Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Given New $28.00 Price Target at Raymond James

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its price target reduced by analysts at Raymond James from $30.00 to $28.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the bank’s stock. Raymond James’ price target suggests a potential upside of 26.84% from the company’s previous close.

ASB has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.11.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

ASB stock traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $22.08. 394,766 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,361,762. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of 27.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. Associated Banc has a 52 week low of $19.76 and a 52 week high of $28.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $24.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Associated Banc will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $71,004.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,678,897.35. The trade was a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. The trade was a 12.39 % 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

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 154.3% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 221.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.