Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation (NYSE:AUB) down to US$3.7b market cap, but institutional owners may not be as affected after a year of 5.8% returns

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Atlantic Union Bankshares implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• The top 16 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Ownership research along with analyst forecasts data help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

If you want to know who really controls Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation (NYSE:AUB), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 67% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Losing money on investments is something no shareholder enjoys, least of all institutional investors who saw their holdings value drop by 3.6% last week. However, the 5.8% one-year return to shareholders might have softened the blow. But they would probably be wary of future losses.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Atlantic Union Bankshares, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Atlantic Union Bankshares

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Atlantic Union Bankshares?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Atlantic Union Bankshares. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Atlantic Union Bankshares' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. Atlantic Union Bankshares is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is BlackRock, Inc. with 13% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 11% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 5.6% by the third-largest shareholder.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 16 shareholders have a combined ownership of 51% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Atlantic Union Bankshares

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our information suggests that Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation insiders own under 1% of the company. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own US$35m worth of shares. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 32% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Atlantic Union Bankshares. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Atlantic Union Bankshares .

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.