Castleark Management LLC Takes $3.82 Million Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Castleark Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 159,680 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $3,816,000. Castleark Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Associated Banc at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP boosted its position in Associated Banc by 154.3% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 221.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Associated Banc by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Associated Banc during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Trading Down 3.6%

Associated Banc stock opened at $23.12 on Thursday. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1 year low of $18.32 and a 1 year high of $28.18. The firm's 50-day moving average is $21.93 and its 200-day moving average is $23.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.26, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $348.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.86 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. Associated Banc's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc's payout ratio is 106.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Associated Banc has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. The trade was a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew J. Harmening acquired 12,910 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $300,157.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 319,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,423,004.25. This represents a 4.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

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.

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