Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Barclays from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the bank’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 3.81% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.89.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of ASB stock opened at $26.01 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $24.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.43. Associated Banc has a 52 week low of $18.96 and a 52 week high of $28.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a PE ratio of 21.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Insider Activity

In other Associated Banc news, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total value of $460,674.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,423,934.76. The trade was a 15.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total transaction of $165,089.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,108,254.72. This trade represents a 12.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,641 shares of company stock worth $1,435,936 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 291.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,563,274 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,063,000 after buying an additional 1,163,807 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 11.2% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,036,239 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,401,000 after purchasing an additional 305,133 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in Associated Banc in the third quarter worth $6,082,000. 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. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Associated Banc during the third quarter valued at $3,245,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by 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.