Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Sells 42,000 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 40.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 63,000 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 42,000 shares during the period. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $1,506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at about $64,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Associated Banc by 82.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,438 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Stock Up 0.0 %

Associated Banc stock opened at $25.43 on Thursday. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1-year low of $19.76 and a 1-year high of $28.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.71.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. On average, analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is 116.46%.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In related news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $71,004.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. The trade was a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ASB. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.00.

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.