Royal Bank of Canada Increases Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Price Target to $25.00

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $24.00 to $25.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target indicates a potential upside of 8.93% from the stock’s previous close.

ASB has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.89.

Associated Banc Price Performance

NYSE:ASB traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $22.95. 908,928 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,330,097. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $21.76 and its 200-day moving average is $21.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.93. Associated Banc has a 1-year low of $15.59 and a 1-year high of $24.21.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. Associated Banc had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 8.14%. The firm had revenue of $607.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Associated Banc will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In related news, EVP Randall J. Erickson sold 23,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total transaction of $546,564.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,958,353.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Randall J. Erickson sold 23,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total transaction of $546,564.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,958,353.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.78, for a total transaction of $45,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 99,637 shares in the company, valued at $2,269,730.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,835 shares of company stock valued at $757,214 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASB. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 285.2% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 907 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Associated Banc during the 1st quarter valued at $74,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter worth $93,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter worth $140,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.