Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Earns Hold (C) Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) has had its rating restated as "hold (C)" by Weiss Ratings, reflecting cautious sentiment from analysts amidst recent financial performance.
• Barclays and Royal Bank of Canada have raised their price targets for Associated Banc, with Barclays moving from $30.00 to $32.00 and RBC from $27.00 to $28.00, indicating a positive outlook despite the hold rating.
• Institutional investors own 82.98% of Associated Banc, with recent activity showing increased stakes from firms like Bayforest Capital Ltd and Merit Financial Group LLC during the third quarter.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating restated by analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on ASB. Barclays raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Associated Banc presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.11.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

NYSE:ASB traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $25.61. 1,590,072 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,528,156. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $25.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.32. Associated Banc has a 12 month low of $18.32 and a 12 month high of $28.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.07. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.86% and a net margin of 5.79%.The firm had revenue of $386.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Associated Banc will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 13,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.24, for a total value of $354,120.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 111,228 shares in the company, valued at $3,029,850.72. This trade represents a 10.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 3,342 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $87,560.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 41,472 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,566.40. This represents a 7.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,342 shares of company stock worth $494,360 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 155.2% during the third quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 3,547 shares of the bank's stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 2,157 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new position in Associated Banc during the third quarter worth about $218,000. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 17.5% during the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 14,536 shares of the bank's stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. bought a new position in Associated Banc during the third quarter worth about $266,000. Finally, Burney Co. lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 2.2% during the third quarter. Burney Co. now owns 46,828 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,204,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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