Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Associated Banc-Corp has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts, with an average target price of $28.11 among the ten firms covering the stock.
• Recent insider sales saw EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sell 3,342 shares, reducing his ownership by 7.46%, while the company’s insiders sold a total of 18,342 shares valued at $494,360 over the last 90 days.
• The bank recently announced a quarterly dividend payment of $0.23 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.8% with a dividend payout ratio of 119.48%.

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the ten research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.1111.

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Associated Banc news, EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 3,342 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $87,560.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 41,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,086,566.40. This trade represents a 7.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Matthew R. Braeger sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total transaction of $52,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $351,533.64. The trade was a 13.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,342 shares of company stock valued at $494,360 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 38.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the bank's stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 11.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,251 shares of the bank's stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 37.3% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 31,111 shares of the bank's stock valued at $701,000 after acquiring an additional 8,459 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 4.7% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 19,210 shares of the bank's stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 2.0% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 199,530 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,495,000 after acquiring an additional 3,869 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Trading Up 1.1%

ASB opened at $24.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.82. Associated Banc has a 12 month low of $18.32 and a 12 month high of $28.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $25.89 and a 200 day moving average of $24.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $366.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.78 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.86% and a net margin of 5.79%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Associated Banc will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.48%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.