Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Raises Holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,700 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $1,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at $64,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 82.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of ASB stock opened at $25.08 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.88. Associated Banc-Corp has a one year low of $19.76 and a one year high of $28.18. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.74, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.94.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. Equities analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ASB. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays raised their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.00.

Associated Banc 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.