Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Stock

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its price objective raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $26.00 to $27.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays increased their price target on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price 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. 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.00.

Associated Banc Price Performance

ASB stock opened at $24.80 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $25.12 and its 200-day moving average is $23.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Associated Banc has a 1 year low of $19.40 and a 1 year high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%. Equities research analysts expect that Associated Banc will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Associated Banc news, 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 value of $810,172.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,222,406.03. This trade represents a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 221.6% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 163,003 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,511,000 after buying an additional 112,323 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Associated Banc by 3.3% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 11,595.3% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 76,370 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 75,717 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 315.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 540,057 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,907,000 after purchasing an additional 410,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crescent Grove Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 101,591 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,428,000 after buying an additional 13,521 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

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.