MQS Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 21,872 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $563,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ASB. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Associated Banc by 679.4% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Associated Banc by 139.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,748,667 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598,951 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Associated Banc by 4,883.7% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,385,666 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,862 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Associated Banc by 32.5% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,629,549 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,606,000 after purchasing an additional 645,676 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Associated Banc by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,538,157 shares of the bank’s stock worth $477,543,000 after purchasing an additional 545,185 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In other news, Director John B. Williams sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.18, for a total transaction of $112,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 67,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,899,895.60. The trade was a 5.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Associated Banc from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays upgraded shares of Associated Banc from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.30.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of Associated Banc stock opened at $28.02 on Friday. Associated Banc-Corp has a one year low of $22.40 and a one year high of $29.51. The company has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a PE ratio of 9.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.64.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 19.88%.The business had revenue of $387.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $384.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to purchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

About Associated Banc

Associated Banc-Corp, through its primary subsidiary Associated Bank, N.A., is a regional financial services company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The bank operates more than 200 branches across the Midwest, offering community-focused banking solutions for individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. Its emphasis on personalized service and regional decision-making supports long-standing customer relationships.

On the consumer side, Associated Bank provides checking and savings accounts, residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, auto financing and credit card products.