Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) and Central Plains Bancshares (NASDAQ:CPBI) Financial Review

Central Plains Bancshares (NASDAQ:CPBI) and Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Central Plains Bancshares and Associated Banc”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Central Plains Bancshares	$27.31 million	2.65	$3.65 million	$0.97	17.73
Associated Banc	$2.39 billion	1.84	$123.14 million	$0.94	28.27

Associated Banc has higher revenue and earnings than Central Plains Bancshares. Central Plains Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Associated Banc, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

24.3% of Central Plains Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.0% of Associated Banc shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.6% of Central Plains Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Associated Banc shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Central Plains Bancshares and Associated Banc’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Central Plains Bancshares	12.78%	4.39%	0.72%
Associated Banc	7.23%	9.45%	0.98%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Central Plains Bancshares and Associated Banc, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Central Plains Bancshares	0	1	0	0	2.00
Associated Banc	0	8	3	0	2.27

Associated Banc has a consensus price target of $28.50, indicating a potential upside of 7.24%. Given Associated Banc’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Associated Banc is more favorable than Central Plains Bancshares.

Risk & Volatility

Central Plains Bancshares has a beta of 0.13, suggesting that its stock price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Associated Banc has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Associated Banc beats Central Plains Bancshares on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Central Plains Bancshares

Central Plains Bancshares, Inc. focuses on providing various banking products and services to retail customers, and small and medium-sized commercial customers in Nebraska, the United States. It offers checking accounts, savings accounts, and certificate of deposit accounts. The company also provides one- to four-family residential mortgage loans secured by properties, as well as commercial real estate loans, commercial and industrial loans, multi-family residential real estate loans, construction and land development loans, agricultural real estate and non-real estate loans, and consumer loans. In addition, it offers electronic banking services, including mobile banking, on-line banking and bill pay, and electronic funds transfer. The company was incorporated in 2023 and is based in Grand Island, Nebraska.

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. It also provides deposit and cash management solutions, such as commercial checking and interest-bearing deposit products, cash vault and night depository services, liquidity solutions, payables and receivables solutions, and information services; specialized financial services, such as interest rate risk management and foreign exchange solutions; fiduciary services, such as administration of pension, profit-sharing and other employee benefit plans, fiduciary and corporate agency services, and institutional asset management services; and investable funds solutions, including savings, money market deposit accounts, IRA accounts, CDs, fixed and variable annuities, full-service, discount, and online investment brokerage; investment advisory services; and trust and investment management accounts. In addition, the company offers deposit and transactional solutions, including checking, credit, debit and pre-paid cards, online banking and bill pay; and money transfer services. Associated Banc-Corp was founded in 1861 and is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin.