Zacks Research Forecasts Lower Earnings for Associated Banc

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) – Research analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Associated Banc in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, December 4th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the bank will earn $0.51 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.53. The consensus estimate for Associated Banc’s current full-year earnings is $2.13 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Associated Banc’s Q4 2025 earnings at $0.59 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.17 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.56 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.58 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.61 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.35 EPS.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $607.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $336.52 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 EPS.

ASB has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.89.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Associated Banc stock opened at $26.00 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Associated Banc has a 1 year low of $19.21 and a 1 year high of $28.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.51.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a positive change from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In related news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $810,172.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,222,406.03. This trade represents a 26.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total transaction of $165,089.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,108,254.72. This trade represents a 12.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,641 shares of company stock worth $1,435,936. 1.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Associated Banc during the second quarter valued at $38,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Associated Banc during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Associated Banc by 82.1% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 1,438 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Associated Banc during the second quarter valued at $93,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Associated Banc during the second quarter valued at $140,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.