Hennessy Advisors Inc. Has $3.70 Million Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 155,000 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned about 0.10% of Associated Banc worth $3,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ASB. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 291.3% in 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 315.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 540,057 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,907,000 after acquiring an additional 410,118 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in shares of Associated Banc by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,036,239 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,401,000 after acquiring an additional 305,133 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the 3rd quarter worth about $6,082,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 valued at $177,282,000 after purchasing an additional 261,877 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Associated Banc stock opened at $25.17 on Friday. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $19.40 and a 52-week high of $28.18. The stock has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $25.40 and a 200-day moving average of $23.24. 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) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The firm had revenue of $607.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.52 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This is a boost from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is currently 76.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In related news, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of Associated Banc 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,423,934.76. This trade represents a 15.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total value of $810,172.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,222,406.03. The trade was a 26.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Associated Banc 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.