Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $22.68, but opened at $24.03. Associated Banc shares last traded at $23.39, with a volume of 150,306 shares.

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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.52 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.14% and a net margin of 7.93%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is currently 88.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ASB. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $23.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.78, for a total value of $45,560.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,269,730.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Associated Banc news, EVP Randall J. Erickson sold 23,774 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total value of $546,564.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,958,353.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.78, for a total transaction of $45,560.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 99,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,269,730.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,835 shares of company stock valued at $757,214 over the last 90 days. 1.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Associated Banc by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,639,171 shares of the bank's stock worth $334,522,000 after acquiring an additional 184,813 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in Associated Banc in the 1st quarter valued at about $866,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in Associated Banc by 71.1% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 73,961 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,591,000 after buying an additional 30,732 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 411,761 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,647,000 after buying an additional 45,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 1st quarter worth about $609,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Associated Banc Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.93. The business's 50 day moving average price is $21.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.46.

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.