Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Given New $27.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $26.00 to $27.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 7.96% from the stock’s previous close.

ASB has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. 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 research report on Friday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Friday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Associated Banc presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Associated Banc Price Performance

NYSE ASB traded down $0.32 on Friday, reaching $25.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,068,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,616,186. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $25.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.37. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.94. Associated Banc has a twelve month low of $19.40 and a twelve month high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Associated Banc will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total value of $460,674.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 100,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,423,934.76. This trade represents a 15.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total value of $810,172.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. This represents a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASB. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 291.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,563,274 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,063,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163,807 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 410,118 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,036,239 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,401,000 after acquiring an additional 305,133 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,082,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,230,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $177,282,000 after acquiring an additional 261,877 shares during the period. 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.