AXQ Capital LP Makes New $725,000 Investment in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 28,143 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $725,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 46.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 345.5% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Associated Banc from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Associated Banc from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John B. Williams sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 67,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,899,895.60. This trade represents a 5.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Dennis Deloye sold 14,299 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.26, for a total transaction of $404,089.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,385 shares in the company, valued at $604,340.10. The trade was a 40.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

ASB opened at $27.57 on Wednesday. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12-month low of $22.48 and a 12-month high of $29.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a PE ratio of 9.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.76.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $384.20 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

Associated Banc 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.