Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ASB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASB traded down $0.65 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 570,435 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,684,789. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $25.05 and a 200-day moving average of $23.52. Associated Banc has a 12 month low of $19.40 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Associated Banc will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. Associated Banc's payout ratio is currently 116.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $810,172.48. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 1.3% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 50,680 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,072,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 43.0% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 28,313 shares of the bank's stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 8,513 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Associated Banc during the second quarter worth $473,000. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,213,000. Finally, Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 29,644 shares of the bank's stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 1,610 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

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.