Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.89.

A number of brokerages recently commented on ASB. Barclays upped their target price on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $27.03 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.17. Associated Banc has a 52 week low of $17.30 and a 52 week high of $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.91.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $607.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.52 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Associated Banc will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is 76.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.78, for a total transaction of $45,560.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,269,730.86. This represents a 1.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total transaction of $165,089.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 54,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,108,254.72. This represents a 12.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,641 shares of company stock worth $1,481,496 in the last quarter. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 285.2% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 82.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 1,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Associated Banc during the second quarter worth about $93,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

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.