Teacher Retirement System of Texas Makes New Investment in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 23,998 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $541,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP grew its position in Associated Banc by 154.3% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 221.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted 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 valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,518 shares of the bank’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Associated Banc by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the bank’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.22.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In related news, CEO Andrew J. Harmening bought 12,910 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $300,157.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 319,269 shares in the company, valued at $7,423,004.25. This represents a 4.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of ASB opened at $25.39 on Thursday. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1 year low of $18.32 and a 1 year high of $28.18. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.42. The company has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.52, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $348.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.86 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.47% and a net margin of 6.02%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.98%.

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.