Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Given New $26.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its target price cut by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $28.00 to $26.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the bank’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target suggests a potential upside of 2.74% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ASB. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.11.

Associated Banc Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $25.31 on Friday. Associated Banc has a 52-week low of $19.40 and a 52-week high of $28.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $25.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.37. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 expect that Associated Banc will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

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 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 directly owns 81,021 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total value of $460,674.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,423,934.76. This trade represents a 15.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth about $343,000. EMC Capital Management raised its position in Associated Banc by 13,834.5% during the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 27,869 shares of the bank’s stock worth $666,000 after buying an additional 27,669 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Associated Banc during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,023 shares of the bank’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 2,952 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.