Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 34.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 102,423 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 26,053 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Associated Banc worth $2,308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ASB. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Associated Banc by 154.3% during 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 grew its position in shares of Associated Banc by 221.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Associated Banc by 385.5% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,612 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,280 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Associated Banc by 49.6% during the 4th 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. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Associated Banc by 13.1% during the 4th 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 last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Associated Banc Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:ASB traded down $0.68 on Friday, hitting $22.79. 1,384,962 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,548,110. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12 month low of $18.32 and a 12 month high of $28.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $22.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. The business had revenue of $348.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $347.86 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ASB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Stephens cut their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other news, 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 purchased at an average cost of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $300,157.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 319,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,423,004.25. The trade was a 4.21% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

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.