Kowal Investment Group LLC Makes New $202,000 Investment in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Kowal Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 9,393 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,722,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,639,171 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $334,522,000 after purchasing an additional 184,813 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 50.2% in the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,181,042 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,652,000 after purchasing an additional 728,555 shares during the period. Mairs & Power Inc. increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. now owns 399,310 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,541,000 after purchasing an additional 48,432 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $892,000. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Associated Banc Trading Down 1.5 %

Associated Banc stock opened at $20.84 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap 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. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1 year low of $15.16 and a 1 year high of $22.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $21.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.01.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $325.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is 88.89%.

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.