Associated Banc-Corp $ASB Shares Sold by Bridgeway Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Bridgeway Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Associated Banc-Corp by 44.8% in Q1, holding 155,488 shares after selling 126,400 shares, representing a value of $3.5 million.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Associated Banc-Corp, with Piper Sandler setting it at $27.00 and Wells Fargo elevating it to $30.00.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.5% and a dividend payout ratio of 119.48%.

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 44.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,488 shares of the bank's stock after selling 126,400 shares during the quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Associated Banc worth $3,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 33,238 shares of the bank's stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Associated Banc by 17.9% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,688 shares of the bank's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in Associated Banc by 3.3% during the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 18,760 shares of the bank's stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 16,787 shares of the bank's stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. 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, July 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.78.

Associated Banc Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE ASB traded up $0.14 during trading on Thursday, reaching $26.42. 1,706,760 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,143,797. The company has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.84. The business's 50-day moving average price is $25.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.66. 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-Corp has a twelve month low of $18.32 and a twelve month high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 8.86%. The business had revenue of $366.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.78 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Associated Banc news, EVP John A. Utz sold 13,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.24, for a total value of $354,120.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 111,228 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,029,850.72. This represents a 10.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Matthew R. Braeger sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total transaction of $52,680.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at $351,533.64. The trade was a 13.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Company 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.