Nicole M. Kitowski Sells 5,019 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Stock

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) EVP Nicole M. Kitowski sold 5,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.23, for a total value of $106,553.37. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 37,993 shares in the company, valued at $806,591.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Associated Banc Trading Up 2.4 %

ASB opened at $21.57 on Thursday. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1-year low of $14.47 and a 1-year high of $22.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 21.79, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.03. Associated Banc had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The business had revenue of $322.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $325.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. Associated Banc’s revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaMark Advisors LLC increased its position in Associated Banc by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 14,362 shares of the bank’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Associated Banc by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 42,963 shares of the bank’s stock worth $735,000 after buying an additional 587 shares during the period. KLCM Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 45,081 shares of the bank’s stock worth $964,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 0.3% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 186,780 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,018,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 2.2% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 36,478 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $785,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on ASB shares. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $21.50 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.13.

About Associated Banc

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.