Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.11.

A number of research firms recently commented on ASB. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASB traded down $1.13 on Friday, hitting $21.52. The company had a trading volume of 2,423,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,369,741. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.01. Associated Banc has a 1-year low of $19.76 and a 1-year high of $28.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. Analysts expect that Associated Banc will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.28%. Associated Banc's payout ratio is 116.46%.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $71,004.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at $1,678,897.35. The trade was a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. This trade represents a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.