John Williams Sells 4,000 Shares of Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Stock

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Director John Williams sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.18, for a total value of $112,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 67,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,899,895.60. This represents a 5.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Associated Banc Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of ASB traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $27.86. The stock had a trading volume of 2,576,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,435,010. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.77. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1-year low of $21.61 and a 1-year high of $29.51.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $387.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $384.20 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 19.88%.During the same period last year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

Associated Banc announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 27th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Associated Banc by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 154,933 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,779,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Associated Banc by 46.8% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Associated Banc by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 80,677 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,074,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Associated Banc by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 19,079 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $491,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Associated Banc by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASB has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens upgraded Associated Banc from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $30.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.30.

About Associated Banc

Associated Banc-Corp, through its primary subsidiary Associated Bank, N.A., is a regional financial services company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The bank operates more than 200 branches across the Midwest, offering community-focused banking solutions for individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. Its emphasis on personalized service and regional decision-making supports long-standing customer relationships.

On the consumer side, Associated Bank provides checking and savings accounts, residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, auto financing and credit card products.