Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $27.58 and last traded at $27.5340, with a volume of 568821 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ASB shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price (up from $29.00) on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Barclays dropped their target price on Associated Banc from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.20.

Associated Banc Trading Up 0.1%

The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $25.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a PE ratio of 28.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.81.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $390.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.94 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 7.23%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 102.13%.

Insider Activity

In other Associated Banc news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,135 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.41, for a total value of $56,385.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 109,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,900,927.22. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 30,489 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.70, for a total transaction of $783,567.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $618,213.50. The trade was a 55.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 35,951 shares of company stock valued at $925,756 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Associated Banc during the second quarter worth $48,373,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 679.4% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,223,694 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,171,000 after buying an additional 1,938,393 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 139.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,748,667 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,927,000 after buying an additional 1,598,951 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 4,883.7% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,385,666 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,625,000 after buying an additional 1,357,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 200.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,930,329 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,853,000 after buying an additional 1,287,458 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is 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.