Associated Banc-Corp $ASB Position Increased by Rhino Investment Partners Inc

Key Points

• Rhino Investment Partners Inc increased its stake in Associated Banc-Corp by 17.9% in Q1, owning over 1 million shares valued at approximately $23 million, making it the 5th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Equities research analysts upgraded Associated Banc's price targets, with Wells Fargo raising its objective to $30.00, while the stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $27.78.
• The bank recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, equating to a 3.6% yield, although its dividend payout ratio is over 119%.

Rhino Investment Partners Inc boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 17.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,024,820 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 155,229 shares during the period. Associated Banc accounts for approximately 5.7% of Rhino Investment Partners Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Rhino Investment Partners Inc owned about 0.62% of Associated Banc worth $23,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its position in Associated Banc by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 58,001 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,386,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,518 shares of the bank's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 1.5% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 33,238 shares of the bank's stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 17,882 shares of the bank's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Price Performance

ASB stock traded up $1.2840 on Friday, reaching $26.4940. 1,544,087 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,430,906. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.86 and a 200-day moving average of $23.49. Associated Banc-Corp has a twelve month low of $18.32 and a twelve month high of $28.18. The firm has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $362.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is currently 119.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ASB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Monday, April 28th. Two equities research 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.78.

Associated Banc Profile

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.