Hennessy Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Key Points

• Hennessy Advisors Inc. has reduced its stake in Associated Banc-Corp by 16.0%, now holding 105,000 shares valued at approximately $2.56 million.
• Goldman Sachs has significantly increased its investment in the bank by 139.1%, acquiring an additional 1,598,951 shares during the first quarter.
• Associated Banc recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, yielding 3.5%, with a payout ratio of 119.48%.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lessened its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,000 shares of the bank's stock after selling 20,000 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Associated Banc worth $2,561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Associated Banc by 139.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,748,667 shares of the bank's stock worth $61,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598,951 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Associated Banc by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,321,120 shares of the bank's stock worth $52,295,000 after buying an additional 72,685 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 200.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,930,329 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,853,000 after buying an additional 1,287,458 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Associated Banc by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,841,927 shares of the bank's stock valued at $41,499,000 after buying an additional 206,259 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 83.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,308,946 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,491,000 after acquiring an additional 594,361 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $25.96 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $25.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 33.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.82. Associated Banc-Corp has a fifty-two week low of $18.32 and a fifty-two week high of $28.18. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS 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 firm 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 firm posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. Associated Banc's payout ratio is presently 119.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.78.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, EVP Matthew R. Braeger sold 2,000 shares of Associated Banc 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at $351,533.64. The trade was a 13.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 3,342 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $87,560.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 41,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,086,566.40. The trade was a 7.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,342 shares of company stock valued at $494,360 in the last three months. 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.

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