Short Interest in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Increases By 41.9%

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,960,000 shares, a growth of 41.9% from the March 15th total of 4,200,000 shares. Approximately 3.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their price target on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. 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 note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In related news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at $1,678,897.35. This represents a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 12.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 154.3% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 221.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 385.5% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,612 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Trading Up 1.3 %

Associated Banc stock opened at $19.93 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $22.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.86. The company has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.78. Associated Banc has a 52 week low of $18.32 and a 52 week high of $28.18. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Associated Banc will post 2.43 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.46%.

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.