Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Position in Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. $AUB

Key Points

• Franklin Resources trimmed its Atlantic Union Bankshares stake by 1.4% in Q4, selling 45,680 shares and ending with 3.24 million shares valued at about $114.5 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed but constructive: the stock carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $43.63 target price, though some analysts recently lowered targets or downgraded their views.
• Atlantic Union Bankshares reported softer-than-expected results for its latest quarter, missing EPS and revenue estimates, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share for a 3.8% annualized yield.

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. (NASDAQ:AUB - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,242,829 shares of the company's stock after selling 45,680 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 2.28% of Atlantic Union Bankshares worth $114,472,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Walleye Capital LLC raised its position in Atlantic Union Bankshares by 1.5% in the second quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 22,000 shares of the company's stock worth $688,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC increased its position in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 5.2% in the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 8,282 shares of the company's stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,399 shares of the company's stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 5.7% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 9,137 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 32,556 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,149,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Atlantic Union Bankshares from $47.50 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research cut Atlantic Union Bankshares from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Atlantic Union Bankshares from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Atlantic Union Bankshares from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atlantic Union Bankshares has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Nancy H. Agee acquired 650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.05 per share, for a total transaction of $25,382.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 37,797 shares in the company, valued at $1,475,972.85. This trade represents a 1.75% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Trading Up 0.5%

Atlantic Union Bankshares stock opened at $38.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.95 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $37.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.15. Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. has a 52 week low of $29.64 and a 52 week high of $42.18. 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 (NASDAQ:AUB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $371.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $391.24 million. Atlantic Union Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 15.53%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. Atlantic Union Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.71%.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Profile

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.

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