Norges Bank Makes New $54.66 Million Investment in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,121,893 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $54,660,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 46.8% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 345.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the third quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ASB. Stephens raised shares of Associated Banc from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $29.00 in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Associated Banc from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Barclays raised shares of Associated Banc from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $33.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, EVP Dennis Deloye sold 14,299 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.26, for a total value of $404,089.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $604,340.10. This represents a 40.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.18, for a total transaction of $112,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 67,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,899,895.60. The trade was a 5.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Associated Banc Price Performance

NYSE:ASB opened at $27.76 on Monday. Associated Banc-Corp has a one year low of $22.48 and a one year high of $29.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $27.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.83.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.01. Associated Banc had a net margin of 19.88% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The company had revenue of $387.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $384.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Associated Banc Company Profile

Associated Banc-Corp, through its primary subsidiary Associated Bank, N.A., is a regional financial services company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The bank operates more than 200 branches across the Midwest, offering community-focused banking solutions for individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. Its emphasis on personalized service and regional decision-making supports long-standing customer relationships.

On the consumer side, Associated Bank provides checking and savings accounts, residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, auto financing and credit card products.