Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Has $1.51 Million Stock Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 40.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,000 shares of the bank's stock after selling 42,000 shares during the period. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $1,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth $64,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 82.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the bank's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.00.

Associated Banc Trading Down 2.9 %

NYSE:ASB traded down $0.74 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $24.37. 1,725,788 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,548,917. The company has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company's 50 day moving average is $24.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.75. Associated Banc-Corp has a twelve month low of $19.76 and a twelve month high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.46%.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In related news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at $1,678,897.35. This trade represents a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.