Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.11.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

Associated Banc Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $21.23 on Friday. Associated Banc has a 12 month low of $19.76 and a 12 month high of $28.18. The company has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.98.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. Sell-side analysts predict that Associated Banc will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is 116.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 66,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. This represents a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total value of $172,970.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. This represents a 12.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,066,871 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $431,798,000 after buying an additional 1,444,068 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,838,422 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $354,638,000 after buying an additional 1,272,441 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,230,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $177,282,000 after buying an additional 261,877 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,849,649 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $92,026,000 after buying an additional 265,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,036,239 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,401,000 after buying an additional 305,133 shares during the last quarter. 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.