EMC Capital Management Buys 27,669 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

EMC Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 13,834.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,869 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,669 shares during the period. Associated Banc makes up about 0.4% of EMC Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. EMC Capital Management’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter worth $56,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 72.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,023 shares of the bank’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 2,952 shares in the last quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 101,591 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,428,000 after buying an additional 13,521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $202,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASB has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $810,172.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,021 shares in the company, valued at $2,222,406.03. The trade was a 26.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ASB opened at $24.92 on Thursday. Associated Banc-Corp 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. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.49.

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

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.67%.

Associated Banc 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.