Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Lowered to “Hold” at Baird R W

Baird R W cut shares of Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on ASB. Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered Associated Banc from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $27.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $23.11.

Associated Banc Price Performance

NYSE ASB opened at $23.46 on Wednesday. Associated Banc has a fifty-two week low of $15.16 and a fifty-two week high of $23.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $21.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.01. The firm has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $322.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $325.00 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Associated Banc will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,500 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total transaction of $55,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 100,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,238,449.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Nicole M. Kitowski sold 5,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.23, for a total value of $106,553.37. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,591.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,500 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total value of $55,450.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,238,449.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 470.2% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 1,169 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 964 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Associated Banc by 285.2% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Associated Banc by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 183.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,860 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.