Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) released its earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.52, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $321.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.69 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 7.93%. Associated Banc’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 EPS.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of ASB traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $23.95. 2,803,435 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,385,734. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.95. Associated Banc has a fifty-two week low of $15.16 and a fifty-two week high of $24.21. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.10.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.89%.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In related news, EVP Nicole M. Kitowski sold 5,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.23, for a total transaction of $106,553.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 37,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,591.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nicole M. Kitowski sold 5,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.23, for a total transaction of $106,553.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 37,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,591.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total value of $55,450.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,238,449.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ASB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.56.

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.