Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Short Interest Update

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,960,000 shares, a growth of 41.9% from the March 15th total of 4,200,000 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,630,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In related news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 66,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. The trade was a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total value of $172,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. This represents a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 154.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Associated Banc by 221.0% in 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 during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Associated Banc by 385.5% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,612 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.67.

Associated Banc Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of ASB stock traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $21.62. 115,625 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,519,162. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 27.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $22.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Associated Banc has a 12 month low of $18.32 and a 12 month high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Associated Banc will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.26%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.46%.

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.