Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.13.

ASB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Associated Banc from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Associated Banc from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Associated Banc from $21.50 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In related news, EVP John A. Utz sold 14,010 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total value of $297,012.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 89,880 shares in the company, valued at $1,905,456. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.02, for a total value of $105,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 50,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,053,648.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 14,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total value of $297,012.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 89,880 shares in the company, valued at $1,905,456. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,710 shares of company stock worth $454,897 over the last 90 days. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,938 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Associated Banc by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,639,171 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $334,522,000 after purchasing an additional 184,813 shares in the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 163,215 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,492,000 after purchasing an additional 5,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 75.1% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 30,929 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 13,264 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Price Performance

NYSE:ASB opened at $21.49 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $20.81 and a 200-day moving average of $19.23. Associated Banc has a 52 week low of $14.47 and a 52 week high of $22.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.01. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 8.12%. The company had revenue of $322.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.89 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Associated Banc will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.88%.

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.