Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on ASB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Baird R W cut Associated Banc from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.89.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of ASB opened at $23.56 on Thursday. Associated Banc has a 1 year low of $16.19 and a 1 year high of $24.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average of $21.99 and a 200-day moving average of $21.57.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%. The company had revenue of $607.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.52 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Associated Banc will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is a boost from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.33%.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

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 stock was 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 $1,108,254.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 stock was 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 $1,108,254.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of Associated Banc 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,105 shares of company stock valued at $671,324 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASB. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 285.2% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 907 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Associated Banc during the second quarter worth $38,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 82.1% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,438 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Associated Banc during the first quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Associated Banc during the second quarter worth $93,000. Hedge funds and other 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.