LMR Partners LLP Acquires New Stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 12,999 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 11,312 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,461 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 42,068 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $890,000 after buying an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 27,082 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 50,680 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after buying an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Associated Banc Price Performance

ASB opened at $26.56 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $23.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.07. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12-month low of $17.30 and a 12-month high of $28.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13 and a beta of 0.91.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%. The firm had revenue of $607.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.52 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. This is a positive change from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total value of $165,089.28. Following the sale, the director now owns 54,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,108,254.72. This trade represents a 12.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total value of $810,172.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,021 shares in the company, valued at $2,222,406.03. This represents a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 58,641 shares of company stock valued at $1,481,496 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.89.

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.