Piper Sandler Cuts Atlantic Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:AUB) Price Target to $45.00

Atlantic Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:AUB) had its price target lowered by Piper Sandler from $47.50 to $45.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Atlantic Union Bankshares from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Stephens lifted their target price on Atlantic Union Bankshares from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Atlantic Union Bankshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Atlantic Union Bankshares has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.89.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ AUB opened at $37.40 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.33 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.20. Atlantic Union Bankshares has a 1-year low of $26.06 and a 1-year high of $42.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Atlantic Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:AUB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.03). Atlantic Union Bankshares had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The company had revenue of $371.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Atlantic Union Bankshares will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Atlantic Union Bankshares’s payout ratio is 62.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Nancy H. Agee acquired 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $39.05 per share, for a total transaction of $25,382.50. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 37,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,475,972.85. This represents a 1.75% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlantic Union Bankshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Atlantic Union Bankshares in the fourth quarter worth about $87,022,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 6,808.0% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,532,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,096,000 after acquiring an additional 1,510,289 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 24.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,400,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,457,647 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 1,128.0% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,398,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,358,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284,759 shares during the period. Finally, North Reef Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Atlantic Union Bankshares by 35.0% during the third quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 3,713,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,053,000 after buying an additional 963,604 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.