VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Buys Shares of 51,900 Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Key Points

• The Virginia Retirement Systems purchased 51,900 shares of Associated Banc-Corp valued at approximately $1.266 million in the second quarter.
• Associated Banc-Corp reported earnings of $0.65 per share for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate and indicating a year-over-year increase from $0.52 per share.
• The bank recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23, yielding a dividend of 3.7% annually, with a payout ratio of 119.48%.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 51,900 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,266,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Associated Banc during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 77.7% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,907 shares of the bank's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the period. Richardson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the second quarter worth approximately $49,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 17.9% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,688 shares of the bank's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position 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 worth $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 Price Performance

ASB stock opened at $25.21 on Thursday. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52 week low of $18.32 and a 52 week high of $28.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.82. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.28.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $362.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is currently 119.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price 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, Robert W. Baird upped their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 3,342 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $87,560.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 41,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,086,566.40. This represents a 7.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Matthew R. Braeger sold 2,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,346 shares in the company, valued at $351,533.64. This represents a 13.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,342 shares of company stock valued at $494,360. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Associated Banc

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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