Insider Buying: Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) CEO Purchases 12,910 Shares of Stock

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) CEO Andrew J. Harmening bought 12,910 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $300,157.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 319,269 shares in the company, valued at $7,423,004.25. This trade represents a 4.21% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Associated Banc Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of ASB opened at $24.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Associated Banc-Corp has a one year low of $18.32 and a one year high of $28.18. The company has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $347.86 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Associated Banc’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is 106.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ASB. Barclays decreased their price objective 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. StockNews.com cut Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its position in Associated Banc by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 58,001 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,518 shares of the bank’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 80,294 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,919,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 33,238 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $749,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,251 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. 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.