Strs Ohio Acquires New Position in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 19,300 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $435,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 116,712 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,789,000 after acquiring an additional 16,700 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 435,634 shares of the bank's stock valued at $10,412,000 after acquiring an additional 107,328 shares during the last quarter. GTS Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $328,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $343,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Associated Banc Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Associated Banc stock opened at $25.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company's fifty day moving average price is $25.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.76. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $18.32 and a 52-week high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $366.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.78 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 8.86%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. Associated Banc's payout ratio is 119.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 13,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.24, for a total value of $354,120.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 111,228 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,029,850.72. This represents a 10.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Matthew R. Braeger sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total transaction of $52,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $351,533.64. The trade was a 13.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,342 shares of company stock valued at $494,360 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.78.

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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