Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Price Target Raised to $28.00

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its price objective raised by Barclays from $27.00 to $28.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.00.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

NYSE ASB opened at $23.99 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 19.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. Associated Banc has a twelve month low of $19.40 and a twelve month high of $28.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The business had revenue of $607.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $336.52 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Associated Banc will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. This is an increase from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is 76.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,222,406.03. This represents a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total value of $460,674.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,423,934.76. The trade was a 15.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASB. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Associated Banc by 221.6% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 163,003 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,511,000 after buying an additional 112,323 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Associated Banc by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,230,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $177,282,000 after purchasing an additional 261,877 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Associated Banc by 54.8% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,729 shares of the bank’s stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 12,296 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 114.6% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 96,752 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,084,000 after buying an additional 51,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 117.6% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,697 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $920,000 after buying an additional 23,076 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

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.