BNP Paribas Financial Markets Cuts Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 65.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,499 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 63,253 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Associated Banc were worth $801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 154.3% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Associated Banc by 221.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 49.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Associated Banc news, CEO Andrew J. Harmening acquired 12,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were purchased 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total value of $172,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,223,021.45. The trade was a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Trading Down 3.6%

Shares of Associated Banc stock opened at $23.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.93. The stock has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1-year low of $18.32 and a 1-year high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $348.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $347.86 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 106.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens lowered their price objective on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial began coverage on Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One research 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.00.

Associated Banc 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.