Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases New Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 41,700 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $892,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at about $92,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $82,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $95,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 8,341 shares of the bank’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total value of $52,785.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,229,225.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,700 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total transaction of $52,785.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 62,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,229,225.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 5,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.02, for a total transaction of $105,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 50,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,053,648.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,710 shares of company stock valued at $454,897 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ASB opened at $21.35 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $20.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Associated Banc-Corp has a one year low of $14.47 and a one year high of $22.16. The company has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.89, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.00.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 8.90%. The firm had revenue of $322.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.89 million. Analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is 77.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $21.50 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.63.

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.