EMC Capital Management Has $666,000 Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

EMC Capital Management raised its stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 13,834.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,869 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,669 shares during the period. Associated Banc makes up about 0.4% of EMC Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. EMC Capital Management’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the third quarter worth $39,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at about $64,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 82.1% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,438 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ASB. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com raised Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Associated Banc has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Associated Banc stock opened at $24.92 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $25.12 and a 200-day moving average of $23.49. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.94. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1 year low of $19.40 and a 1 year high of $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $810,172.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,021 shares in the company, valued at $2,222,406.03. This trade represents a 26.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.