Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $26.00.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ASB. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASB opened at $24.51 on Friday. Associated Banc has a 52 week low of $19.40 and a 52 week high of $28.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $25.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.81. The company has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $607.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Associated Banc will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 currently 76.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. The trade was a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was 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. This represents a 15.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,230,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $177,282,000 after buying an additional 261,877 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Associated Banc by 2.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,584,271 shares of the bank’s stock worth $77,219,000 after acquiring an additional 79,658 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,036,239 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,401,000 after purchasing an additional 305,133 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,137,125 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,034,000 after purchasing an additional 17,425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 291.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,563,274 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,063,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,807 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.