Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. (NASDAQ:AUB) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. (NASDAQ:AUB) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $41.5556.

AUB has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Atlantic Union Bankshares from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Atlantic Union Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Atlantic Union Bankshares from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Atlantic Union Bankshares from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $43.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares in a research note on Friday, October 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frank Russell Ellett purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $31.54 per share, for a total transaction of $157,700.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 76,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,416,153.24. This represents a 6.98% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John C. Asbury purchased 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $32.91 per share, for a total transaction of $246,825.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 270,532 shares in the company, valued at $8,903,208.12. The trade was a 2.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 18,941 shares of company stock worth $606,502 in the last 90 days. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AUB. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 309.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 99.4% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 71.7% in the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 64.8% in the 2nd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. 78.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ AUB opened at $33.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a PE ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Atlantic Union Bankshares has a twelve month low of $22.85 and a twelve month high of $44.54. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.69.

Atlantic Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:AUB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.15. Atlantic Union Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 15.53%.The firm had revenue of $377.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $369.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. Atlantic Union Bankshares’s revenue was up 92.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Atlantic Union Bankshares will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. Atlantic Union Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.02%.

About Atlantic Union Bankshares

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Atlantic Union Bank that provides banking and related financial products and services to consumers and businesses in the United States. It operates in two segments, Wholesale Banking and Consumer Banking. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, time deposit, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; and other depository services.