Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. $AUB Shares Acquired by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Atlantic Union Bankshares by 41.8% in Q1, owning 149,659 shares valued at $4.66 million.
• Institutional investment in Atlantic Union Bankshares is notably strong, with 78.58% of the company owned by various institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Analysts provide a consensus price target of $38.33 for Atlantic Union Bankshares, with ratings ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Hold" from multiple brokerages.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. (NASDAQ:AUB - Free Report) by 41.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 149,659 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 44,150 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.17% of Atlantic Union Bankshares worth $4,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Atlantic Union Bankshares during the first quarter worth about $25,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Atlantic Union Bankshares by 99.4% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in Atlantic Union Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth about $72,000. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in Atlantic Union Bankshares by 304.1% during the first quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 2,728 shares of the company's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 2,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Atlantic Union Bankshares during the first quarter worth about $100,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.58% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John C. Asbury bought 7,500 shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares 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 completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 270,532 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,903,208.12. The trade was a 2.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Frank Russell Ellett bought 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $31.54 per share, for a total transaction of $157,700.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 76,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,416,153.24. This trade represents a 6.98% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 18,941 shares of company stock worth $606,502 in the last quarter. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of AUB traded up $0.24 on Friday, hitting $35.75. 769,093 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,421,545. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 0.88. The stock's 50 day moving average is $32.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.25. Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. has a 1 year low of $22.85 and a 1 year high of $44.54.

Atlantic Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:AUB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $377.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $369.70 million. Atlantic Union Bankshares had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 8.50%. Atlantic Union Bankshares's revenue was up 92.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Atlantic Union Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atlantic Union Bankshares presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.33.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Company Profile

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.