Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $29.20.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ASB shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Associated Banc from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 14,731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.03, for a total value of $427,640.93. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,143,811.03. This represents a 27.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 6,600 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.02, for a total value of $184,932.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 49,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,380,377.28. The trade was a 11.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 23,656 shares of company stock worth $677,789 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Associated Banc during the third quarter worth $1,769,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 24.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 984,537 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,312,000 after purchasing an additional 194,307 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the third quarter valued at about $1,289,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 50.6% during the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 125,433 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,225,000 after buying an additional 42,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 877,828 shares of the bank’s stock worth $22,569,000 after buying an additional 59,184 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

NYSE ASB opened at $24.61 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $26.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.26. Associated Banc has a 52-week low of $18.32 and a 52-week high of $29.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.80.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.11. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 19.31%.The firm had revenue of $393.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $382.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Associated Banc will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 27th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.66%.

About Associated Banc

Associated Banc-Corp, through its primary subsidiary Associated Bank, N.A., is a regional financial services company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The bank operates more than 200 branches across the Midwest, offering community-focused banking solutions for individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. Its emphasis on personalized service and regional decision-making supports long-standing customer relationships.

On the consumer side, Associated Bank provides checking and savings accounts, residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, auto financing and credit card products.