Pzena Investment Management LLC Buys Shares of 1,990,243 Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,990,243 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $61,240,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ASB. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Associated Banc by 134.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 433,405 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,208,000 after purchasing an additional 248,265 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 159.3% during the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 245,801 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,356,000 after purchasing an additional 150,998 shares in the last quarter. Associated Banc Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 2,631,339 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,783,000 after buying an additional 182,623 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,538,157 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $477,543,000 after buying an additional 545,185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,048,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.60.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $32.06 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.37. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52 week low of $23.86 and a 52 week high of $32.46.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.01. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 10.64% and a net margin of 19.66%.The business had revenue of $454.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $438.01 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.57%.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In related news, EVP Randall J. Erickson sold 43,561 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.04, for a total transaction of $1,395,694.44. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicole M. Kitowski sold 7,663 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.91, for a total transaction of $236,863.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,327 shares in the company, valued at $1,401,057.57. The trade was a 14.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 101,823 shares of company stock valued at $3,150,761. 0.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Associated Banc Profile

Associated Banc-Corp, through its primary subsidiary Associated Bank, N.A., is a regional financial services company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The bank operates more than 200 branches across the Midwest, offering community-focused banking solutions for individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. Its emphasis on personalized service and regional decision-making supports long-standing customer relationships.

On the consumer side, Associated Bank provides checking and savings accounts, residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, auto financing and credit card products.