Sifting through countless of stocks in the Banks industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Associated Banc-Corp, Stock Yards Bancorp or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Associated Banc-Corp, Stock Yards Bancorp and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Associated Banc-Corp, Stock Yards Bancorp and Inc.

Associated Banc-Corp, a bank holding company, provides various banking and nonbanking products and services to individuals and businesses in Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Texas, and Minnesota. It 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. The company 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 comprising interest rate risk management and foreign exchange solutions; fiduciary services consisting of 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, it offers deposit and transactional solutions, including checking, credit and debit cards, online banking and bill pay, and money transfer services. The company operates loan production offices in Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, New York, Ohio, and Texas. Associated Banc-Corp was founded in 1861 and is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company that provides various financial services for individuals, corporations, and others in the United States. It operates in two segments, Commercial Banking, and WM&T. The Commercial Banking segment offers a range of loan and deposit products to individual consumers and businesses in all its markets through retail lending, mortgage banking, deposit services, online banking, mobile banking, private banking, commercial lending, commercial real estate lending, leasing, treasury management services, merchant services, international banking, correspondent banking, credit card services, and other banking services. This segment also provides securities brokerage services through an arrangement with a third party broker-dealer. The WM&T segment engages in the provision of investment management, financial and retirement planning, and trust and estate services, as well as retirement plan management for businesses and corporations. The company was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

Latest Banks and Associated Banc-Corp, Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. Stock News

As of September 2, 2026, Associated Banc-Corp had a $5.7 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $750.0 million. Associated Banc-Corp’s stock is up 20.4% in 2026, up 0.7% in the previous five trading days and up 16.14% in the past year.

Currently, Associated Banc-Corp’s price-earnings ratio is 10.7. Associated Banc-Corp’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.6 billion with a 32.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 23.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.956 per share for the current fiscal year. Associated Banc-Corp currently has a 3.1% dividend yield.

As of September 2, 2026, Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. had a $2.5 billion market cap, putting it in the 56th percentile of all stocks. Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc.’s stock is up 24.1% in 2026, up 1.1% in the previous five trading days and down 0.76% in the past year.

Currently, Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 15.8. Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $418.2 million with a 35.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 19.9%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $5.330 per share for the current fiscal year. Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. currently has a 1.6% dividend yield.

How We Compare Associated Banc-Corp, Stock Yards Bancorp and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Associated Banc-Corp, Stock Yards Bancorp and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

Learn more about A+ Investor here!

Sign Up to Receive a Free Special Report Showing How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Smarter Investment Decisions

Associated Banc-Corp, Stock Yards Bancorp and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Associated Banc-Corp	ASB	C
Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc.	SYBT	A

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Associated Banc-Corp has a Growth Score of 56, which is Average. Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. has a Growth Score of 89, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than Associated Banc-Corp. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Associated Banc-Corp, Stock Yards Bancorp and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Associated Banc-Corp	ASB	F
Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc.	SYBT	F

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Associated Banc-Corp has a Quality Score of 8, which is Very Weak. Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. has a Quality Score of 12, which is Very Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Associated Banc-Corp, Stock Yards Bancorp or Inc. has a high enough Quality Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Associated Banc-Corp, Stock Yards Bancorp or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to quality.

Associated Banc-Corp, Stock Yards Bancorp and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Associated Banc-Corp	ASB	D
Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc.	SYBT	B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Associated Banc-Corp has a Earnings Estimate Score of 36, which is Negative. Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 61, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Associated Banc-Corp. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Associated Banc-Corp, Stock Yards Bancorp and Inc. Grades

In addition to Estimate Revisions, Quality and Growth, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Momentum.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Associated Banc-Corp, Stock Yards Bancorp and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Associated Banc-Corp, Stock Yards Bancorp or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Associated Banc-Corp stock has a Growth Score of 56, Estimate Revisions Score of 36 and Quality Score of 8.

Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 89, Estimate Revisions Score of 61 and Quality Score of 12.

Comparing Associated Banc-Corp, Stock Yards Bancorp and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.