Atlantic Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:AUB) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. (NASDAQ:AUB) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $39.29 and last traded at $39.4240, with a volume of 794954 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AUB. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares from $45.00 to $41.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 24th. National Bankshares set a $46.00 target price on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.61.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Stock Up 7.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $35.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.48 and a beta of 0.83.

Atlantic Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:AUB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $319.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.92 million. Atlantic Union Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 15.53%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 69.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost from Atlantic Union Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Atlantic Union Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is 79.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlantic Union Bankshares

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in Atlantic Union Bankshares by 1,022.6% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,877,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,709,975 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 96.8% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,313,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,631,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629,591 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 6,808.0% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,532,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,096,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510,289 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 24.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,400,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,486,000 after buying an additional 1,457,647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 1,128.0% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,398,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,358,000 after buying an additional 1,284,759 shares in the last quarter. 78.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Atlantic Union Bankshares

Atlantic Union Bankshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, operating through its principal subsidiary Atlantic Union Bank. The company offers a full suite of commercial and consumer banking services to individuals, businesses and institutions across Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and the District of Columbia. Leveraging a network of full-service branches, commercial lending offices and digital platforms, Atlantic Union Bankshares focuses on relationship-driven solutions tailored to its regional client base.

Atlantic Union’s product lineup includes traditional deposit accounts, such as checking, savings and money market accounts, along with certificates of deposit.