Robert W. Baird Lowers Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Price Target to $26.00

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its target price reduced by investment analysts at Robert W. Baird from $28.00 to $26.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the bank’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective points to a potential upside of 2.74% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on ASB. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Associated Banc currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.11.

Associated Banc Price Performance

ASB opened at $25.31 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.37. Associated Banc has a 52-week low of $19.40 and a 52-week high of $28.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.94. 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 (NYSE:ASB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%. As a group, analysts predict that Associated Banc will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 $2,222,406.03. This trade represents a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,423,934.76. This 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,230,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $177,282,000 after acquiring an additional 261,877 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Associated Banc by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,584,271 shares of the bank’s stock worth $77,219,000 after purchasing an additional 79,658 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in Associated Banc by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,036,239 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,401,000 after purchasing an additional 305,133 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 0.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,137,125 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,034,000 after purchasing an additional 17,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 291.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,563,274 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,063,000 after buying an additional 1,163,807 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.