Andrew J. Harmening Purchases 12,910 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Stock

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) CEO Andrew J. Harmening acquired 12,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $300,157.50. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 319,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,423,004.25. This trade represents a 4.21% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Associated Banc Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:ASB opened at $24.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.92. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $18.32 and a 52-week high of $28.18. The company has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a PE ratio of 31.10, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $348.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $347.86 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is 106.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Associated Banc from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Associated Banc during the first quarter valued at approximately $367,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 12.6% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,841,927 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,499,000 after buying an additional 206,259 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Associated Banc during the first quarter worth $232,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the first quarter valued at $292,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Associated Banc by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 30,330 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 2,117 shares during the period. 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.