Truist Financial Initiates Coverage on Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB)

Equities research analysts at Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set a "hold" rating and a $26.00 price target on the bank's stock. Truist Financial's price objective indicates a potential upside of 7.15% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Associated Banc Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE ASB traded down $0.06 on Tuesday, hitting $24.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 899,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,543,631. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Associated Banc has a 1-year low of $18.32 and a 1-year high of $28.18. The company's 50-day moving average is $21.80 and its 200 day moving average is $23.93. The firm has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of 30.72, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. The company had revenue of $348.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $347.86 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. Associated Banc's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Associated Banc will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, CEO Andrew J. Harmening purchased 12,910 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $300,157.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 319,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,423,004.25. This trade represents a 4.21% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 154.3% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Associated Banc by 221.0% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Associated Banc by 385.5% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,612 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,280 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 49.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter worth $56,000. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

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.