Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Stock Price

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its target price raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $25.00 to $28.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. 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 MarketBeat, Associated Banc presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.78.

Associated Banc Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:ASB opened at $26.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.77, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. 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 1 year low of $18.63 and a 1 year high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $607.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $336.52 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Associated Banc will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. This is a positive change from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.67%.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In related news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,222,406.03. This trade represents a 26.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,423,934.76. The trade was a 15.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,641 shares of company stock valued at $1,435,936 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 82.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter valued at about $93,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter valued at about $140,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.