Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Given New $25.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its target price hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from $24.00 to $25.00 in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Baird R W downgraded Associated Banc from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Associated Banc currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.89.

Associated Banc Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ASB opened at $22.91 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 23.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.93. Associated Banc has a 1 year low of $15.59 and a 1 year high of $24.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $21.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.47.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.14% and a net margin of 7.93%. The company had revenue of $607.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.52 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. Analysts predict that Associated Banc will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.89%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Randall J. Erickson sold 23,774 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total transaction of $546,564.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,958,353.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Randall J. Erickson sold 23,774 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total value of $546,564.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,680 shares in the company, valued at $2,958,353.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.78, for a total value of $45,560.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,637 shares in the company, valued at $2,269,730.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,835 shares of company stock valued at $757,214 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASB. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 285.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 907 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Associated Banc in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Associated Banc during the second quarter worth $93,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Associated Banc during the second quarter worth $140,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

About Associated Banc

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.