Associated Banc’s (ASB) “Equal Weight” Rating Reaffirmed at Stephens

Stephens restated their equal weight rating on shares of Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $28.00 price target on the bank’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on ASB. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.11.

Associated Banc Price Performance

ASB opened at $23.09 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.23, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Associated Banc has a 12-month low of $19.76 and a 12-month high of $28.18. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.00.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Associated Banc will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is presently 116.46%.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In related news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,223,021.45. The trade was a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $71,004.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at $1,678,897.35. This represents a 4.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 58,001 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Associated Banc by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,518 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,704 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 80,294 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,919,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 17,882 shares of the bank’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.