Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Receives $23.67 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the ten brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.67.

ASB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Baird R W downgraded Associated Banc from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd.

Associated Banc Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE ASB opened at $21.52 on Friday. Associated Banc has a 1-year low of $15.16 and a 1-year high of $24.21. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.74, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $21.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. The firm had revenue of $321.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $330.69 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.14% and a net margin of 7.93%. The business’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Associated Banc will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other news, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total value of $165,089.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,108,254.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total transaction of $165,089.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 54,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,108,254.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.78, for a total transaction of $45,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,269,730.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,835 shares of company stock valued at $757,214. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. Steph & Co. grew its stake in Associated Banc by 470.2% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 1,169 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 964 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Associated Banc by 285.2% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Associated Banc during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

About Associated Banc

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.