Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Given New $24.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its price objective hoisted by Piper Sandler from $23.00 to $24.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ASB. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Baird R W lowered Associated Banc from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $23.56.

Associated Banc Price Performance

ASB stock opened at $23.06 on Friday. Associated Banc has a 1 year low of $15.16 and a 1 year high of $24.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $21.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.12. The firm has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.95.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.14% and a net margin of 7.93%. The firm had revenue of $321.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.69 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. Associated Banc’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Associated Banc will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total transaction of $55,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,238,449.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at $36,722,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,639,171 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $334,522,000 after acquiring an additional 184,813 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 50.2% during the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,181,042 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,652,000 after acquiring an additional 728,555 shares during the last quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. now owns 399,310 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,541,000 after acquiring an additional 48,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 71.1% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 73,961 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,591,000 after acquiring an additional 30,732 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.