Raymond James Cuts Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Price Target to $28.00

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its price objective reduced by Raymond James from $30.00 to $28.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the bank’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.11.

Associated Banc Stock Up 3.0 %

Associated Banc stock opened at $21.69 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 27.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $24.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.00. Associated Banc has a 1-year low of $19.76 and a 1-year high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 expect that Associated Banc will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.24%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total value of $172,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,223,021.45. This trade represents a 12.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. This trade represents a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Associated Banc by 221.6% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 163,003 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,511,000 after purchasing an additional 112,323 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 3.3% in the third 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 last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 11,595.3% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 76,370 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after buying an additional 75,717 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 315.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 540,057 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,907,000 after buying an additional 410,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 369,548 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,832,000 after buying an additional 24,876 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.