Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Given New $28.00 Price Target at Barclays

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its target price increased by Barclays from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on ASB. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Associated Banc Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $23.70 on Thursday. Associated Banc has a 52-week low of $19.40 and a 52-week high of $28.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $25.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $607.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $336.52 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Associated Banc will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. This is an increase from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is 76.67%.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total value of $460,674.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,423,934.76. This represents a 15.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $810,172.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,222,406.03. The trade was a 26.72 % 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.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. State Street Corp increased its position in Associated Banc by 3.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,230,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $177,282,000 after purchasing an additional 261,877 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,584,271 shares of the bank’s stock worth $77,219,000 after buying an additional 79,658 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,036,239 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,401,000 after buying an additional 305,133 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,137,125 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,034,000 after buying an additional 17,425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 291.3% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,563,274 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,063,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163,807 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Company 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.