Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Stock Position Increased by Rhino Investment Partners Inc

Rhino Investment Partners Inc lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 869,591 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 86,000 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc accounts for about 4.6% of Rhino Investment Partners Inc's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Rhino Investment Partners Inc owned about 0.57% of Associated Banc worth $20,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ASB. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 154.3% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Associated Banc by 221.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter worth $56,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 4th quarter valued at $64,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on 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 dropped their target price on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 49,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,223,021.45. The trade was a 12.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 66,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. This trade represents a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of ASB stock traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,687,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,531,779. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a PE ratio of 29.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $21.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $18.32 and a 52-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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. The business had revenue of $348.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.86 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Associated Banc's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.