SG Americas Securities LLC Takes Position in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 452,607 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $11,659,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,769,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 24.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 984,537 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,312,000 after purchasing an additional 194,307 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,289,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 50.6% in the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 125,433 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,225,000 after purchasing an additional 42,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 877,828 shares of the bank’s stock worth $22,569,000 after purchasing an additional 59,184 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens raised Associated Banc from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $30.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered Associated Banc from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.20.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of ASB opened at $24.86 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $26.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.15. Associated Banc-Corp has a one year low of $18.32 and a one year high of $29.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.80.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.11. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 19.31%.The business had revenue of $393.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $382.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.66%.

Associated Banc announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 6,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.02, for a total value of $184,932.00. Following the sale, the director owned 49,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,380,377.28. This represents a 11.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 14,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.03, for a total transaction of $427,640.93. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,143,811.03. This trade represents a 27.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,656 shares of company stock valued at $677,789. 0.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Associated Banc Profile

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.