Zacks Research Forecasts Higher Earnings for Associated Banc

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q2 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Associated Banc in a report released on Thursday, May 15th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the bank will post earnings of $0.61 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.59. The consensus estimate for Associated Banc’s current full-year earnings is $2.43 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Associated Banc’s Q3 2025 earnings at $0.62 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.46 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.65 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.67 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.71 EPS and Q1 2027 earnings at $0.66 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on ASB. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Associated Banc from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Associated Banc has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.00.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of ASB stock opened at $24.27 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of 30.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Associated Banc has a 12 month low of $18.32 and a 12 month high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $348.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.86 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. Associated Banc’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 EPS.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is currently 106.98%.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,223,021.45. This represents a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Andrew J. Harmening acquired 12,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $300,157.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 319,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,423,004.25. The trade was a 4.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 154.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 221.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 385.5% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,612 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.