Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank of Canada Analyst Says

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $26.00 to $27.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.63% from the company’s previous close.

ASB has been the topic of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.67.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $25.09 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.42. Associated Banc has a 1-year low of $19.40 and a 1-year high of $28.18. The firm has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.94.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%. Analysts anticipate that Associated Banc will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $810,172.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. This represents a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 100,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,423,934.76. The trade was a 15.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASB. 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 valued at $33,063,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,807 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Associated Banc by 315.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 540,057 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,907,000 after buying an additional 410,118 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 11.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,036,239 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,401,000 after buying an additional 305,133 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the third quarter worth about $6,082,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake 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 valued at $177,282,000 after acquiring an additional 261,877 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.