Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Given New $23.00 Price Target at Barclays

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Barclays from $22.00 to $23.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the bank’s stock. Barclays‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 5.70% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.78.

Associated Banc Stock Up 1.4 %

ASB stock traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.76. 224,537 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,336,084. The firm has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.93. Associated Banc has a 1-year low of $15.16 and a 1-year high of $24.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.32.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.52. Associated Banc had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 8.14%. The company had revenue of $321.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $330.69 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Associated Banc will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Associated Banc news, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total transaction of $165,089.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,108,254.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total transaction of $165,089.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,108,254.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.78, for a total value of $45,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 99,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,269,730.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 33,835 shares of company stock worth $757,214. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steph & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 470.2% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 1,169 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 964 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Associated Banc by 285.2% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 907 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.