Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Short Interest Update

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,810,000 shares, a decrease of 6.2% from the March 15th total of 4,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,470,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 2.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on ASB shares. Raymond James increased their target price on Associated Banc from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays started coverage on Associated Banc in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Associated Banc from $21.50 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Associated Banc presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total value of $52,785.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 62,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,229,225.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.02, for a total value of $105,100.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 50,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,053,648.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total value of $52,785.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 62,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,229,225.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,710 shares of company stock worth $454,897 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Associated Banc by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 17,712,813 shares of the bank’s stock worth $403,145,000 after purchasing an additional 172,329 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Associated Banc by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,639,171 shares of the bank’s stock worth $334,522,000 after purchasing an additional 184,813 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Associated Banc by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,835,562 shares of the bank’s stock worth $231,776,000 after purchasing an additional 229,552 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Associated Banc by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,356,990 shares of the bank’s stock worth $151,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118,108 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Associated Banc by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,866,025 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,531,000 after purchasing an additional 105,630 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

ASB stock opened at $19.96 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.00. Associated Banc has a 1 year low of $14.47 and a 1 year high of $22.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $20.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.59.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $322.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.89 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 8.12%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Associated Banc will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.41%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.88%.

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.