Kowal Investment Group LLC Increases Holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Kowal Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 86.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,297 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,480 shares during the period. Kowal Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Associated Banc by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,639,171 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $334,522,000 after purchasing an additional 184,813 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 43.3% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,050,813 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $87,133,000 after buying an additional 1,224,216 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 291.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,563,274 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,063,000 after buying an additional 1,163,807 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 12.0% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,149,355 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $24,309,000 after acquiring an additional 123,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Interval Partners LP raised its holdings in Associated Banc by 27.6% in the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 442,947 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,368,000 after acquiring an additional 95,928 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Associated Banc news, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total transaction of $165,089.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 54,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,108,254.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 99,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,269,730.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 54,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,108,254.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 33,835 shares of company stock valued at $757,214. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

NYSE:ASB opened at $22.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 23.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.93. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $15.16 and a 52-week high of $24.21.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.52. Associated Banc had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 8.14%. The company had revenue of $321.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 3.84%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Baird R W lowered Associated Banc from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.78.

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.