KLCM Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

KLCM Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,081 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the period. KLCM Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ASB. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in Associated Banc by 62.2% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 15,246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 5,846 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Associated Banc by 11.7% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,451 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 884 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Associated Banc during the first quarter valued at about $91,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Associated Banc during the first quarter valued at about $262,000. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in Associated Banc by 10.2% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 54,829 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 5,073 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James boosted their price target on Associated Banc from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays started coverage on Associated Banc in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Associated Banc from $21.50 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have 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 $22.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total transaction of $52,785.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 62,876 shares in the company, valued at $1,229,225.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 14,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total transaction of $297,012.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 89,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,905,456. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total value of $52,785.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,229,225.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,710 shares of company stock worth $454,897 over the last quarter. 1.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Associated Banc Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ASB traded down $0.37 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $19.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,208,173 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,132,284. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.88. Associated Banc-Corp has a fifty-two week low of $14.47 and a fifty-two week high of $22.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $20.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.59. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.00.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 8.12%. The business had revenue of $322.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $325.89 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is currently 77.88%.

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.