Pzena Investment Management LLC Grows Position in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Key Points

• Pzena Investment Management LLC has increased its stake in Associated Banc-Corp by 4.0%, now holding approximately 1.12% of the company, valued at $45 million.
• Associated Banc recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, equating to an annual yield of 3.7%, with a payout ratio of 119.48%.
• Wall Street analysts have raised price targets for Associated Banc-Corp, with Wells Fargo increasing its target from $28.00 to $30.00 while maintaining an "overweight" rating.

Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 4.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,859,542 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 71,676 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.12% of Associated Banc worth $45,354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP boosted its position in Associated Banc by 77.7% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,907 shares of the bank's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 834 shares during the period. Richardson Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Associated Banc by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,688 shares of the bank's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 559 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 38.0% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the bank's stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,251 shares of the bank's stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Associated Banc Trading Down 5.8%

NYSE:ASB opened at $24.68 on Monday. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52 week low of $18.32 and a 52 week high of $28.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $25.78 and a 200 day moving average of $24.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.05, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.82.

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 company had revenue of $366.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $362.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is presently 119.48%.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

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 shares were sold at an average price of $27.24, for a total transaction of $354,120.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 111,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 3,342 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total transaction of $87,560.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 41,472 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,566.40. The trade was a 7.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,342 shares of company stock valued at $494,360 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ASB. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.11.

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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