Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 17,544 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $540,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 154,933 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,779,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Associated Banc by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 19,079 shares of the bank’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 2.0% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the bank’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 34,801 shares of the bank’s stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the period. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in Associated Banc by 1.8% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 39,378 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Associated Banc from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Associated Banc from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Associated Banc news, EVP John A. Utz sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.82, for a total value of $144,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 118,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,405,255.92. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Randall J. Erickson sold 43,561 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.04, for a total value of $1,395,694.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 56,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,797,155.64. This trade represents a 43.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 101,823 shares of company stock valued at $3,150,761 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:ASB opened at $30.82 on Thursday. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12 month low of $23.86 and a 12 month high of $32.46. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $30.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.77.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.01. Associated Banc had a net margin of 19.66% and a return on equity of 10.64%. The company had revenue of $454.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $438.01 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.57%.

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.