Associated Banc FY2024 EPS Forecast Lifted by Zacks Research

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Zacks Research increased their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of Associated Banc in a research note issued on Thursday, January 23rd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the bank will earn $2.13 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $2.12. The consensus estimate for Associated Banc's current full-year earnings is $2.15 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Associated Banc's Q4 2024 earnings at $0.53 EPS.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Friday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of ASB stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $25.09. 2,530,010 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,717,707. The company has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.94. Associated Banc has a 52-week low of $19.40 and a 52-week high of $28.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $25.22 and a 200 day moving average of $23.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in Associated Banc by 4.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 11,312 shares of the bank's stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter valued at $415,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 1.3% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 43.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 28,313 shares of the bank's stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 8,513 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,149,355 shares of the bank's stock valued at $24,309,000 after purchasing an additional 123,271 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In related news, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the business'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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $810,172.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 currently owned by insiders.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. This is a positive change from Associated Banc's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.67%.

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.