Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Wednesday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on ASB. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Baird R W lowered Associated Banc from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.78.

Associated Banc Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of ASB opened at $22.47 on Wednesday. Associated Banc has a 12 month low of $15.20 and a 12 month high of $24.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $21.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.45. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 22.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.93.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. Associated Banc’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Associated Banc will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other news, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total value of $165,089.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,108,254.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Associated Banc news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,269,730.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total value of $165,089.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 54,114 shares in the company, valued at $1,108,254.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,835 shares of company stock worth $757,214 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ASB. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Associated Banc by 285.2% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter valued at $93,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter worth $140,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% 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.