Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $24.31 and last traded at $24.04, with a volume of 197268 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.89.

Associated Banc Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 23.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $21.88 and a 200-day moving average of $21.52.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.14% and a net margin of 7.93%. The firm had revenue of $607.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $336.52 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.78, for a total value of $45,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 99,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,269,730.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.78, for a total transaction of $45,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 99,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,269,730.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total transaction of $165,089.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 54,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,108,254.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of Associated Banc by 43.3% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,050,813 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $87,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,216 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Associated Banc by 291.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,563,274 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,063,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,807 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Associated Banc by 12.0% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,149,355 shares of the bank’s stock worth $24,309,000 after purchasing an additional 123,271 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP raised its stake in Associated Banc by 27.6% during the second quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 442,947 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,368,000 after purchasing an additional 95,928 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 411,761 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,647,000 after acquiring an additional 45,542 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.