low of $19.40 and a 1 year high of $28.18. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.94.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $607.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.52 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Associated Banc will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a positive change from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total transaction of $460,674.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 100,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,423,934.76. The trade was a 15.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total value of $810,172.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. This represents a 26.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASB. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 82.1% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,438 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,704 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 21.0% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,574 shares of the bank’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by 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.