Key Points
- EVP John Utz sold 2,135 shares on December 9 at an average price of $26.41 for $56,385.35, reducing his stake by 1.91% to 109,842 shares; the sale was disclosed in an SEC Form 4.
- Associated Banc raised its quarterly dividend to $0.24 (from $0.23), payable December 15 with an ex-dividend date of December 1, implying a 3.5% yield and a 102.13% payout ratio.
- The bank beat Q3 estimates (EPS $0.73 vs. $0.66; revenue $390.7M vs. $377.9M) and trades near its one-year high (~$27.46) with a $4.54B market cap, while analysts hold a consensus "Hold" and a $28.20 price target and institutions own about 83% of the stock.
Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) EVP John Utz sold 2,135 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.41, for a total value of $56,385.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 109,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,900,927.22. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.
Associated Banc Stock Performance
NYSE ASB traded up $0.27 on Thursday, reaching $27.34. 225,043 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,541,134. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Associated Banc-Corp has a one year low of $18.32 and a one year high of $27.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a PE ratio of 29.04, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.81. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $25.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.20.
Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $390.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $377.94 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 9.45%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Associated Banc Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This is a boost from Associated Banc's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is currently 102.13%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. Norges Bank bought a new position in Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter worth about $48,373,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Associated Banc by 679.4% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,223,694 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938,393 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 139.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,748,667 shares of the bank's stock worth $61,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598,951 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 4,883.7% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,385,666 shares of the bank's stock worth $35,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,862 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Associated Banc by 200.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,930,329 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287,458 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ASB. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on Associated Banc from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Monday. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 price objective (up from $29.00) on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.20.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Associated Banc
Associated Banc Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Read More
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from InsiderTrades.com in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
