Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Price Target Lowered to $26.00 at Robert W. Baird

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by investment analysts at Robert W. Baird from $28.00 to $26.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the bank's stock. Robert W. Baird's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 4.45% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Associated Banc from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Associated Banc stock traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $24.89. 1,215,714 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,626,995. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $25.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.37. Associated Banc has a 1 year low of $19.40 and a 1 year high of $28.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%. On average, analysts anticipate that Associated Banc will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total transaction of $460,674.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,423,934.76. The trade was a 15.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 81,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. This represents a 26.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,230,340 shares of the bank's stock worth $177,282,000 after acquiring an additional 261,877 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,584,271 shares of the bank's stock valued at $77,219,000 after purchasing an additional 79,658 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,036,239 shares of the bank's stock valued at $65,401,000 after purchasing an additional 305,133 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,137,125 shares of the bank's stock worth $46,034,000 after buying an additional 17,425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 291.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,563,274 shares of the bank's stock valued at $33,063,000 after buying an additional 1,163,807 shares in the last quarter. 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.