Versor Investments LP Makes New Investment in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP has invested approximately $367,000 in 16,300 shares of Associated Banc-Corp, indicating growing interest in the bank's stock amid changing market conditions.
• Associated Banc-Corp reported $0.65 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, and has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23, highlighting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.
• Institutional investors hold 82.98% of Associated Banc-Corp’s stock, showcasing strong institutional confidence and support for the company.

Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 16,300 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $367,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ASB. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in Associated Banc by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 115,710 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,765,000 after purchasing an additional 20,805 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its position in Associated Banc by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 17,882 shares of the bank's stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth approximately $232,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Associated Banc by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,518 shares of the bank's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 132,025 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,153,000 after acquiring an additional 7,873 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ASB. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective 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 objective 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. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Associated Banc presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.78.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

NYSE:ASB traded down $0.1110 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $26.3790. The stock had a trading volume of 278,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,527,448. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.48. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52 week low of $18.32 and a 52 week high of $28.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $362.78 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 8.86%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

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

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.