Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $32.50

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.70.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Associated Banc from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd.

Associated Banc Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $30.93 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of 10.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.70. Associated Banc has a 12-month low of $23.87 and a 12-month high of $32.46.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $468.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $463.69 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 10.75% and a net margin of 19.87%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Associated Banc will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This is a positive change from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.22%.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP Randall J. Erickson sold 43,561 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.04, for a total transaction of $1,395,694.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 56,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,797,155.64. This represents a 43.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick Ahern sold 1,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.85, for a total value of $40,382.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,349,471.55. This represents a 2.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 61,170 shares of company stock valued at $1,957,840 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the second quarter valued at about $715,927,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,811,228 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $253,709,000 after purchasing an additional 170,080 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 127.6% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,971,227 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $154,416,000 after purchasing an additional 3,347,699 shares during the last quarter. Associated Banc Corp acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $67,673,000. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $61,240,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Associated Banc Company Profile

Associated Banc-Corp is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Through its principal subsidiary, Associated Bank, it provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions.

Associated Bank offers commercial and corporate banking, retail banking, mortgage lending, consumer lending, treasury management, investment and wealth management, and institutional services. Its business banking activities include lending, deposit accounts, cash-management solutions and other services designed for small and middle-market companies.

The company primarily serves customers across Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota through its branch network and digital banking channels.