Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Stock

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its target price lifted by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $25.00 to $28.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target points to a potential upside of 7.44% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on ASB. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.89.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of ASB stock opened at $26.06 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $24.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.40. Associated Banc has a one year low of $18.88 and a one year high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $607.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $336.52 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Associated Banc will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Associated Banc news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $810,172.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. This trade represents a 26.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total value of $460,674.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 100,204 shares in the company, valued at $2,423,934.76. This trade represents a 15.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,641 shares of company stock worth $1,435,936. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 0.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 144,521 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,192,000 after acquiring an additional 1,064 shares during the period. 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 valued at $77,219,000 after purchasing an additional 79,658 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 371,448 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,002,000 after purchasing an additional 125,899 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the 3rd quarter worth $268,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased 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 period. 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.