Heartland Advisors Inc. Purchases 369,546 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors Inc. increased its ownership of Associated Banc-Corp by 92.4% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 369,546 shares to hold a total of 769,546 shares.
• Associated Banc-Corp recently reported earnings of $0.65 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with quarterly revenue of $366.98 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, representing a 3.64% yield, with a payout ratio of 106.98%.

Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 92.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 769,546 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 369,546 shares during the period. Associated Banc makes up about 1.0% of Heartland Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned about 0.46% of Associated Banc worth $17,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 154.3% during the fourth 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 boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 221.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 385.5% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,612 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,280 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. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the bank's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Associated Banc Stock Down 2.4%

NYSE:ASB opened at $25.27 on Friday. Associated Banc-Corp has a twelve month low of $18.32 and a twelve month high of $28.18. The company has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $366.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.78 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.47% and a net margin of 6.02%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ASB shares. Truist Financial started coverage on Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Andrew J. Harmening bought 12,910 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 319,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,423,004.25. This trade represents a 4.21% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ASB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.