Associated Banc’s (ASB) “Equal Weight” Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Stephens reissued their equal weight rating on shares of Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $28.00 price objective on the bank’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Associated Banc has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.11.

Associated Banc Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $22.75 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $24.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.88. Associated Banc has a 52-week low of $19.76 and a 52-week high of $28.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.46%.

Insider Activity

In other Associated Banc news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total value of $172,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,223,021.45. This represents a 12.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $71,004.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at $1,678,897.35. The trade was a 4.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 221.6% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 163,003 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,511,000 after acquiring an additional 112,323 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $353,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 3.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,230,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $177,282,000 after purchasing an additional 261,877 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Associated Banc by 11,595.3% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 76,370 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,825,000 after buying an additional 75,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 315.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 540,057 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,907,000 after buying an additional 410,118 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.