Associated Banc’s (ASB) “Hold (C)” Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Weiss Ratings reiterated their hold (c) rating on shares of Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on ASB. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.11.

Associated Banc Stock Down 5.8%

Associated Banc stock opened at $24.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.05, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Associated Banc has a fifty-two week low of $18.32 and a fifty-two week high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $366.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.78 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 8.86%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Associated Banc will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is 119.48%.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 3,342 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $87,560.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 41,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,086,566.40. This represents a 7.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.24, for a total transaction of $354,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 111,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,029,850.72. This trade represents a 10.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,342 shares of company stock valued at $494,360. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Associated Banc by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,151,111 shares of the bank’s stock worth $101,256,000 after buying an additional 67,219 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Associated Banc by 139.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,748,667 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598,951 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 72,685 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Associated Banc by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,983,873 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,387,000 after acquiring an additional 141,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter worth $48,373,000. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

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.