Key Points
- Director John Williams sold 4,000 shares on April 28 at an average price of $28.18, reducing his stake by 5.6% to 67,420 shares (worth about $1.9M), as disclosed in an SEC filing.
- Associated Banc beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $0.70 (vs. $0.69) and $387.2M in revenue, while the board authorized a $100M share buyback (up to 2.2% of shares) and declared a $0.24 quarterly dividend (3.4% yield).
- Analysts show a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $30.30, and several firms recently raised targets or issued upgrades.
Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) Director John Williams sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.18, for a total value of $112,720.00. Following the sale, the director owned 67,420 shares in the company, valued at $1,899,895.60. The trade was a 5.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.
Associated Banc Trading Down 1.0%
NYSE ASB opened at $27.86 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $26.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.35. Associated Banc-Corp has a twelve month low of $21.61 and a twelve month high of $29.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.67, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.77.
Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 19.88%.The business had revenue of $387.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $384.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Associated Banc announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 27th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Associated Banc Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.33%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 0.3% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 154,933 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,779,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 46.8% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the bank's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 0.5% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 80,677 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,074,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 19,079 shares of the bank's stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the bank's stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial raised their price target on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Monday. Stephens upgraded Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $29.00 in a report on Friday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Associated Banc from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.30.
Get Our Latest Analysis on ASB
About Associated Banc
(
Get Free Report)
Associated Banc-Corp, through its primary subsidiary Associated Bank, N.A., is a regional financial services company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The bank operates more than 200 branches across the Midwest, offering community-focused banking solutions for individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. Its emphasis on personalized service and regional decision-making supports long-standing customer relationships.
On the consumer side, Associated Bank provides checking and savings accounts, residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, auto financing and credit card products.
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