Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.88.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Associated Banc news, EVP Nicole M. Kitowski sold 5,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.23, for a total transaction of $106,553.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,591.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Associated Banc news, EVP Nicole M. Kitowski sold 5,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.23, for a total transaction of $106,553.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,591.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total transaction of $55,450.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 100,922 shares in the company, valued at $2,238,449.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth $36,722,000. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 43.3% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,050,813 shares of the bank’s stock worth $87,133,000 after buying an additional 1,224,216 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 50.2% during the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,181,042 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,652,000 after purchasing an additional 728,555 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 92.2% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,433,301 shares of the bank’s stock worth $24,524,000 after purchasing an additional 687,552 shares during the period. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 2,344.7% during the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 709,170 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,134,000 after purchasing an additional 680,161 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Associated Banc Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of Associated Banc stock opened at $21.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.01. Associated Banc has a 12-month low of $15.16 and a 12-month high of $22.77.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. Associated Banc had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The firm had revenue of $322.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $325.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Associated Banc will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.89%.

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.