Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Shares Acquired by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. increased its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,864 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,604 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ASB. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Associated Banc during the 4th quarter worth $56,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the 4th quarter worth $64,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $23.09 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.88. Associated Banc-Corp has a one year low of $19.76 and a one year high of $28.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.23, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s fifty day moving average is $24.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.00.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. Analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is currently 116.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. The trade was a 4.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ASB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James decreased their price target on Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.11.

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.