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

Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.63.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ASB. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Associated Banc from $21.50 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays initiated coverage on Associated Banc in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Associated Banc from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASB opened at $20.99 on Tuesday. Associated Banc has a 1-year low of $14.47 and a 1-year high of $22.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $20.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.69. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of 18.57, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.00.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 8.12%. The firm had revenue of $322.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.89 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Associated Banc will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.19%. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is 77.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,700 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total transaction of $52,785.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,229,225.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,700 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total transaction of $52,785.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,229,225.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 14,010 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total value of $297,012.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 89,880 shares in the company, valued at $1,905,456. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,710 shares of company stock valued at $454,897. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,778,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Associated Banc by 325.5% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 905,941 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,703,000 after purchasing an additional 693,010 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Associated Banc by 64.0% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 90,428 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,547,000 after purchasing an additional 35,279 shares during the period. Riverbridge Partners LLC raised its stake in Associated Banc by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 32,567 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 12,402 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Associated Banc by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 170,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,909,000 after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.