Magnetar Financial LLC Invests $794,000 in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 33,211 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $794,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 49.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ASB shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James dropped their price target on Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.11.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of ASB opened at $22.55 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $24.22 and its 200-day moving average is $23.95. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12 month low of $19.76 and a 12 month high of $28.18. The firm has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

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

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.08%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $1,678,897.35. This trade represents a 4.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. This trade represents a 12.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

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.