Share on StockTwits
 

Investment analysts at Jefferies Group increased their target price on shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NASDAQ: ASBC) from $16.00 to $17.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock.

The analysts wrote, “Recent meetings with Associated CFO Chris Niles reinforced our view that the company has levers to pull on earnings power, including stepped-up capital return plans, expense optimization, and continued reserve release. We take our ’13 EPS estimate to $1.05 (from $1.00) and ’14 goes to $1.15 (from $1.10).”

Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NASDAQ: ASBC) traded up 0.33% during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $15.18. Associated Banc-Corp has a one year low of $11.67 and a one year high of $15.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $14.60. The company has a market cap of $2.550 billion and a P/E ratio of 15.13.

Associated Banc-Corp (NASDAQ: ASBC) last released its earnings data on Thursday, January 17th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.26. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post $1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Analysts at Deutsche Bank raised their price target on shares of Associated Banc-Corp from $14.00 to $15.00 in a research note to investors on Tuesday, March 12th. They now have a “hold” rating on the stock. Separately, analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Associated Banc-Corp from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note to investors on Tuesday, February 5th. They now have a $14.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $13.00. Finally, analysts at Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Associated Banc-Corp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note to investors on Tuesday, February 5th. They now have a $15.00 price target on the stock. They noted that the move was a valuation call.

One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.57.

Associated Banc-Corp is a bank holding company. During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company owned one nationally chartered commercial bank headquartered in Wisconsin, serving local communities in Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota.

Get Analysts' Upgrades and Downgrades via Email - Stay on top of analysts' coverage with Analyst Ratings Network's FREE daily email newsletter that provides a concise list of analysts' upgrades and downgrades. Click here to register now.