Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.00.

ASB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

NYSE ASB opened at $25.08 on Monday. 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 has a 1-year low of $19.76 and a 1-year high of $28.18. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 31.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.94.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. On average, research analysts predict that Associated Banc will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 154.3% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Associated Banc by 221.0% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 49.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.