Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Equities researchers at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB – Get Rating) in a research report issued on Thursday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the bank’s stock.

Separately, UBS Group began coverage on Associated Banc in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.50.

Associated Banc Stock Down 6.6 %

Shares of ASB opened at $19.19 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 8.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.86 and a 200 day moving average of $22.54. Associated Banc has a 52-week low of $17.45 and a 52-week high of $25.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $452.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $347.92 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 25.65%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Associated Banc will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lith Karen Van sold 4,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.93, for a total value of $116,993.77. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,677 shares in the company, valued at $1,404,140.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Associated Banc news, CEO Andrew J. Harmening purchased 4,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.57 per share, with a total value of $99,764.50. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 287,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,911,694.58. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lith Karen Van sold 4,889 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.93, for a total value of $116,993.77. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,404,140.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 18,660,033 shares of the bank’s stock worth $374,694,000 after purchasing an additional 523,996 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Associated Banc by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,302,572 shares of the bank’s stock worth $307,277,000 after buying an additional 328,137 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Associated Banc by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,842,604 shares of the bank’s stock worth $250,357,000 after acquiring an additional 268,163 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Associated Banc by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,742,941 shares of the bank’s stock worth $177,906,000 after acquiring an additional 1,550,652 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Associated Banc by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,800,625 shares of the bank’s stock worth $64,666,000 after acquiring an additional 141,801 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.95% of the company’s stock.

About Associated Banc

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Associated Banc-Corp. is a holding company, which engages in banking and non-banking financial services to individuals and businesses through its subsidiaries. It operates through the following segments: Corporate and Commercial Specialty, Community, Consumer and Business, and Risk Management and Shared Services.