Ghisallo Capital Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Ghisallo Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 100,000 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $2,390,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 49.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 4th quarter worth $56,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter valued at about $67,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. This trade represents a 12.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on ASB shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Associated Banc from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.11.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of ASB opened at $22.38 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.88. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $18.32 and a 52-week high of $28.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.78.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. The company had revenue of $348.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.86 million. Research analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.46%.

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.