Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Price Target Cut to $25.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its price objective reduced by Barclays from $28.00 to $25.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the bank’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.78.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of ASB opened at $18.81 on Tuesday. Associated Banc has a 52 week low of $18.33 and a 52 week high of $28.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.81, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $23.27 and a 200-day moving average of $23.96.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. As a group, analysts forecast that Associated Banc will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.89%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 66,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,678,897.35. The trade was a 4.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total value of $172,970.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. The trade was a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASB. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 154.3% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 221.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Associated Banc by 385.5% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,612 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Associated Banc by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Associated Banc in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Associated Banc Company Profile

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.