Associated Banc-Corp $ASB Stake Decreased by Trexquant Investment LP

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has reduced its stake in Associated Banc-Corp by 37.6% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 119,111 shares valued at $2.68 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have varied their investments in ASB, with Versant Capital Management significantly increasing its position by 385.5%.
• Associated Banc announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.5%, set to be paid on September 15th.

Trexquant Investment LP reduced its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 37.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 119,111 shares of the bank's stock after selling 71,825 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.07% of Associated Banc worth $2,684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in Associated Banc in the 1st quarter valued at about $744,000. 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 last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 235.6% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 28,522 shares of the bank's stock valued at $643,000 after buying an additional 20,022 shares during the last quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc boosted its position in Associated Banc by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 1,024,820 shares of the bank's stock valued at $23,089,000 after buying an additional 155,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,146 shares of the bank's stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 2,892 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.78.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

NYSE ASB traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $26.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 200,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,513,591. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.60. 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 $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 34.33, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.84.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $362.78 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.48%.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 13,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.24, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 10.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.