Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Given New $30.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its price target boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $29.00 to $30.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on ASB. 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 reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. 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 research note on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays upped 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.67.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASB opened at $25.09 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $25.22 and a 200 day moving average of $23.40. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.94. Associated Banc has a 12 month low of $19.40 and a 12 month high of $28.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Associated Banc will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a positive change from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.67%.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total value of $810,172.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. This represents a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 15.97 % 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 company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 82.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 1,438 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.