Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Given New $28.00 Price Target at Barclays

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) had its price target raised by Barclays from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the bank's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Associated Banc from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.00.

Associated Banc Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of ASB traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $23.70. 1,625,377 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,450,261. Associated Banc has a 52 week low of $19.40 and a 52 week high of $28.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.68. The company has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

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

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. This is a positive change from Associated Banc's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is presently 76.67%.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total value of $810,172.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. This represents a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,423,934.76. This represents a 15.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASB. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 291.3% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,563,274 shares of the bank's stock valued at $33,063,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163,807 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 11.2% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,036,239 shares of the bank's stock valued at $65,401,000 after buying an additional 305,133 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the 3rd quarter worth $6,082,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in Associated Banc by 3.3% in 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 period. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the third quarter worth $3,245,000. 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.