Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Given "Sector Perform" Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their sector perform rating on shares of Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) in a research report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $23.00 target price on the bank's stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Raymond James increased their price target on Associated Banc from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Barclays assumed coverage on Associated Banc in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Associated Banc from $21.50 to $23.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $22.13.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

ASB traded up $0.02 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.46. 1,331,290 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,463,198. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.73 and a 200 day moving average of $19.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Associated Banc has a 52 week low of $14.47 and a 52 week high of $22.16.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 8.12%. The company had revenue of $322.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $325.89 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Associated Banc will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is 77.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total value of $52,785.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 62,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,229,225.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 14,010 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total transaction of $297,012.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 89,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,905,456. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total value of $52,785.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 62,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,229,225.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,710 shares of company stock valued at $454,897. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 17,712,813 shares of the bank's stock worth $403,145,000 after purchasing an additional 172,329 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,639,171 shares of the bank's stock worth $334,522,000 after purchasing an additional 184,813 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,835,562 shares of the bank's stock valued at $231,776,000 after acquiring an additional 229,552 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,356,990 shares of the bank's stock valued at $151,864,000 after acquiring an additional 1,118,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,866,025 shares of the bank's stock valued at $51,531,000 after acquiring an additional 105,630 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.