Swiss National Bank Increases Position in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Swiss National Bank raised its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 7.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 319,740 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 23,000 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.19% of Associated Banc worth $7,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 154.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 385.5% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,612 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 13.1% in the fourth 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 period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 38.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the bank's stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 11.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,251 shares of the bank's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Associated Banc Stock Up 4.4%

NYSE ASB traded up $1.12 on Friday, hitting $26.33. The stock had a trading volume of 177,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,526,635. The business's fifty day moving average price is $24.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $18.32 and a 52-week high of $28.18. The stock has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. 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. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.