Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Price Target Raised to $24.00

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at Barclays from $23.00 to $24.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the bank’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 4.58% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on ASB. Baird R W downgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.89.

Associated Banc Price Performance

NYSE:ASB traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $22.95. The stock had a trading volume of 908,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,330,097. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.93. Associated Banc has a 52 week low of $15.59 and a 52 week high of $24.21. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $21.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. Associated Banc had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 8.14%. The company had revenue of $607.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $336.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Associated Banc will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total value of $165,089.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,108,254.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Randall J. Erickson sold 23,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total transaction of $546,564.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 128,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,958,353.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total transaction of $165,089.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 54,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,108,254.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,835 shares of company stock valued at $757,214. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 285.2% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the first quarter worth approximately $74,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the second quarter worth approximately $93,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter valued at $140,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.