Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Earns “Equal Weight” Rating from Stephens

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reiterated by research analysts at Stephens in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $28.00 target price on the bank’s stock. Stephens’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.62% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.67.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

ASB opened at $25.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $25.22 and its 200-day moving average is $23.42. Associated Banc has a 52-week low of $19.40 and a 52-week high of $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%. Sell-side analysts expect that Associated Banc will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total transaction of $460,674.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 100,204 shares in the company, valued at $2,423,934.76. The trade was a 15.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $810,172.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,222,406.03. This trade represents a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 4.9% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 11,312 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter worth $415,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 50,680 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,072,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 43.0% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 28,313 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 8,513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 12.0% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,149,355 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $24,309,000 after purchasing an additional 123,271 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Company 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.