Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Stock

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $30.00 to $31.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target points to a potential upside of 13.22% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on ASB. Zacks Research lowered shares of Associated Banc from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Barclays upgraded shares of Associated Banc from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $30.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Associated Banc from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.90.

Associated Banc Stock Down 1.9%

ASB stock opened at $27.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.30. Associated Banc has a 1-year low of $21.61 and a 1-year high of $29.51.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $387.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $384.20 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 19.88%.During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Analysts expect that Associated Banc will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 27th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Associated Banc news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 6,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.02, for a total transaction of $184,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 49,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,380,377.28. This trade represents a 11.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 14,731 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.03, for a total transaction of $427,640.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,143,811.03. The trade was a 27.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 23,656 shares of company stock worth $677,789 over the last quarter. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth $54,660,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 679.4% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,223,694 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,938,393 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Associated Banc by 139.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,748,667 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598,951 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Associated Banc by 4,883.7% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,385,666 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 4th quarter valued at $27,819,000. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

More Associated Banc News

Here are the key news stories impacting Associated Banc this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results showed an EPS beat and revenue upside; net income was $117M, EPS $0.70 vs. $0.69 consensus, and revenue of $387.2M. The quarter also featured loan growth and lower provisions, which supports core earnings. Earnings Release
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted healthy loan growth and strategic initiatives on the earnings call, which management positioned as drivers of revenue expansion going forward. Earnings Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Several brokerages raised price targets after the quarter — Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted its target to $31 (market perform) and Robert W. Baird raised its target to $30 (neutral) — signaling incremental analyst confidence and upside vs. current levels. KBW/Baird PT Raises
• Neutral Sentiment: Management released the full earnings presentation and the earnings call transcript (useful for detail on guidance, capital and the American National transaction context). Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: PR and summaries: Company press release and coverage (MarketBeat/PR Newswire) document the results and provide the slide deck and call recording for deeper review. Press Release
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks and other coverage note that operating expenses rose in the quarter, which weighed on margins; the EPS beat was small, and that may have left investors disappointed relative to expectations, contributing to the intraday decline. Zacks Coverage

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.