Azora Capital LP Takes Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 35,659 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $852,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Associated Banc by 263.7% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,597,950 shares of the bank's stock valued at $38,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158,576 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 75,393 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,802,000 after acquiring an additional 13,680 shares during the last quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 869,591 shares of the bank's stock worth $20,783,000 after acquiring an additional 86,000 shares during the period. Comerica Bank raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 47,607 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 1,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at $9,560,000. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. The trade was a 4.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares of the company's stock, 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. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ASB shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on 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 raised shares of Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Associated Banc Trading Up 3.5 %

NYSE ASB opened at $23.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.43, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52 week low of $18.32 and a 52 week high of $28.18. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $21.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 EPS 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 business had revenue of $348.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $347.86 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is currently 106.98%.

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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