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

Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.63.

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

Associated Banc Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of ASB stock opened at $20.27 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $20.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.94, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.00. Associated Banc has a twelve month low of $14.47 and a twelve month high of $22.16.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $322.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $325.89 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 8.90%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Associated Banc will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.34%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John A. Utz sold 14,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total transaction of $297,012.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 89,880 shares in the company, valued at $1,905,456. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP John A. Utz sold 14,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total transaction of $297,012.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 89,880 shares in the company, valued at $1,905,456. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.02, for a total transaction of $105,100.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 50,126 shares in the company, valued at $1,053,648.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,710 shares of company stock worth $454,897. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Associated Banc by 62.2% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 15,246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 5,846 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Associated Banc by 11.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,451 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 884 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Associated Banc in the first quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Associated Banc in the first quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in Associated Banc by 10.2% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 54,829 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 5,073 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently 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.