Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04, Zacks reports. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%.

Associated Banc Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of ASB stock opened at $25.31 on Friday. Associated Banc has a fifty-two week low of $19.40 and a fifty-two week high of $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $25.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.11.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In related 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 owns 81,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. This represents a 26.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total transaction of $460,674.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,423,934.76. This trade represents a 15.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.45% 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.