Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Earns “Equal Weight” Rating from Stephens

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating restated by stock analysts at Stephens in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $28.00 target price on the bank’s stock. Stephens’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 12.83% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.78.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASB traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $24.82. The stock had a trading volume of 344,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,560,454. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Associated Banc has a 1 year low of $19.40 and a 1 year high of $28.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.37.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced 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 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Associated Banc will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total value of $810,172.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. The trade was a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total value of $460,674.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,423,934.76. This trade represents a 15.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth $343,000. EMC Capital Management increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 13,834.5% during the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 27,869 shares of the bank’s stock worth $666,000 after purchasing an additional 27,669 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Associated Banc by 72.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,023 shares of the bank’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 2,952 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently 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.