Franklin Resources Inc. Has $62.61 Million Position in Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. (NASDAQ:AUB)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. (NASDAQ:AUB) by 20.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,621,527 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 270,470 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Atlantic Union Bankshares were worth $62,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 78.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Atlantic Union Bankshares by 88.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 77.7% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares during the third quarter worth $56,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 110.2% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.58% of the company’s stock.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Price Performance

NASDAQ:AUB opened at $40.85 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.62. Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. has a 1-year low of $30.43 and a 1-year high of $44.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.95 and a beta of 0.91.

Atlantic Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:AUB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.01. Atlantic Union Bankshares had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The company had revenue of $358.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $226.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is an increase from Atlantic Union Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Atlantic Union Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 56.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AUB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Atlantic Union Bankshares from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Raymond James reduced their price target on Atlantic Union Bankshares from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Hovde Group lowered their price objective on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

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.