Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) PT Lowered to $22.00

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its price target lowered by Jefferies Financial Group from $24.00 to $22.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Associated Banc from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $22.78.

Associated Banc Price Performance

ASB stock opened at $20.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $21.10 and its 200-day moving average is $21.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Associated Banc has a 1 year low of $15.16 and a 1 year high of $22.77.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Associated Banc will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.89%.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP Nicole M. Kitowski sold 5,019 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.23, for a total transaction of $106,553.37. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,591.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Associated Banc news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total value of $55,450.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,922 shares in the company, valued at $2,238,449.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicole M. Kitowski sold 5,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.23, for a total transaction of $106,553.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 37,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,591.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASB. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,639,171 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $334,522,000 after buying an additional 184,813 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,835,562 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $231,776,000 after buying an additional 229,552 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 43.3% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,050,813 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $87,133,000 after buying an additional 1,224,216 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,254,457 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,223,000 after buying an additional 40,111 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 50.2% during the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,181,042 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,652,000 after buying an additional 728,555 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

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.