Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $27.22.

A number of brokerages recently commented on ASB. Stephens decreased their target price on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday.

Associated Banc Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE ASB traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $25.90. 1,915,799 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,558,031. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.37. Associated Banc has a 1-year low of $18.32 and a 1-year high of $28.18. The firm has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.12, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. Associated Banc had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 8.47%. The business had revenue of $348.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $347.86 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Associated Banc will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Associated Banc's payout ratio is 106.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Associated Banc news, CEO Andrew J. Harmening purchased 12,910 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $300,157.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 319,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,423,004.25. The trade was a 4.21% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Associated Banc by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,248,435 shares of the bank's stock worth $53,738,000 after buying an additional 111,310 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter worth approximately $353,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in Associated Banc during the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 37,296 shares of the bank's stock worth $891,000 after buying an additional 4,799 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.