Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Shares Sold by Guggenheim Capital LLC

Guggenheim Capital LLC cut its stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,424 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,822 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 221.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Associated Banc from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Associated Banc has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

ASB opened at $22.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.89. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1-year low of $18.32 and a 1-year high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $348.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $347.86 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Associated Banc news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. This represents a 12.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $71,004.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. This trade represents a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

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.