Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Short Interest Update

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,810,000 shares, a decrease of 6.2% from the March 15th total of 4,060,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,470,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 2.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 14,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total transaction of $297,012.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 89,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,905,456. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 14,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total transaction of $297,012.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 89,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,905,456. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.02, for a total value of $105,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,053,648.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,710 shares of company stock worth $454,897. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 14,362 shares of the bank’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 2.4% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 22,085 shares of the bank’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the period. Eaton Vance Management lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 1.1% during the first quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 46,341 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,054,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 5.4% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,458 shares of the bank’s stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 1.4% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 42,963 shares of the bank’s stock worth $735,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James upped their target price on Associated Banc from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Associated Banc from $21.50 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays assumed coverage on Associated Banc in a report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Associated Banc has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.63.

Associated Banc Stock Up 0.3 %

ASB stock opened at $19.96 on Thursday. Associated Banc has a twelve month low of $14.47 and a twelve month high of $22.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $20.71 and its 200-day moving average is $19.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.00.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.01. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 8.12%. The company had revenue of $322.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $325.89 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Associated Banc will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is 77.88%.

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.