Is Associated Banc Corp (ASB) A Good Stock for Your Portfolio?

As one would reasonably expect, key hedge funds have jumped into Associated Banc Corp (NYSE:ASB) headfirst. Arrowstreet Capital, led by Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell, assembled the biggest position in Associated Banc Corp (NYSE:ASB). Arrowstreet Capital had $1.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Solomon Kumin’s Folger Hill Asset Management also made a $1.1 million investment in the stock during the quarter.

Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Associated Banc Corp (NYSE:ASB). We will take a look at Valero Energy Partners LP (NYSE:VLP), Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL), ALLETE Inc (NYSE:ALE), and UMB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:UMBF). This group of stocks’ market values match ASB’s market value.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 14 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $158 million. That figure was $122 million in ASB’s case. Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Valero Energy Partners LP (NYSE:VLP) is the least popular one with only 3 bullish hedge fund positions. Associated Banc Corp (NYSE:ASB) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard EXEL might be a better candidate to consider taking a long position in.

Disclosure: None