Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays increased their price target 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 lifted their price objective on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

Associated Banc Trading Up 0.1 %

ASB stock opened at $25.15 on Friday. Associated Banc has a 1-year low of $19.40 and a 1-year high of $28.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $25.05 and its 200-day moving average is $23.52. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.94.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. Equities analysts anticipate that Associated Banc will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is 116.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Associated Banc news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $810,172.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. The trade was a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASB. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Associated Banc during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Associated Banc during the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Associated Banc by 82.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is 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.