Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.00.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Associated Banc from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays upped their price target on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total value of $810,172.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. This trade represents a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total value of $460,674.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 100,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,423,934.76. The trade was a 15.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Associated Banc stock traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $23.99. The stock had a trading volume of 3,322,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,458,442. Associated Banc has a fifty-two week low of $19.40 and a fifty-two week high of $28.18. The company has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 19.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50-day moving average of $25.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $607.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $336.52 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Associated Banc will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

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

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.