Royal Bank of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Stock Price

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from $26.00 to $27.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the bank's stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on ASB. StockNews.com raised Associated Banc from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. 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. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.67.

Associated Banc Price Performance

ASB stock traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.09. 2,530,010 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,248,753. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.42. Associated Banc has a 1-year low of $19.40 and a 1-year high of $28.18. The company has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.94. 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 released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%. On average, analysts anticipate that Associated Banc will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This is a boost from Associated Banc's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Associated Banc's payout ratio is 76.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Associated Banc news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 26.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 100,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,423,934.76. This trade represents a 15.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Trust Point Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 46,083 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 5,111 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at about $343,000. EMC Capital Management increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 13,834.5% in the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 27,869 shares of the bank's stock valued at $666,000 after acquiring an additional 27,669 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at about $67,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.