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

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.33.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Associated Banc news, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,108,254.72. This represents a 12.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total value of $460,674.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,423,934.76. The trade was a 15.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,641 shares of company stock worth $1,435,936. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 3.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,230,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $177,282,000 after purchasing an additional 261,877 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Associated Banc by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,584,271 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $77,219,000 after buying an additional 79,658 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in Associated Banc by 11.2% during the third 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Associated Banc by 0.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,137,125 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,034,000 after acquiring an additional 17,425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 291.3% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,563,274 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,063,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163,807 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Associated Banc Stock Down 1.4 %

ASB opened at $25.95 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.35. Associated Banc has a 52 week low of $18.56 and a 52 week high of $28.18. The stock has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a PE ratio of 21.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $607.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $336.52 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Associated Banc will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. This is a boost from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is 76.67%.

About Associated Banc

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.