Associated Banc’s (ASB) Equal Weight Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reissued by investment analysts at Stephens in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $28.00 target price on the bank’s stock. Stephens’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 22.40% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on ASB. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.11.

Associated Banc Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ASB opened at $22.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $24.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Associated Banc has a 1 year low of $19.76 and a 1 year high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Associated Banc will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In other news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $71,004.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,678,897.35. The trade was a 4.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. This trade represents a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter worth $37,662,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Associated Banc during the 4th quarter worth $36,144,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,066,871 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $431,798,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444,068 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Associated Banc by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,838,422 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $354,638,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272,441 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 263.7% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,597,950 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158,576 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.