Lafayette Investments Inc. Acquires New Stake in Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. $AUB

Lafayette Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. (NASDAQ:AUB) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 7,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AUB. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Atlantic Union Bankshares by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,932,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,578,000 after acquiring an additional 978,793 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Atlantic Union Bankshares by 152.3% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,136,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,391,000 after acquiring an additional 686,137 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Atlantic Union Bankshares by 207.5% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,016,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,651,000 after acquiring an additional 685,832 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Atlantic Union Bankshares by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,137,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,548,000 after acquiring an additional 565,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. bought a new stake in Atlantic Union Bankshares in the 1st quarter valued at $12,923,000. 78.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Atlantic Union Bankshares

In other news, CEO John C. Asbury bought 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $32.91 per share, with a total value of $246,825.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 270,532 shares in the company, valued at $8,903,208.12. This trade represents a 2.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Frank Russell Ellett bought 1,441 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $31.49 per share, for a total transaction of $45,377.09. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 78,047 shares in the company, valued at $2,457,700.03. This trade represents a 1.88% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 18,941 shares of company stock worth $606,502. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AUB shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. National Bankshares set a $46.00 price target on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Atlantic Union Bankshares presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.56.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of AUB stock opened at $34.38 on Tuesday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.11 and its 200-day moving average is $31.79. The stock has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.01 and a beta of 0.87. Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. has a 52-week low of $22.85 and a 52-week high of $44.54.

Atlantic Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:AUB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $377.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 92.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. Atlantic Union Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.