Associated Banc’s (ASB) Equal Weight Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Stephens reiterated their equal weight rating on shares of Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $28.00 price target on the bank’s stock.

ASB has been the topic of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.11.

Associated Banc Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of ASB opened at $22.75 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. Associated Banc has a 52 week low of $19.76 and a 52 week high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. On average, analysts forecast that Associated Banc will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.46%.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In other news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $71,004.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. This represents a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly 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. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Associated Banc by 154.3% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 221.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter worth $56,000. 82.98% of the stock is 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.