Stephens Reiterates Equal Weight Rating for Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB)

Stephens reiterated their equal weight rating on shares of Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $23.00 price target on the bank’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. 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 report on Wednesday, April 10th. 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 report on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Associated Banc from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Associated Banc from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $23.13.

Associated Banc Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:ASB opened at $21.57 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 21.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.79 and a 200-day moving average of $19.75. Associated Banc has a 52 week low of $14.47 and a 52 week high of $22.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The bank reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $322.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $325.00 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.33% and a net margin of 6.86%. The business’s revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Associated Banc will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is currently 88.89%.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 14,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 89,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,905,456. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 62,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,229,225.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 14,010 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total value of $297,012.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 89,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,905,456. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,710 shares of company stock valued at $454,897 in the last three months. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASB. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 64.0% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 90,428 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,547,000 after purchasing an additional 35,279 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 10.9% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 35,226 shares of the bank’s stock worth $603,000 after acquiring an additional 3,451 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 15.0% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 30,284 shares of the bank’s stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 3,947 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 14.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 74,227 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 9,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 97.2% during the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 20,568 shares of the bank’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 10,140 shares in the last quarter. 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.