Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04, Zacks reports. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASB opened at $25.31 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.37. The company has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.94. 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 has a one year low of $19.40 and a one year high of $28.18.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ASB shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Barclays lifted their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.11.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. This represents a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total transaction of $460,674.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,204 shares in the company, valued at $2,423,934.76. This trade represents a 15.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.45% 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.