Oxford Asset Management LLP Makes New $311,000 Investment in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,028 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $311,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 221.0% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Associated Banc by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ASB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays lowered their price target on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Associated Banc presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total value of $172,970.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. The trade was a 12.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $71,004.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 66,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,678,897.35. This trade represents a 4.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Trading Up 3.5 %

ASB traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $23.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,687,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,531,779. The business's 50-day moving average is $21.74 and its 200-day moving average is $23.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a PE ratio of 29.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. Associated Banc-Corp has a fifty-two week low of $18.32 and a fifty-two week high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $348.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $347.86 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. The company's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 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 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is presently 106.98%.

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.