Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on ASB. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Stephens reissued an equal weight rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Friday, April 26th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $21.50 to $23.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $23.13.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $21.24 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $21.28 and a 200 day moving average of $20.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Associated Banc has a 12-month low of $14.56 and a 12-month high of $22.77.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $322.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $325.00 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Associated Banc will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,053,648.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Associated Banc news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total transaction of $55,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,238,449.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.02, for a total transaction of $105,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 50,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,053,648.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,529 shares of company stock valued at $564,115. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASB. Steph & Co. raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 470.2% in the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 1,169 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 964 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Associated Banc by 285.2% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 907 shares during the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Associated Banc by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.