Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $27.58 and last traded at $27.5340, with a volume of 568821 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target (up previously from $29.00) on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Monday, October 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.20.

Associated Banc Trading Down 0.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company’s 50 day moving average is $25.57 and its 200 day moving average is $25.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.83, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.81.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.07. Associated Banc had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $390.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is currently 102.13%.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In related news, EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 30,489 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.70, for a total value of $783,567.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $618,213.50. This trade represents a 55.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,135 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.41, for a total transaction of $56,385.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 109,842 shares in the company, valued at $2,900,927.22. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 35,951 shares of company stock worth $925,756 in the last three months. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Associated Banc by 36.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,091 shares of the bank’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 3,485 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,720 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,321,120 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,295,000 after buying an additional 72,685 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 38.7% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 262,100 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,905,000 after buying an additional 73,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its position in Associated Banc by 7.8% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 319,740 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,204,000 after acquiring an additional 23,000 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.