AlphaQuest LLC Increases Position in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly increased its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp by 235.6% during the first quarter, now owning 28,522 shares valued at $643,000.
• Associated Banc-Corp has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $0.92 and a yield of 3.5%.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets for Associated Banc-Corp, with the average target now at $27.78 and a consensus rating of "Hold."

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 235.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,522 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 20,022 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Associated Banc were worth $643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 17,882 shares of the bank's stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,518 shares of the bank's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 183.3% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 26,990 shares of the bank's stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 17,462 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 112,441 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 15,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $311,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ASB. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barclays increased their price target on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.78.

Associated Banc Trading Down 0.2%

ASB traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $26.97. 1,870,961 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,526,470. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1 year low of $18.32 and a 1 year high of $28.18. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.55. The firm has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $366.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.78 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.48%.

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.