Head to Head Comparison: Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) and Central Plains Bancshares (NASDAQ:CPBI)

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) and Central Plains Bancshares (NASDAQ:CPBI) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings and valuation.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

83.0% of Associated Banc shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 24.3% of Central Plains Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of Associated Banc shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.6% of Central Plains Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Associated Banc has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Central Plains Bancshares has a beta of 0.13, meaning that its stock price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Associated Banc and Central Plains Bancshares”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Associated Banc	$2.39 billion	1.85	$123.14 million	$0.94	28.33
Central Plains Bancshares	$27.31 million	2.64	$3.65 million	$0.97	17.69

Associated Banc has higher revenue and earnings than Central Plains Bancshares. Central Plains Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Associated Banc, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Associated Banc and Central Plains Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Associated Banc	7.23%	9.45%	0.98%
Central Plains Bancshares	12.78%	4.39%	0.72%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Associated Banc and Central Plains Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Associated Banc	0	8	3	0	2.27
Central Plains Bancshares	0	1	0	0	2.00

Associated Banc presently has a consensus price target of $28.50, suggesting a potential upside of 7.04%. Given Associated Banc’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Associated Banc is more favorable than Central Plains Bancshares.

Summary

Associated Banc beats Central Plains Bancshares on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. It also provides deposit and cash management solutions, such as commercial checking and interest-bearing deposit products, cash vault and night depository services, liquidity solutions, payables and receivables solutions, and information services; specialized financial services, such as interest rate risk management and foreign exchange solutions; fiduciary services, such as administration of pension, profit-sharing and other employee benefit plans, fiduciary and corporate agency services, and institutional asset management services; and investable funds solutions, including savings, money market deposit accounts, IRA accounts, CDs, fixed and variable annuities, full-service, discount, and online investment brokerage; investment advisory services; and trust and investment management accounts. In addition, the company offers deposit and transactional solutions, including checking, credit, debit and pre-paid cards, online banking and bill pay; and money transfer services. Associated Banc-Corp was founded in 1861 and is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

About Central Plains Bancshares

Central Plains Bancshares, Inc. focuses on providing various banking products and services to retail customers, and small and medium-sized commercial customers in Nebraska, the United States. It offers checking accounts, savings accounts, and certificate of deposit accounts. The company also provides one- to four-family residential mortgage loans secured by properties, as well as commercial real estate loans, commercial and industrial loans, multi-family residential real estate loans, construction and land development loans, agricultural real estate and non-real estate loans, and consumer loans. In addition, it offers electronic banking services, including mobile banking, on-line banking and bill pay, and electronic funds transfer. The company was incorporated in 2023 and is based in Grand Island, Nebraska.