Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ASB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Baird R W cut Associated Banc from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.89.

Associated Banc Trading Down 1.2 %

ASB stock opened at $23.73 on Thursday. Associated Banc has a 12 month low of $15.94 and a 12 month high of $24.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $21.93 and its 200 day moving average is $21.53. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $607.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.52 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 8.14%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Associated Banc will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. This is an increase from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is 76.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.78, for a total transaction of $45,560.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 99,637 shares in the company, valued at $2,269,730.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.78, for a total value of $45,560.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 99,637 shares in the company, valued at $2,269,730.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total value of $460,674.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 100,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,423,934.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,105 shares of company stock worth $671,324 over the last 90 days. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in Associated Banc by 43.3% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,050,813 shares of the bank’s stock worth $87,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,216 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 291.3% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,563,274 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,063,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,807 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Associated Banc by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,149,355 shares of the bank’s stock worth $24,309,000 after purchasing an additional 123,271 shares in the last quarter. Interval Partners LP boosted its position in Associated Banc by 27.6% in the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 442,947 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,368,000 after purchasing an additional 95,928 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G PLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 423,903 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,326,000 after purchasing an additional 12,142 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

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.