Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 221.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 163,003 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 112,323 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Associated Banc were worth $3,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ASB. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 285.2% in the 1st 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 period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 82.1% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter worth $93,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter worth $140,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Price Performance

ASB stock opened at $27.20 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $23.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.13. The firm has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.66, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.91. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1 year low of $17.30 and a 1 year high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $607.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.52 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is 73.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ASB. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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. Barclays raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. 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 stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.89.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.78, for a total transaction of $45,560.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,269,730.86. This represents a 1.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 owns 81,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,222,406.03. This trade represents a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,641 shares of company stock valued at $1,481,496 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.45% 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.