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

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Associated Banc currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.88.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASB opened at $20.84 on Tuesday. 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 market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $21.16 and a 200 day moving average of $21.01. Associated Banc has a 52 week low of $15.16 and a 52 week high of $22.77.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total transaction of $55,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,922 shares in the company, valued at $2,238,449.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Associated Banc news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,500 shares of the company’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 value of $55,450.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 100,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,238,449.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicole M. Kitowski sold 5,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AlphaMark Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 14,362 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 45,081 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $964,000 after buying an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 186,780 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,018,000 after buying an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in Associated Banc by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 36,478 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $785,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,963 shares of the bank’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 835 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.