Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Acquires 10,583 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 33.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,217 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,583 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $1,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 31,888 shares of the bank’s stock worth $687,000 after buying an additional 2,244 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 134.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 129,939 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,799,000 after acquiring an additional 74,574 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Associated Banc by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,461 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in Associated Banc by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 17,220 shares of the bank’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 82.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASB opened at $24.70 on Friday. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12 month low of $19.76 and a 12 month high of $28.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $24.66 and its 200 day moving average is $23.86. The company has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. Research analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ASB. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,678,897.35. This represents a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company 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.