Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04, Zacks reports. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of Associated Banc stock traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $25.31. 2,054,279 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,650,696. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $25.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.36. Associated Banc has a one year low of $19.40 and a one year high of $28.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. This is a boost from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $810,172.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. The trade was a 26.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total value of $460,674.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,204 shares in the company, valued at $2,423,934.76. This trade represents a 15.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays increased their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.00.

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.