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

Key Points

• Associated Banc's stock received a "hold (C)" rating from Weiss Ratings, with a consensus target price of $28.00 from various analysts.
• Despite a minor decline in stock price to $26.10, the bank reported quarterly earnings of $0.65 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• Recent transactions showed insider selling, including a sale of 3,342 shares by EVP Patrick Edward Ahern, representing a decrease in ownership.

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

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Associated Banc from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.00.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

NYSE:ASB traded down $0.43 on Wednesday, hitting $26.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,258,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,511,135. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $25.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.05. Associated Banc has a 52-week low of $18.32 and a 52-week high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.03. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.86% and a net margin of 5.79%.The firm had revenue of $366.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $362.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Associated Banc will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

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 stock was 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 approximately $1,086,566.40. This trade represents a 7.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 13,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.24, for a total value of $354,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 111,228 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,029,850.72. This represents a 10.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,342 shares of company stock valued at $494,360. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASB. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Associated Banc by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,652 shares of the bank's stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 3,191 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 3.7% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 16,787 shares of the bank's stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 38.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the bank's stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 34.1% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 102,423 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,308,000 after purchasing an additional 26,053 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 11.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,251 shares of the bank's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. 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.

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