Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04, Zacks reports. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of ASB stock opened at $25.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.94. Associated Banc has a 12 month low of $19.40 and a 12 month high of $28.18. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ASB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total value of $460,674.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,204 shares in the company, valued at $2,423,934.76. This trade represents a 15.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total value of $810,172.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. This represents a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Company Profile

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.