Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Given New $27.00 Price Target at Barclays

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its price objective increased by Barclays from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the bank’s stock.

ASB has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.89.

Associated Banc Price Performance

ASB opened at $26.06 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.29 and a 200-day moving average of $22.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. Associated Banc has a 1-year low of $18.88 and a 1-year high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%. The firm had revenue of $607.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Associated Banc will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Associated Banc news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total value of $810,172.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. This represents a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total transaction of $165,089.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,114 shares in the company, valued at $1,108,254.72. This represents a 12.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 56,641 shares of company stock worth $1,435,936. 1.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Associated Banc by 82.1% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 1,438 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the second quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.