Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Friday morning.

ASB has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Associated Banc Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ASB opened at $25.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.84, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.94. Associated Banc has a 12 month low of $19.40 and a 12 month high of $28.18. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Associated Banc will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total value of $810,172.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,021 shares in the company, valued at $2,222,406.03. The trade was a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 82.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 1,438 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Company Profile

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.