Barclays Increases Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Price Target to $28.00

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its price objective hoisted by Barclays from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the bank’s stock. Barclays‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 16.72% from the company’s previous close.

ASB has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com raised Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Associated Banc Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ASB opened at $23.99 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50 day moving average of $25.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.69. Associated Banc has a 52-week low of $19.40 and a 52-week high of $28.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The firm had revenue of $607.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Associated Banc will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $810,172.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of Associated Banc 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 100,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,423,934.76. This represents a 15.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Associated Banc by 0.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 144,521 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,192,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,584,271 shares of the bank’s stock worth $77,219,000 after acquiring an additional 79,658 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 51.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 371,448 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,002,000 after purchasing an additional 125,899 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the third quarter valued at $268,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,230,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $177,282,000 after purchasing an additional 261,877 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

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.