AlphaQuest LLC Makes New $203,000 Investment in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 8,500 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 592,472 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,762,000 after acquiring an additional 34,824 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 221.6% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 163,003 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,511,000 after acquiring an additional 112,323 shares in the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter valued at $280,000. Commerce Bank increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 24,795 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 3,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 117.6% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,697 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 23,076 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In related news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $71,004.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. The trade was a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total value of $172,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,223,021.45. This represents a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on ASB shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.11.

Associated Banc Trading Up 3.4 %

NYSE ASB opened at $21.96 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.79, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. Associated Banc-Corp has a one year low of $19.76 and a one year high of $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business’s fifty day moving average is $24.34 and its 200-day moving average is $23.98.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. Equities research analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is 116.46%.

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.